Great Central Woodland

Time was when Woodford Halse was a small village - and then came the Great Central Railway. It had a huge motive power depot (An M.P.D. was invariably referred to as a 'shed' by railway enthusiasts) and its activities came to dominate life in the village. Indeed, it developed into a town and the railway was by far the main employer.

Woodford Halse shed in its latter years. Probably
around 1958

All that has gone but the huge area of raised land where the shed stood can still be clearly seen. Beside this mound is an area of low-lying, heavily vegetated wasteland and this has been adopted by the community. Often it is quite wet but recent weather has left the area very dry, so when I visited it on 15 September the vegetation was not at its best.

www.greatcentralwoodland.org reads the notice board

From the heart of the village the visitor crosses the infant River Cherwell. In places it was choked with debris but heavy rain should cause the river to rise and clear this material.

Currently the River Cherwell is rather noisome.
15 September, 2020

Insects were not abundant, or at least they were keeping a low profile. Doubtless there were many at the plant-soil interface. However there was plentiful evidence of insect activity.

The gall of Urophora cardui on Creeping Thistle. Great 
Central Woodland, Woodford Halse. 15 September, 2020

.

The Creeping Thistle (and occasionally other thistles too) sometimes develops a rather globular swelling on the stem. It is formed by the larvae of a so-called Picture-winged Fly, in this case, Urophora cardui.

More evidence of insect activity was this discoloured patch on a poplar leaf. In this case the insect responsible is an agromyzid fly, Agromyza albitarsis. It may be quite common but few records have been submitted for mapping.

This greenish patch on a poplar leaf will eventually become
 brown. It is the work of Agromyza albitarsis.  Great Central 
Woodland, Woodford Halse. 15 September, 2020

Yet another leaf mine on poplar was formed, in this case, by a moth. The Poplar Bent-wing, Phyllocnistis unipunctella, is one of the micro-moths and its larvae form silvery mines looking vaguely like snail trails.

Vague, rather silvery mines are formed by the larva of
the Poplar Bent-wing. Great Central Woodland again,
15 September, 2020

I confess that my visit was rather disappointing but giver the exceptionally dry conditions this is understandable. Certainly it is worth another look in more favourable times.

Tony White. e-mail: diaea@yahoo.co.uk

'Tis the season...

 ...for Shaggy Parasols, Chlorophyllum rhacodes. In fact three species go by the name of Shaggy Parasol but the one we meet on our walks is invariably this one.

The Shaggy Parasol, Christchurch Drive, Daventry.
8 September, 2020

The gills are pale

The shaggy scales on the cap are distinctive but it is worth taking a look at the pale gills.

The species has a reputation for being  good eating and so it is - for most people. But apparently about 1 in 40 get an unpleasant reaction from consuming them. Certainly I have never bothered, not least because most that I have found are in places where dogs are frequently walked. Enough said!   

The generic name means 'green-leaved', strange for an organism that has no leaves, green or otherwise. In fact the word has also been used in the sense of being 'green-gilled' and there is a poisonous alien species, Chlorophyllum molybdites with green gills and therein perhaps lies the explanation.                          

False Acacias

Daventry is well blessed with False Acacia, Robinia pseudacacia, trees, and they are particularly prominent around the car park beside The Newlands, i.e. around the Aldi car park.

False Acacias beside The Newland, Daventry.

                                                     8 September, 2020                                                                                             

Their graceful pinnate leaves are typical of many other members of the Fabaceae such as the true acacias and of Laburnum. In spring they were covered in cream pom-pom flowers, much visited by bees. Despite belonging to the same family as the true acacias, and having a broadly similar appearance, they are not really closely related.

The flowers hang in racemes

The flowers have now given way to the fruit in the form of long brown pods and numerous seedlings have developed around the trees. In warmer climates such as southern France, Italy and Spain the trees have become something of a nuisance, springing up in inappropriate places.

The trees are intensively planted in many parts of the world and apparently 250,000 hectares of them have now been planted in Hungary. Obviously their timber could be of use but their honey is much prized and when rambling in France I have often seen roadside signs advertising miel d'acacia.

The pods start off green but become golden-brown.
The Newlands, Daventry

A feature of the tree, sometimes called the Black Locust,  which appeals to me is the gnarled, twisted appearance of the trunk and branches, making even a young tree appear venerable. In Northampton and elsewhere False Acacias are host to mistletoe plants and the combination of a gnarled appearance with a garnish of mistletoe can be quite striking.

False Acacia and mistletoe - not, I hasten to add, the
specimens in Northampton.

The False Acacias bearing mistletoe are in Weston Favell near to The Trumpet pub. May we hope to see this sort of sight in Daventry?

Green Elfcup - minus the cups

I visited our local pocket park - Stefen Hill Pocket Park - today. It was, by my calculations, the umpteenth visit and yet, as usual, there was a story.


A rotting tree stump, familiar to scores of children and dog walkers, stands beside the perimeter footpath. Recent rains have made it sodden and the texture of the wood now resembles balsa. I carefully lifted some of this material and was pleased to expose a patch stained a copper sulphate sort of blue-green.

I recognised it as the stain formed by the Green Elfcup, Chlorociboria aeruginascens. I will keep an eye on the tree stump because, although the staining is not uncommon the fruiting bodies do not often appear - and they are rather spectacular. This fungus was once used to provide the colour for Tunbridge Ware pottery.

The Green Elfcup is not often seen in its fruiting form.

A child was walking nearby with her mother. After whispering to Mum she came over and shyly asked if she could show me something she had found on a leaf. I strolled over to the shrub in question and she showed me what had been puzzling her.

Harlequin ladybirds are all-too common. The larvae are easily seen at

this time of the year. Stefen Hill Pocket Park. 31 August, 2020

I explained that it was a ladybird. Both child and mother were clearly unconvinced so I explained to them, outlining a little about larvae and metamorphosis before telling them that it would turn into a Harlequin Ladybird. Both were clearly surprised. There is surely a place for schools having a decent garden or area of uncultivated ground for kids to get to know these fundamentals. (Although 70 years ago I, the same age then as this child, probably didn't know. I had no one to tell me.) I am certain that teachers are more knowledgeable today in many matters but that doesn't really make up for a lack of wild places.

Anyway, insects and other wildlife in parks and gardens is now dreadfully limited and I didn't find much else of note. I was a little surprised to find the leaves of Cherry (Prunus sp.) attacked by what appears to be Firethorn Leafminer, Phyllonorycter leucographella. It will attack beech but is generally confined to rosaceous trees such as pyracantha, rowan, apple, cotoneaster and so on. Of course cherry is in the rose family too but this is the first time I have seen it mined by this moth.

The Firethorn Leafminer is very common on Firethorn but is less

frequent on cherry. Stefen Hill Pocket Park. 31 August, 2020

Incidentally, the Firethorn Leafminer was first recorded in Britain as recently as 1989 but has clearly spread quickly and is a real nuisance to growers.