during a shower of rain which facilitates their movement. The young toads main objective
seems to be to disperse away from the breeding sight as fast as possible, quite a feat for
such tiny creatures.
References
Scott. D. Amphibian Notes - Spring 2004 Essex Field Club Newsletter 44.
Cranfield. J. Amphibian & Reptile News Winter / Spring 2005 Essex Field Club
Newsletter 47.
Mega-weeds in the garden at Boreham
M.W. Hanson 3 Church Cottages, Church Road, Boreham, Essex CM3 3EG
This year the weeds in my garden seem to have been unusually prolific, of the deliberately
sown species I have had magnificent displays of Com Marigold which I left to occupy a
bed (normally the Iris bed) about 8ft. by 6ft. and which have provided an eye-catching
sheet of golden yellow consisting of probably thousands of flowers; writing this in late
June there is still much colour left and I have already collected thousands of seeds from
the seed heads. The Field Poppy has also been good this year but now just about over -
the flowers seem to be much liked by worker bumble bees in the morning. The size of
some weeds has astounded me as well, possibly fed by nutrients from an adjacent compost
bin. I have found a Fool's Parsley Aethusa cynapium 5ft.6ins. tall, a Spotted Medick
Medicago arabica with a stem length of just under 4ft. and a self-sown Milk Thistle
Silybum marianum 5ft.10ins. high with several huge leaves up to 3ft.long. This species
apparently regularly grows to this height in the Mediterranean; it is cultivated for its
seeds which are processed to produce a chemical which is used in the treatment of liver
diseases such as hepatitis and cirrhosis. The viciously spiny plant is also apparently
used as a hedging plant. The Spotted Medick has been an awful weed in the lawn this
year and despite heavy mowing (which has not done any favours for my other grassland
plants like the Burnet Saxifrage and the Common Cats-ear) I have not been able to
prevent it from producing a prolific crop of its characteristic coiled and spiny seeds and
it looks as if I am going to have to get the vacuum cleaner out and hoover the lawn again
(not something to be done when the neighbours are in!!).
The Verbascum?, have been excellent this year, as usual the twenty-odd plants have
sprouted their usual crop of Mullein Moth Shargacucullia verbasci larvae, spectacular
with their white, yellow and black livery and quite sizeable in their last instar. The adults
are also a lovely sleek-looking moth. I usually nominate a few of the Verbascums as
' sacrificial' plants and collect the tiny first instar larvae to put on these plants, otherwise
they can eat the plants wholesale including flower buds and bits out of the stem not just
the leaves. They are also pretty indiscriminate feeders on Mulleins. I have found them
16 Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 48, September 2005