Wiltshire Botanical Society
Welcome
Welcome to the Wiltshire Botanical Society. Our roots began in the 1980's when volunteers made a thorough and detailed survey of Wiltshire's flora, culminating in the publication of the Flora of Wiltshire in 1993. Instead of disbanding, the members joined together to form the Wiltshire Botanical Society. The society's aims are to:
- Foster botanical knowledge and to encourage interest in our local flora
- Increase members' knowledge and skills
- Publicise threats to habitats and populations of wild plants
- Undertake field meetings
- Contribute botanical records to local and national recording schemes
Plant of the Month
May
Black-poplar Populus nigra subsp. betulifolia
There are numerous poplar trees in Wiltshire, but only a few are our native Black-poplar. There are particular concentrations of subsp. betulifolia on the upper Thames and Salisbury Avon floodplains and most are quite old. Most poplars are in fact commercially bred varieties of Hybrid Black-poplar P. x canadensis, whose parentage is P. nigra and the North American P. deltoides. Hybrid trees typically have wide, less tapering leaves with conspicuous downcurved marginal teeth. Although the majority of British native Black-poplar trees are thought to be male, populations in e.g. the Wylye Valley and Cotswold Water Park include many females, which is highly unusual.
Join Us!
We pride ourselves on being are a very friendly society and we welcome new members, whatever their age, background or level of botanical knowledge. Annual membership costs £15 (single) and £20 for couples. To join, please email Martin Buckland.
Not sure if it's for you? Potential new members are very welcome to join us free of charge for a few field meetings before committing to membership.
Website Contributions
We always welcome news and contributions for our website. Please send them to the Webmaster, Sharon Pilkington.
