Saturday, 1 August 2009

Cissbury Ring, West Sussex

If the weather had held out, the planned trip to Cissbury Ring, Nr. Worthing, West Sussex, would not only have involved a turn around the second largest Iron Age hill-fort in Britain, (see http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ ) also a reasonable amount of time spent keying out and identifying chalkdown flora via Francis Rose. As it turned out the torrential rain from the West hit us shortly after mid-day when we had just keyed out the flower below to the "figwort family" - the identitity of the Eyebright Euphrasia nemorosa - only being fully realised on return to home when a quick cheat using the pictorial guide to Wildflowers of Britain and Ireland by Rae Spencer Jones and Sarah Cuttle helped to nail the plant in question (at least we hope it does).

Euphrasia nemorosa



Outer bank of Cissbury Ring and evidence of flint mine escavation (the scrubbed over hollows to the right)

Quercus sp. centre, low and spreading, indicating growth in an open landscape
Parasol mushroom Macrolepiota procera
Macrolepiotra procera
English Longhorn cattle used by National Trust for grazing on site

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