urgently. There are 2-3 species which could
disappear this year unless we move fast.
Less urgent but perhaps more popular local projects
that we have in mind are:
MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS
Our knowledge of the plant life of Essex rivers is
very thin. Would anyone care to join a group
prepared to navigate our major waterways in a dingy
to record vegetation in and by the water?
LOCAL SPECIES MAPPING
Several hundred of our more local higher plants have
been mapped on a 1km sq basis for the Flora. Quite
a number of them however have distributions that need
'filling in' before we can really assess their status.
Over the next few years this work will be continued
with a view to publishing a County Atlas of plants
with interesting distribution patterns. Plants such
as the Rockrose (Helianthemum chamaecistus) and
Ramsons (Allium ursinum) for example are very local
in Essex. You may even have records of some of these
species which, if you are quick, could be included in
the recent records appendix of the Flora. Send for a
list if interested.
SOIL/PLANT RELATIONS
Would anyone be interested in investigating the
distribution of a few selected plant species in one
or more of the 10 km squares that have been mapped
in detail by Robin Sturdy and Ron Allen of the Soil
Survey?
HABITAT RECORDING
We would very much like to include in the Flora some
quantitative assessment of the rate at which our
woods, hedgerows and ponds are being destroyed.
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