Bilberry Hill

This lunchtime I took a walk up Novers Hills for another look around the pools. When I was last up the hill the ground was frozen and there was a dusting of snow, making it difficult to find interesting plants. This time conditions were better and there was plenty to see.

First of all I found a spring of this reddish leaved plant growing through a mat of sphagnum. This is Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), a common plant on the plateau of the Long Mynd, but not something I was expecting to find on Novers Hill.

 Bilberry(Vaccinium myrtillus)

I also found several large patches of this moss on the hill. Bryophytes are new to me and are proving somewhat of a challenge. Whilst the leaves do not look as curved as they should, I think this is Dicranum scoparium (Broom Fork-moss).

Dicranum scoparium

Next was to look for aquatic plants in the pools. I noticed this pondweed with quite long and narrow leaves. This is Potamogeton polygonifolius (Bog Pondweed). This is a speices of nutrient-poor, acid standing water. Because of this it is not especially common, but is recorded on the Long Mynd.

Potamogeton polygonifolius

Not a bad place to spend my lunch hour.

View from Novers Hill