4/10/09: Thamesmead transients

Patches of relatively bare ground always attract my attention, in case soil disturbance has resulted in something out of the ordinary coming up - either from imported soil, or dormant seeds. There was one such area below the walkway from the Lesnes Abbey site into Thamesmead around the east end of Fendyke Rd and immediatly south of the railway line through Abbey Wood.

Patches of bare ground like this one in Thamesmead can turn up relatively unusual plants.

Amongst the flora of this site were Spotted Medick, a Common Stork's-bill, several Ox-eye Daisies, a couple of Weld, Lesser Swine Cress, three Feverfew, a few clumps of Horseradish, a Hemlock seedling, a white-flowered crucifer with a rather long, hooked end to the seed pod - probably descended from a cultivated variety of Radish - and a couple of rather succulent orache-type plants which I've yet to identify.

Who says 'weeds' aren't worth looking at? A Mayweed puts on a fine show doing a passable impression of a cushion chrysanthemum - which is exactly what it is, of course.

I also took another look at the disturbed area to the west side of the walkway by Wolvercote Rd. This time I secured my first record of Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis) in Bexley Borough - bulbous bases to the bristles, and white-eyed blue flowers with doubly bent corolla tubes.

Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis) by Wolvercote Rd, Thamesmead

In paving in a locked 'garden' area on Maran Way were several Galinsoga sp.

On Alsike Rd there were two female Hop plants on the railway fence, a Hemlock, Phragmites in a ditch by the railway line, Spotted Medick and Self Heal by some flats, a few Sun Spurge and more than ten Barbarea sp.

At the junction of Waldrist Way and Yarnton Way were several Ox-eye Daisies, Common Toadflax in flower and Buck's-horn Plantain.

6/9/09: Lesnes Abbey to Erith (part 1 - Thamesmead and Erith Marshes south of Eastern Way)

There was lots of Dwarf Mallow by the Green Chain Walk through Thamesmead.

A few interesting plants were growing on a somewhat bare, 'weedy' corner by Wolvercote Way near the aerial walkway, including Sun Spurge, a young Cucurbit plant of some sort and this possible Scotch Thistle seedling.



There were a lot of Marsh Yellow Cress plants growing on the walkway itself, with small auricles at the leaf bases.

A Black Knapweed and some Silverweed were noted by paths towards a field of horses - in which there were some 57 Carrion Crows and a Kestrel overhead - just west of Southmere Lake.

A solitary male Common Blue Damselfly was seen in a dry ditch.

This Wild Parsnip was pictured near the base of the Green Chain Walk signpost.

Red Clover clumps, tending to have stronger leaf markings than is sometimes the case, dotted a strip of land cut for hay, immediatly south of Eastern Way.

There were lots of Wild Roses sporting quite a lot of Robin's Pincushions, caused by a Gall Wasp (Diplolepis rosae).

Rose, looking west back towards Thamesmead



Hawthorn fruits and Rose with Robin's Pincushion gall

A Viper's Bugloss (or possibly two), just about still in flower, was spotted in a tangle of vegetation on the road embankment just west of the overhead power lines. 46 Canada Geese were in a field here.