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
March
Needle Spike-rush Eleocharis acicularis
This month's plant is another reminder of our successful Suffolk meeting last year.
Within minutes of arriving, one of us had undertaken a quick botanical survey of our accommodation's garden and discovered a beautiful flowering clump of Needle Spike-rush in the shallows of a small pond.
This spike-rush is also found in Wiltshire, although it now seems to be restricted to the Cotswold Water Park, where it grows in shallow water in flooded sand and gravel pits. It's always an exciting plant to find, and much smaller than the Common Spike-rush E. palustris. Look for both from May going into summer.
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.
