It was a beautiful Friday afternoon, and I had the joy of heading out to a chalk grassland site to undertake a survey for a site that would be considered for the Surrey ‘Old’ Grassland Inventory.

The project has been running for a number of years and we are currently in a ground truthing phase to determine whether the sites that have been identified through datasets and aerial photography, can in fact be classified as an ‘old’ grassland and included on the inventory.

I had the pleasure of joining other SWT staff, along with a couple of botanists from the Surrey Botanical Society to explore the site and see what species we could spot! 

We spent the time keeping our eyes firmly on the ground to see what species we recognised and ensured we noted them down to allow them to be assessed for the inventory. 

When we first entered the field, Common bird’s-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) jumped out at me as a species I recognised for its yellow colour. Common bird’s-foot-trefoil is an important source of nectar for most adult butterflies of which we saw many, including Marbled White (Melanargia Galathea), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola). 

As we crossed the site, we were met with an impressive display of Pyramidal Orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis). These beautiful pinky-purple orchids can hold up to 100 flowers on each spike. The Pyramidal Orchid has been used in traditional medicine due to its pain relieving properties and was used to treat ailments such as headaches and epilepsy.

The field margins had a wonderful variety of species within them and a Small Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria) was spotted, as well as a Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis). Scabiouses have large and showy flowers and you can identify the different type of scabious using the sepal-like bracts that spread out underneath the flattened base of the flowerhead as well as the leaves. 

Small Scabious continues growing later into the summer than many other species, as its deep roots allow it to exploit ground water unavailable to other species. 

All of the plant species mentioned here appear on the Surrey Botanical Society’s list of axiophytes for grasslands in Surrey. Axiophytes are plants that are of particular interest, and in this case, indicate a period of continuity of permanent pasture. 

Axiophyte species have been used as a factor in deciding if grasslands should be included on the inventory, the more axiophyte species present, then the more likely a grassland is to be ‘old’. 

As part of this survey, over 50 plant species were identified on site with 27 axiophyte species identified. 

I had a fantastic afternoon learning a lot about how to identify different species but also getting the chance to witness how important these habitats are, and why they should be protected for generations to come. 

Esther Hill