Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles

After a visit to the dentist I spent a couple of hours in the forestry area SW of Kyleakin.  There were a couple of small lochs that hadn’t been recorded since 1989 and whilst I have made a few records along the road in the past, there were many common species not recorded for this tetrad including my marker plant, Succisa pratensis (Devil’s-bit Scabious).  The lochs had most of the usual suspects though I missed a few things found before – Glyceria fluitans (Floating Sweet-grass), Lobelia dortmanna (Water Lobelia) and Myriophyllum alterniflorum (Alternate Water-milfoil).  But there again I added Carex limosa (Bog-sedge) and not far away, Pinguicula lusitanica (Pale Butterwort) still in flower.

Pinguicula lusitanica

There were several planted trees that are found locally in this sort of location including Acer platanoides (Norway Maple), Alnus incana (Grey Alder), and X Cuprocyparis leylandii (Leyland Cypress).  There was a single plant of Barbarea intermedia (Medium-flowered Winter-cress)  and over thirty plants of Scrophularia auriculata (Water Figwort) on the track.  The figwort has a stronghold in the Dunvegan area but otherwise the only recent records are from a garden on Raasay and emerging from imported roadside soil near Loch Cill Chriosd.

The lochs didn’t seem to be particularly full but some of the trees were looking a little damp:

Pinus contorta var aquaticus (joke)

Salix aurita var aquaticus (likewise)

At home the next day this fine red-sided caterpillar was identified by Brian as the larva of the Knot Grass moth (Acronicta rumicis):

Knot Grass

Tags: Moths, Plants

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