i8o 
PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 
1920 
of the Windrush, past Bowman’s Hay, to Seven Springs. Here Mr. Riddelsdell 
gave a short description of the botany of the district : — 
The ground traversed is botanically of two distinct types. It was a mile 
or two of the Windrush, together with the rising ground lying immediately 
on either side of it. The stream and the bog at Seven Springs produce a flora 
limited in extent, but of intense interest, second to none (of the same type) 
in East Gloucester, as interesting as Puckham Bog, or as the brick pits of the 
Severn about Gloucester. The hill slopes are in botanical character typical 
of the Cotteswold country at its very best, a very large proportion of the 
choicest things being found there, though September is not a good month for 
seeing them. There is even, at one point, a small area of sandy heathy ground 
producing such plants as the heather ( Calluna ), the violet ( V. canina), the 
dropwort (Spirts a filipendeula) , the upright rest-harrow ( Ononis spinosa ), 
the saw-wort ( Serratula ), the knotted spurrey ( Sagina nodosa ), and some others 
usually found on such soils. Generally, the hills produce the lime-loving 
species such as the salad burnet, the yellow-wort, the rock-rose, the fleabane, 
the horseshoe vetch, the milkwort ( Polygala calcarea), the long-stalked cranes- 
bill (G. columbinum) , and over limited areas the milk vetch (Astragalus danicus) , 
the rare penny-cress (Thlaspi perfoliatum) , the pasque flower (Anemone 
pulsatilla), the limestone fern (Polypodium calcareum), and the very local 
orchid (Orchis ustulata), while the rare ragwort (Senecio mtegrifolius ) was 
many years ago found there too. 
We also saw the scarcer species of hawthorn (Cralcsgits oxyacanthoides ), 
an early flowerer which has two or three styles to each flower, and a foliage 
less deeply cut, with the veins all curving inwards at their tips ; several 
interesting kinds of rose (R. omissa ), with very hairy foliage, glandular 
peduncles, and permanent sepals ; and one of the swcetbriars (R. micrantha 
probably) ; together with several interesting brambles. 
But the special attraction to a botanist lies perhaps in the marsh and 
water species found in the Seven Springs Bog and lower down by the river, 
such as the orchids (Orchis incarnata and prestermissa ) ; the butterwort 
(Pinguicula) , common enough farther west, e.g. among the Welsh hills ; the 
Grass of Parnassus, a northern and eastern species and a late flowerer with 
beautiful prominent white flowers, it is almost unknown in Wales, but occurs 
at intervals from the Seven Springs Bog down-stream as well as in the Colne 
Valley. The bog-bean (Menyanthes) and other species all add to the general 
interest. The sedges, however, are the real glory of the flora : a very large 
number occur in the bog, and several flourish by the stream itself. The most 
interesting of these is Carex dioica, a species in which the male and female 
flowers occur on separate plants ; Seven Springs Bog is indeed the only locality 
for it in East Gloucester, if not in the whole county. There are two species 
of cotton grass too, one of which (Enophorum latifolium) is limited to this one 
spot in East Gloucester, and is only known in two or three places in West 
Gloucester. 
A few minutes spent, on a visit preparatory to the Club’s outing, near the 
