Yet more rain

Early November has been exceptionally wet and when I visited Foxhill Farm about three days ago much of the ground was saturated. Since then there has been more heavy rain and around Byfield there has apparently been extensive flooding. Although I have been anxious to get out and have a look I have been tied up with other things. The land often drains quickly - nice for those directly affected but frustrating for those, armed with a camera, who are keen to see for themselves. The situation is exacerbated by the shortness of the days, with darkness upon us by five in the afternoon. In my childhood flooded fields would attract snipe and other waders but such visitors are now seldom seen.


When I finally went to Byfield to have a look the water levels had dropped considerably. The stream which passes though the village, a tributary of the Cherwell, was still carrying about double its normal flow but was now safe within its banks.

This stream apparently has no official name but is sometimes locally called

the Brightwell Brook. Byfield, 17 November, 2019

The churchyard - to the right of the picture - is rather untidy but carries little of botanical interest although, to be fair, some of the trees support moths, flies and true bugs worth checking out.

Field Horsetail in the grounds of Holy Cross Church, Byfield.

17 November, 2019

Sprawling through the fence are some tangled clumps of horsetail. In Britain we have several species (about 12) of these curious plants and in this case the plant present was the very common Field Horsetail, Equisetum arvense. This species is a weedy plant, sometimes a problem in cultivated ground and very resistant to herbicides. It grows to a maximum height of about 30 centimetres but in Carboniferous times, some 300 million years ago, their relatives, Calamites species, would reach 30 metres and their remains form an important element of our coal seams. If a bunch is passed through the hand it feels very rough, due to the presence of silica spicules. This once made it highly valued for the polishing of hardwoods, ivory and brass. I am told that some woodwind players still use it to shape and scrape their reeds. It may be valued for use in some crafts but is not welcomed by farmers. The highly abrasive silica is a problem if it is consumed by livestock but a toxin, Thiaminase, is also present. I never eat it.

What of flowers? Well, unsurprisingly there were few around. The most obvious was Greater Periwinkle. Vinca major. It is not a native (in fact none of the family to which it belongs, the Apocynaceae, is native to Britain) but belongs to the Mediterranean region. It is quite well established in places but the Lesser Periwinkle, Vinca minor, despite being introduced to Britain long before its greater cousin is less aggressive and not commonly found outside gardens.

Periwinkle in brave - and probable futile - flower.

Byfield, 17 November, 2019

Periwinkles are also poisonous but only mildly so, although its close relative, Catharanthus rosea, once known as Vinca rosea, contains some rather dodgy alkaloids (notice the precise medical terminology) which have been used in chemotherapy.

Vinca major seems remarkably resilient and is frequent in hedgebanks and shrubberies in the south of Britain. It is related to Oleander, Nerium oleander, and the Oleander Hawkmoth may, if you are very lucky, be seen visiting periwinkle flowers, but this striking insect is a rare visitor to Britain.