leaved Golden Saxifrage C. oppositifolium. At the time that the Flora of Essex 1km sq.
dot maps were being prepared, I was uncertain if Stan Jermyn intended Scrub Wood or
The Scrubs as the location for C. alternifolium, and neglected to remove the most
southerly dot. On my record card, however, I have a subsequent note, which 1 seem to
recollect originated from Gcof. Pyman, that the original site was actually a bog on Heather
Hills, which incidentally, was also at one time said to support unlikely bedfellow Drosera
rotundifolia, the Round-leaved Sundew. The upper reaches of the stream pass through
a fence into private gardens, so it may be that the relevant area has now been built on.
Alternatively, it may be that the bog was formerly in an area that has since scrubbed
over. If anyone locally, has any information on the former Heather Hills bogs, I would
be very interested to hear. Whether or not C. alternifolium ever occurred in the area, or
whether the record was a mistake, we will probably never resolve, - it's certainly not
there now, and is therefore extinct in Vcl8 (South Essex). Tragically, some time in the
not too distant future, the logjam is going to rot away and a landslide will descend the
Scrub Wood valley, carrying the Opposite-leaved Saxifrage colony with it.
MapMate records
Please remember that our County Recorders compile and maintain detailed records of
the Essex flora, fauna and geology (and here Essex means the Watsonian recording vice
counties 18 and 19, including for example the London boroughs east of the River Lea).
If you are using MapMate for your biological records, then please send these on regular
occasions using the MapMate synchronisation process. If the County Recorder MapMate
details are not listed below, please contact your County Recorder to find out whether they
are able to receive records in this form or you can send your MapMate records to Peter
Harvey (cuk 2gv and email grays@peterharvey.freeserve.co.uk), who will forward them
on. Current details for County Recorders who are definitely able to receive MapMate
sync records are as follows, but at least 6 more are or will be using MapMate and may be
able and willing to receive records in this way:
Email
tg@writtle.ac.uk
essexmoths@dsl. pipex.com
mark@hanson2468.fsnet.co.uk
neilh@essexwt.org.uk
grays@peterharvey.freeserve.co.uk
david.scott76@btopenworld.com
delsmith444@btinternet.com
Taxonomic groups
Orthoptera
Lepidoptera
Veteran Trees
Larger Brachycera
Arachnida, Hymenoptera, Isopoda
Reptiles and amphibians
Diptera (except hoverflies and
larger Brachycera)
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 49, January 2006
21