Wiltshire Botanical Society
Welcome
Welcome to the Wiltshire Botanical Society. Our roots began in the 1980's when volunteers made a thorough and detailed survey of Wiltshire's flora, culminating in the publication of the Flora of Wiltshire in 1993. Instead of disbanding, the members joined together to form the Wiltshire Botanical Society. The society's aims are to:
- Foster botanical knowledge and to encourage interest in our local flora
- Increase members' knowledge and skills
- Publicise threats to habitats and populations of wild plants
- Undertake field meetings
- Contribute botanical records to local and national recording schemes
Plant of the Month
April
Great Horsetail Equisetum telmateia
Spring is the time when the beautiful fertile stems of this, our largest native horsetail, push their way up into the light. Their cones mature in April. Look for it in wet, clayey ground. It is especially fond of spring-lines at the junction of the chalk/oolite and underlying heavy clay where lime-rich water emerges and is quite shade tolerant.
Later in the year the sterile stems can grow to a metre tall and are immediately recognisable by their brittle, nearly smooth near-white appearance. They are also significantly wider than any of our other Equisetum species.
Join Us!
We are a very friendly society and welcome new members, whatever their age, background or level of botanical knowledge. Annual membership costs £15 (single) and £20 for couples. To join, please email Martin Buckland.
Not sure if it's for you? Potential new members are very welcome to join us free of charge for a few field meetings before committing to membership.
Website Contributions
We always welcome news and contributions for our website. Please send them to the Webmaster, Sharon Pilkington.
