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Wildlife Around and About East Lothian

Driving home the other afternoon I passed a roadside verge near East Linton that was an absolute riot of wildflowers. There were ox-eye daisies, vetches, trefoils, viper’s bugloss – all shapes, sizes and colours. It made me stop and think, “What better time of year to write an article about grasses?” These humble plants are often overlooked in the countryside, despite the fact that

they’re an important part of virtually every habitat on earth. Grasses provide food and shelter for a range of invertebrates, including beetles, grasshoppers and butterflies such as speckled wood and small skipper.

One of our commonest and easily spotted species is cock’s-foot. It’s a tall, robust grass which can grow to well over a metre in height. Its name is derived from the arrangement of the flowering heads, which grow in groups of three or more tight clusters. These are said to resemble a bird’s foot, although the resemblance isn’t that obvious to be honest. Cock’s-foot, perhaps unsurprisingly, forms the main food plant of the cocksfoot moth larvae. These are tiny caterpillars which feed on the grass seeds and then pupate within the stems. The adult moths are also small and easily overlooked, although they can be

found feeding in great numbers on flowers such as buttercups.If cock’s-foot is a bit too chunky for your tastes, there are more

delicate and aesthetically pleasing grasses out there. Quaking grass can be found throughout the county, particularly in coastal grasslands and in the Lammermuirs. The flower heads are found on the end of long, drooping stems and even a light breeze will cause them to quake. This gives rise to not only the grasses official name, but also several local variations such as totter or toddling grass. A close view of the heads will reveal them to be attractively striped in green and reddish-purple – this, combined with their dangling form gives them the appearance of tiny hops (sort of).

If you’re still not convinced about grasses, then consider marram grass. This is a stout coastal species which plays a massive role in stabilising sand dune systems and preventing erosion. Or how about the fact that grasses are fine examples of evolutionary adaptation? Most plants have their meristems (i.e. the bits that do most of the growing) located towards their tips of the stems. Grasses however, have meristems located at nodes near the base of the plant. This makes them able to continue growing despite being grazed (or mown) and, in part, explains their widespread success. Finally, let’s not forget that wheat, barley, rice and corn are all basically cultivated forms of wild grasses. So, arguably grasses provided the springboard for the whole of modern human civilisation. Or at the very least they form the basis of pizza, and let’s be honest, isn’t a good pizza the crowning glory of human achievement?

COUNTRYSIDE NEWS JULY 2016

Cock’s-foot

Quaking grass