38
BOTANY GROUP MEETING, RAYNE RAILWAY LINE,
16TH JULY, 1989
The meeting was led by Tony Boniface, who
suggested that we should walk westwards,
towards Dunmow, rather than into Braintree as
originally intended. This section of the
railway line proved rather disappointing
compared with that on the more chalky soil
further west in the Dunmow area (see for
example EFC Bulletin no. 24 Autumn 1981, p.11),
and is suffering from enchroachment of scrub
which threatens to convert the line into a
uniform linear stretch of secondary woodland.
However, there were some good finds.
Perhaps the most interesting area was at Rayne
Station itself. The railway track and sidings
supported a number of plants of dry gravelly
habitats, including Common Restharrow (Ononis
repens) and Hare's-foot Clover (Trifolium
arvense). There were also several noteworthy
grasses: Fern—grass (Desmazeria rigida) was
at the base of the wall of the station building
and there was a large patch of Flattened
Meadow-grass (Poa compressa) on the siding.
We were able to compare Squirrel tail Fescue
(Vulpia bromoides) with Rat's—tail Fescue
(Vulpia myuros). The latter, normally
considered to be much the less common of the
two was in greater quantity, both at the
station and along the line towards Dunmow. It
seems to be increasing in this type of habitat,
or has in the past been overlooked.
Around the station buildings were several
introduced species such as Green Alkanet
(Pentaglottis sempervirens), Red Valerian