果冻影院

In the last week of November the work of 果冻影院 Geography鈥檚聽Pond Restoration Research Group聽hit the press with the rediscovery of a rare and endangered wetland plant.

In late summer 2020 the Ponds team were surveying in mid-Norfolk along the high water mark of a farmland pond restored last winter by the聽.

At the very end of the day, out of the corner of an eye, a plant was seen that was not immediately recognised. Professor Carl Sayer sent a photograph to a local botanical expert, and six plants of Grass-poly聽Lythrum hyssopifolia聽L. were confirmed. This is the first confirmed record of the plant seen in Norfolk for over a century.

The 果冻影院 Ponds team have previously demonstrated that the seeds of many wetland plants are extremely long-lived. Remarkably, even ponds in-filled and ploughed more than 150 years ago (so-called 鈥楪host Ponds鈥�) have been shown to support viable seeds.

The next question with Grass-poly is how to keep it going and increase its population. 果冻影院 Geography鈥檚 Helen Greaves has a plan:

鈥淎s regular disturbance is needed for the survival of Grass-Poly, we have been thinking about how we can maintain our population. We might need to carry out regular winter raking or introduce some cows or maybe a Christmas pantomime horse would suffice if we get stuck."

鈥�"Whatever the method, we are desperately keen to keep the plant above ground now it has come back to us鈥�.

The Grass-poly story was covered in a聽, and was featured on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC Breakfast programme. Carl was also interviewed on BBC News 24.

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