Balloonwort

The dull, cold, grey weather continues, though this hasn't stopped the frogs from spawning. I've still hardly seen any in daylight hours - I'm not sure whether this is an evasive response to the Grey Herons who regularly visit the pond and pick off any unwary individuals. This year our visitor appears to have a damaged leg, so I do have a bit of sympathy for it. Frogs are easy pickings compared to fish.

I was very unmotivated yesterday having found out that I'll no longer be needed as co-leader for a Wildlife Travel trip to the Cevennes in May. I found out in a less than ideal way, though now understand the reasoning. I was very disappointed, but have come to terms with it today - it would have made the end of May very busy...

I was busy working all day, so my photograph is a specimen of Micheli's / Texas Balloonwort, which Pete found on one of his walks, growing in a rather tatty area of grass on the Embankment. Neither of us had ever seen this unusual liverwort previously.  

These are rare, southern plants, typically found in neglected corners of gardens, plant nurseries and in arable fields, especially fields of bulbs, flowers and vegetables, cereal stubble, and more rarely on roadsides and waste ground.  There are two species but these can only be distinguished from each other by microscopical examination of their spores. We haven't yet worked up the enthusiasm to dissect it yet. Whichever species it is, it seems to be new to the Peterborough area.