Nature Notes from Argyll
(and occasionally other places)

Sat 15 Sep 2007 Durham - British Plant Gall Society AGM

We stayed in Grey College hall of residence, which was very good.  On the first day we visited Castle Eden Dene, a wooded ravine on magnesian limestone and boulder clay.

I'll put the photos in roughly the order they were taken, except that I'll put all the galls first, and then all the non-galls.  I've tried to include only galls that haven't appeared on the site before.

GALLS

Galls of the midge Eriophyes arianus on Whitebeam; underside and topside of leaf.

Left: Gall of the mite Epitrimerus trilobus on Elder.  Right: This is believed to be the fungal gall Entyloma chrysosplenii, on Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage.  Top side of leaf above, underside below.  Confirmation awaited.

That's enough galls beginning with E; here's a couple beginning with A, both of them on Horse Chestnut.  First is the Crown Gall, caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which distorts large areas of trunk and branch.  Rather smaller is the Aculus hippocastani mite gall, consisting of a tuft of brownish hairs in the underside of a leaf axil, and a brownish blotch on the topside.

Galls caused by the rust fungus Puccinia circaeae on Enchanter's Nightshade.  Topside on left, underside on right.

The rust Coleosporium tussilaginis on Coltsfoot (this is not actually a gall), and the leaf-roll of the aphid Myzus ajugae on Bugle - one leaf is completely rolled up while the others are normal.

The fungal gall Protomyces macrosporus on Ground Elder, and an unknown gall on Meadowsweet which is still being investigated.

As you near the coast you come out of the ravine and into an area of meadow and duneland.  Here we found the gall of the mite Aceria geranii on Bloody Cranesbill, and the bright orange rust Phragmidium sanguisorbae galling Salad burnet (topside pic 2, underside pic 3)

NON-GALLS

Might as well work back westward from the coast to the wood.

Wild Marjoram (above left) was plentiful near the coast.  Going back towards the road and railway viaduct, notable plants of the meadowlands included Quaking Grass and Common Fleabane.  The path towards the wood had Dewberry (above right) among the Bramble, and also the hybrid between the two.

Back in the wood proper, here is a hoverfly attacked by an entomophagous fungus.  Don't know the name of either.  These white leaf spots, caused by the fungus Cristulariella depraedans, were all over the Sycamores in the wood.  Thanks to Malcolm Storey for confirming the ID.

Finally a couple of leaf-mines, caused by the tephritid fly Acidia cognata on Coltsfoot and the agromyzid fly Chromatomyia scolopendri on Hartstongue Fern.

Next page covers the following day's outing.
 

All photos and other content copyright © Carl Farmer