The Lyons Share

It could be something to do with that I have been watching the Walking Dead all day that I could come up with such a blog title for what was essentially a survey of Wild Daffodils, but as usual, it's the the less obvious things I encounter when I'm out, the underdogs, that interest me. Yes, Wild Daffodils have their own intrinsic beauty but this Toothwort that Nick Sturt got me on to, does it more for me. Looking like  dentures that have fallen out of a gawping botanist's mouth or a half-buried dead creature, Toothwort has to be one of the strangest plants out there. I find all the plants that can't be bothered to get their energy from the Sun hugely fascinating. Considering the host is Hazel, why is it so scarce at West Dean Woods?

It was 'bring your girlfriend to work day' last Thursday and Rachael was great at spotting daffs, even when they weren't flowering. She also spotted this Yellow Brain Fungus.

The mapping exercise was a success, I hope to show the results on here next week. For those that like Wild Daffodils, here are bunch of the showy little tarts. Apparently, they look amazing this year! Whatever floats your boat, give me Toothwort any day!

Finally, to dispel any myths that I'm not out there doing natural history or listing anymore, my current list is on 4209 and I've added 30 species (mostly invertebrates) since the start of March! All of this is from the two surveys I am doing at work this year, one at Filsham Reedbed with Alice Parfitt and the other at Old Lodge with Chris Bentley. I anticipate these surveys being the main source of additions to my list this year based upon the success of the March visits but that is another story...