This event, held in the Library of the South London Botanical Institute, closely resembled a Pavement Prowl, but instead of people being taken to the plants, plants were bought to the people, though in the Library we had the advantage of being surrounded by reference books.

Four people, each of whom brought along two plant samples, attended and we spent a happy 90 minutes discussing these.  Some are doing extremely well in London at present, such as yellow corydalis (Pseudofumaria lutea) and water bent (Polypogon viridis).  By consulting Plant Atlases prepared by the Botanical Society of the British Isles, now the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, we were able to see how water bent has spread in recent years.  It was not mentioned in the original 1962 Atlas, but was mapped in the ‘new’ 2002 Atlas as being mainly restricted to the Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands and southwest England, and mapped again in the most recent, 2023, Atlas, showing it to have extensively spread throughout southern England.  It continues to spread northwards.

We were intrigued by the 2023 Atlas map of the distribution of annual mercury (Mercurialis annua), of which there were scattered Scottish records until 1986, but very few since.

People appeared to have enjoyed themselves and said they hoped to attend other Institute events soon.

Image:  some of the plants studied:  shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus) and annual mercury.