At least the summer solstice yesterday had weather that was equal to the day – bright and clear with blue skies and sunshine. Unlike today, the first day of summer where the rain has returned, the clouds have dropped and it feels like November again.
Making the most of the weather yesterday, it was to head up country to Branxholme Wester Loch. This is an upland loch formed in an old kettle hole and has one of the most amazing varieties of associated fen and raised bogs communities found in the Scottish Borders. From open water the communities develop in concentric circles towards dry land, passing through Reed swamp, quaking bog formed from floating rafts of vegetation, to rich Sedge and Brown Moss fen, with a scatter of Willow and Birch, through to Sphagnum dominated raised bog, and finally to wet heath and calcareous flushes that spread out across the outer edges of the hollow.
Branxholme Wester Loch – 20 June 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)
At this time of year, the wetlands are alive with colours, totally different from those visits to sites back in March, that feel a life time ago, when they were wrapped in a coat of winter dowdiness. Now the greens are fresh and varied from the grey-green of Bottle and Slender Sedges to the rich yellow-greens of the Sphagnum carpets. Amongst which are scattered a variety of colours, as though someone has taken a box of paints and then flicked a paint brush full of colours across the green background.
Wetland Communities Surrounding Branxholme Wester Loch – 20 June 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)
From the cacophony of colour, my attention was caught by a couple of old favourites. First, creeping across the spongy Sphagnum carpet was the tiny Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus), possibly named because the unopened flowers are on long slender stalks that resembles a crane’s head and neck. For me its partially the shape of the pale pink flowers; that have petals that curl back, away from the stamens and reminds me of an Ali Baba type turban and partially the red berries that are ridiculously large compared to the tiny size of the plant.
Then secondly there were the pale lime green rosettes of Common Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) topped with long spurred violet flowers. These are amazingly insect consuming plants, that spread their inviting lime green leaves across the moss surface and invite insects to land, where they are trapped on the sticky surface. Once trapped, the leaves curl up and secrete enzymes to digest the still living insects. When absorbed, the leaves open again and the dried remains are lost to the wind. Maybe its this catching and digesting of insects that associates these plants with the protection of people from fairies and witches.
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