15.
county. It is an area of freshwater marsh
dissected by the River Blackwater, just west
of the picturesque village of Feering. The
western side of the river is a mature cricket
bat willow plantation of 10 acres or so,
intersected by a dyke. Other vegetation of
that area includes reeds, sedges, alders and
a few large trees of various species.
The eastern bank of the river is a
smaller wetter area, bisected in almost equal
parts by a footpath. South of the path is a
very wet reedbed with a few "islands" of willow
scrub. North is a dryer reedbed gradually
losing area to grasses, nettles, cow parsley
and willow herb.
The flora of the total reedbed area
includes some very interesting marsh plants.
One of the earliest to flower, which this
spring spent some days completely submerged
is the marsh marigold or Kingcup (Caltha
Palustris). This plant resembles a large
buttercup.
One of the most impressive flowers of
the reed-bed is the Yellow Iris (Iris Psendomus)
the huge yellow flower contrasting sharply
with the uniform grey-green of the reed—bed.
Bullrishes also abound. A ditch on the edge
is often choke by Watercress (Nasturtium
officinale), the favourite habitat of the
water shrew. Along the river, Yellow Water
Lilies (Nuphar lutea) and my favourite, the
bright blue water forget-me-not (Myosotis
scorpioides) were both in flower last June.
Slightly earlier in the season I discovered
a single plant of Cuckoo Flower (Cardomine
pratensis) an uncommon member of the cabbage
family, usually associated with water meadows.
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