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Author Archives: Fay Newbery
Looking down 2
Under some of the oak trees on campus, as well as the fallen leaves, tiny pale discs are appearing. Sometimes these are present in large numbers. They show up particularly well on tarmac pavements. These are button galls which were … Continue reading
Looking down 1
I often feel that I miss the world going by if I walk along with my head down. But sometimes I see things that I might have missed otherwise. For example, what’s this bright yellow stuff appearing around Whiteknights? … Continue reading
A new county record
While preparing for my lichen ‘walk’ on campus I examined one of the Horse chestnut trees near the pond in the Harris Garden. I’ve used this tree for teaching lichens on the MSc Plant Diversity course for the last three … Continue reading
Lichen exploration on campus
Whiteknights is an amazing teaching resource. Recently I led a lichen ‘walk’ for the Reading District Natural History Society from the car-park in front of the Harborne Building. I’ve put ‘walk’ in inverted commas because we really didn’t walk very … Continue reading
Posted in Bacteria, Bryophytes, Fungi, Green Algae, Lichen, Liverworts, Plants
Tagged Collema tenax, Marcandiomyces corallinus, Marchantia polymorpha, Nostoc, Peltigera, Trentepohlia
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Ideal home or revolting distortion?
If you need a safe place to live, why not get a home built to your own specifications? That’s what the larvae of Dasineura sisymbrii, a kind of gall midge do. The presence of the larvae amongst the developing flower buds … Continue reading
Cyperus re-found and lost again
Galingale, Cyperus longus, was recorded as ‘status uncertain’ in The Flora of Whiteknights Park in 2011. It had been seen in the past by the lake and in the Harris Gardens – both places where it had been planted – but was not … Continue reading
Rusts affect weeds as well as crops!
A species of plant that is present on campus in greater numbers this year is Black bindweed, Fallopia convolulus. It has appeared in quite large numbers behind the Agriculture Buildings and also around the Harborne Building.
Marble galls on oak
Early autumn is a great time to go looking for galls. Most have had time to develop but those on leaves are still on the trees for easy spotting. Two of the larger galls on oak are Knopper galls and … Continue reading
Posted in Fagaceae, Flowering Plants, Galls, Insects, Plant Pathology Research Group
Tagged Andricus kollari, Marble gall, Quercus robur, wasp
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Fungus – Paxillus obscurisporus
These fungi are growing in grassland (both mown and un-mown) near the Meteorology Department. Most of them are under lime trees but there are also some under an oak tree about 10 metres away. In size they varied from 8 to 20 … Continue reading
I missed it!
I’ve just found one of my favourite plants on campus – and I missed it in flower! I’ve seen it on campus before during the Bioblitz in 2013. It was flowering amongst what appeared to be a planted wild flower … Continue reading
Posted in Fabaceae, Flowering Plants, Plants
Tagged Grass vetchling, Lathyrus nissolia
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