Fritillary
Fritillary 8
Photo by Andy Fairbairn
Fritillary 8 is the fifth on-line volume of Fritillary. From this page you can download the articles in Fritillary 8 in PDF format .
If, however, you would like a bound paper copy (A4 format, price £6.50) you can still get one by contacting Fritillary Orders. If you want to assemble your own booklet of the complete Fritillary 8, we have provided a PDF version of the cover for you. The papers all appear here in the correct order.
Contents
- Cover
- Editorial
F H Watkins and D Lewis - Introduction
K. J. Kirby - Birthwort at Godstow, 2003-2013, and as featured in a 17th-century poem set in Oxford
S. Ottway
published online October 2018
Summary...A brief account is given of the occurrence of Birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis), as monitored between 2003 and 2013, at the site of the ruins of Godstow Abbey near Oxford. In addition, a 17th-century link between Birthwort and Oxford is described in a didactic poem by Abraham
Cowley (1618-1667), written in Latin, entitled Plantarum Libri Sex (‘Six Books of Plants’). Part of this long poem (Book II) features Birthwort as one of several personified medicinal herbs that assemble within the Oxford Botanic Garden one night to hold a debate, during which each herb recommends its own merits for relieving the particular medical afflictions of women. - An Introduction to the Identification of the Woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidea) occurring in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
S. Gregory
published online February 2019
Summary...Woodlice are familiar to all, always a popular find during family bug-hunts and widely represented in modern culture (Chater 1988).They are Crustaceans, more closely allied to shrimps and crabs, than to the better known insects. Belonging to Order Isopoda, meaning ‘equal feet’, their seven pairs of more or less identical walking legs is a diagnostic character of the group (Figure 2). Most Isopods are marine and woodlice (Sub-order Oniscidea) are the only group to have successfully colonised ‘dry land’. Many British species still occupy coastal sites or damp habitats inland, though a few, such as the pill-woodlice (Armadillidium spp.), are able to be active in full sun.
Steve Gregory is the organiser of the British Non-marine Isopod Recording Scheme.
- Beetles from a typical ancient Chiltern beechwood
R Fortey, R Booth, M Barclay and M Geiser
published online February 2019
Summary...Lambridge Wood on the edge of Henley-on-Thames is an ancient, semi-natural woodland typical of many Chiltern beechwoods. It has a well-documented history that was described in The Wood for the Trees (Fortey 2016) proving its ancient pedigree, and that it was a ‘working woodland’ until the middle of the last century, since when it has had minimal management. Over five years the beetle fauna of part of the wood has been sampled, including the canopy, up to 253 species were found, which were identified in the Natural History Museum, London. Of this total, about 20% are local or Notable, and most of these are associated with ancient woodlands, including saproxylic species. Notes are given on some of these taxa. Species collected from identified fungi are discussed in more detail. This ‘snapshot’ may serve as a benchmark to help monitor future changes in this special habitat.
- George Claridge Druce (1850-1932), botanist, businessman, burgher, and benefactor
R. Evans
published online March 2020
Summary...Druce was the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire’s leading member for half a century (and treasurer during nearly all of that time); he refounded it and wrote its journal almost single-handedly; he gave 73 lectures to it, including a long series of entertaining Christmas presentations for youthful audiences. Some twenty years ago the Society paid a major tribute to Druce, on the occasion when it refurbished his gravestone in Holywell cemetery. My chief reason for revisiting him now is the further commemoration of him by the award of an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque - Do road verges hold the key to diversity in rural areas?
S. Erskine
published online August 2020
Summary...In order to test the theory that there is more species diversity in the road verges of housing estates than there is in those of farmland, a small pilot survey was undertaken. - The ash population in Wytham Woods
K. J. Kirby
published online September 2020
Summary...Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is one of our most abundant broadleaved trees, but its future is uncertain because of Ash Dieback. The results from 164 permanent plots sited across Wytham Woods, recorded five times since 1974, provide a baseline against which to measure changes in the ash population prior to the disease reaching the Woods in 2017. Since 1974 ash had been expanding its contribution to the canopy and was the most abundant tree species amongst the seedlings of the forest floor. Its future importance is likely to be much less – many trees are starting to show canopy reductions of 10-20%, but the impacts will vary greatly across the Woods. Hazel (Corylus avellana) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) are the tree species most likely to increase after the decline of ash.