I had a bit of a bizarre FB happening whereby Dave Gibbs asked me if I'd like to join him for a day in the New Forest along with Tony Davis. Who I then had to pretty much plead with to allow me to tag along! Turns out the two of them had secret plans for later that night (no, not those kinda plans you filthy bugger) which didn't involve me. Some highly dodgy shenanigans, I suspect. But I was only free during the day so I ended up tagging along regardless... and I'm so glad I did because I've never met Dave before, we all saw loads, and everyone came away with a good few lifers. Especially me :)

Dave had a few plant targets he especially wanted to see, including a Cotoneaster that was probably going to be Tony's only plant tick of the day (Tony was very much the tour leader today). But first up we were meeting at Hatchet Pond car park. Dave duly arrived with a lifer in each hand - nice entrance! One was an unknown green plant snatched from his car window as he drove around a roundabout. The other was a Cotoneaster twig. Umm...I looked at Tony. Tony looked at me. Dave looked at both of us, "Oh, did you want to see that Cotoneaster? I've brought a bit back to show you". Tony looked ill. I had to laugh, Dave instantly agreed to show us the Cotoneaster in situ and suddenly everything was alright again. The mystery plant remained just that, Dave didn't recognise it. I thought it smelled a bit like Wormwood. He planned to take it home for further analysis.

So we set off and duly said hello to the usual suspects in this part of the world - Hampshire Purslane, Pillwort, Coral Necklace before revealing Dave's first lifer of the day - Duck Potato (Sagittaria latifolia). Dave immediately went to work with Tony holding the book alongside, calling out the relevent identification features. Here's a pic of The Boys paying homage to the mighty Duck Potato

Soon as Dave was happy with the Duck Potato we headed off to see Dwarf Spike-rush (Eleocharis parvula) which again satisfied Dave only after he'd seen the rhizome swellings where new plants burst forth from. Tough customer is Mr Gibbs!

Next up was Tony's tick (and my first of the day too as it happens) that Cotoneaster out on Beaulieu Heath. We followed Dave on a brisk walk along a track and soon found ourselves at a bank of Gorse. At the base of several bushes were small Cotoneaster bushes, thin whippy branches arching away from the centre of the bush. Apparently the gorse is used as a winter thrush roost. And roosting thrushes tend to crap quite a lot. Hence all these lovely birdsown Cotoneasters in the middle of nowhere! "This is Cotoneaster divaricatus" claimed Dave. We boldly decided to check in Stace. Hampshire BSBI had already keyed it through, so now it was our turn. Two stones in the bright red and oblong-ellipsical berry. Tick. Spreading or arching branches. Tick. Leaves flat and shiny on upper (more-or-less, so...tick), very sparsely hairy on underside. Tick. Dave said that the berries were typically found two side by side, which these were. Tick. So, all in all Spreading Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster divaricatus) is happily on my list. Tick! Here's a pic

Dave was keen to see Gorse Spider Mite (Tetranychus lintearius) and happily Tony found some just a few metres away in a tiny bit of web. Dave managed some decent pics (I definitely need to improve my camera set up) and looked pleased at his latest PSL addition. Typically we then found a huge tent full of millions of them just five minutes later.

Next stop on the tour was Shatterford for New Forest Bladderwort. Tony led us straight to the site, essentially just a sludgy puddle and larger pool adjacent to it. Which comprises the ENTIRE KNOWN British distribution of this rare plant. En route we stopped to look at Lesser Bladderwort (Utricularia minor) in another pool, several being in flower. Not so the New Forest Bladderwort (Utricularia bremii). Here's a pic of The Boys studying the bladderwort, this being Dave's first look at the species. As you can see, the day had started to warm up somewhat!

Tony noticed quite a few lepidopterous feeding signs on a nearby Alder Buckthorn, leaves being webbed together to form a safe feeding tent. Neither Tony nor Dave could put a name to the species so several larvae were bagged up and taken away for rearing through. We all figured it was probably a member of the Tortricidae but were a bit stumped after that. We shall see in due course.

Next up was a non-plant expedition. We headed off towards the Reptiliary and wet heath. Before too long we began finding Dave's next target - New Forest Shieldbug (Eysarcoris aeneus) whereupon we moved into a Sphagnum dominated valley mire where we successfully found some Sphagnum associated bugs and Dave came up trumps with the bizarre looking fly, the Smart-banded Hunchback (Ogcodes gibbosus). These small flies are spider-parasites, certainly we were seeing lots of their hosts! Not a fly I'd seen before, apparently they are regular in the New Forest. Also nice to see here were the spider Hypsosinga pygmaea looking like a tiny humbug, and the Spiked Shieldbug (Picromerus bidens).

Heading off once more we crossed the road briefly to check Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) for a beetle that Mark Telfer had found previously. No luck for us, but we did find this rather handsome group of Golden Scalycaps (Pholiota aurivella) another one I'd never seen before. Not knowingly, at least.

Originally there were five fruiting bodies but, before I had a chance to take my pic, Dave snapped one off and popped it in a bag for identification under the microscope. Oh well, at least we got a 100% ID out of it...

We headed south again, this time towards a site I know well, Blackwater Arboretum. I used to come here a lot, there's an easily viewable and reliable Hawfinch roost here which, along with the chance of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Brambling, Crossbill and Marsh Tit make it popular with birdwatchers in the winter months. It's also very good for Wood Crickets in the summer. But we peeled off short of the arboretum car park and instead parked up in Brock Car Park. A quick shifty into the scrub and we were face to face with a thicket (yes a thicket) of 6 foot tall Hypericum. I didn't expect that! This, Tony explained, was Stinking Tutsan (Hypericum hircinum). I bruised a few leaves and stems but have to admit that I couldn't smell anything particularly unpleasant. Hants BSBI have identified it, I guess they know better than my nose when it comes to things like this! Here's a pic of the stuff anyway

Next stop was the delightfully named Butts Lawn just outside of Brockenhurst. This had to be probably the least satisfying way to see a new plant ever. There at the foot of a garden fence was a dust-splattered rosette of basal leaves looking pretty sorry for itself. Worse still, ten feet away lay the broken off dead stem and dead heads of possibly the same plant. Here, at our feet, lay the basal leaves of Hungarian Mullein (Verbascum speciosum). I think I'm going to have to come back next year and see it in its glory! Here's a pic of the 'best' bit of the plant with my hand in there for scale. 'mazin huh? 

We had a particularly unsuccessful jaunt across some seriously dodgy mire in search of Bayberry near Goatpen. I almost died! Seriously, an army could march in there and never ever be seen again. Somehow Tony kept his feet dry throughout. The griddie we had was duff gen, but we didn't realise that at the time. Had we have just looked up at the nearest slope we'd have seen the stuff right there in front of us, but I wouldn't know that for another 2 weeks. No sign of the "good numbers of" Pitcherplants reputed to be here too. More duff gen (same source) methinks.

Back at the car we decided to pester the ponies and check them over for flies. With over 3000 species of fly on his PSL, you could say Dave is a bit keen on the order! We saw heaploads of botfly eggs on the ponies' fur but no adults (and to be fair, I'd rather not go check for the maggots, if you know what I'm saying?) Happily though, Dave spotted a Horse Flatfly (Hippobosca equina) which was yet another new species for me. I did feel a bit of a wally stalking a pony close enough to get a pic of it's hitchhiker (what would people think?) but eventually I managed the worst pic ever taken of Hippobosca. Lol, you have been warned...

Stunning huh? Yeah, I thought so too. Typically the white and grey ponies were clean as a whistle. Checking scatty brown ponies for small brown flies isn't as straightforward as you'd think. Not with a load of the public staring at you, wondering whether they ought to be calling the police or not.

Anyway, that was the end of our day. Several sites visited, lifers at most of them - for all of us. Dave and Tony were heading northwards on towards their mysterious destination. Dave suggested that I follow him to the M27 roundabout as that was where his mystery plant was growing. Sure enough, the plant was in the verge of the roundabout for maybe three quarters of its circumference. Certainly well established here, whatever it was! Later that night I received a message from Dave. The plant was Stinking Fleabane (Dittrichia graveolans), recently arrived in South Hants and spreading along the main roads, doubtless the seeds travel well in a vehicle's slipstream.   

What a great day, many thanks to Dave for the initial invite, and many thanks to Tony for finally seeing sense and letting me tag along. Cheers chaps!!! :)