January 1.  The traditional New Year’s Day outing took place under mild, overcast skies.  There had been frosts in November, but December was generally mild and wet.  Plants in flower were generally few and far between, with the most frequently flowering species being Veronica persica (Common Field Speedwell).  We started around the information centre, pond and copse, somewhat surprisingly finding one plant of Erigeron acris (Blue Fleabane) still in flower.  We walked along the spine road, then through Middle Green to the Martin Car Park area.  By the pond we found the previously reported Isatis tinctorum (Woad) and a Teasel, which was not as previously reported D. pilosus (Small Teasel) but D. strigosus (Yellow Teasel).  We had our picnic lunch in the Barn, then headed up Red Meadow Hill for a view across Cambridge.  On the way down we added Sinapis alba (White Mustard) in flower.  Continuing via the permissive tracks we eventually re-joined the spine road.  A small group continued round Rowans Field and the Orchard, finding a couple more species in flower.  By the time we returned to the information centre we had made 194 records of 133 species, of which 23 were in flower.   This was the lowest total since we began counting species in flower, and well down on the 58 found last year, and the median number of 35.

Jonathan Shanklin