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| *****SWAAG_ID***** | 606 |
| Date Entered | 09/09/2012 |
| Updated on | 10/09/2012 |
| Recorded by | Tim Laurie |
| Category | Flower / Plant Record |
| Record Type | Botanical HER |
| SWAAG Site Name | |
| Site Type | |
| Site Name | |
| Site Description | |
| Site Access | Public Access Land |
| Record Date | 09/09/2012 |
| Location | M19 Mires at Adjustment Bottom, West Moor and below Spanham West Hill |
| Civil Parish | Arkengarthdale |
| Brit. National Grid | |
| Altitude | Various |
| Geology | Upland raised peat mires. |
| Record Name | The Cranberry Mires of Arkengarthdale and Stainmore |
| Record Description | Marsh cranberry is scarce to abundant on the surface of M19 raised mires with heather, cross-leaved heath, round leaved sundew, cotton grass, deer grass, sphagnum moss, etc.
Cranberry fruit is today virtually non existent, even where the fine stems of cranberry are extremely abundant.
Whether this inability to set fruit is due to the absence of pollinating insects (?bees) or whether it is due to the previously widespread drainage gripping of all blanket peat bog during the 1970's or to increasing warm winters is debatable.
A very large programme of infilling the drainage grips has recently been completed in Arkengarthdale and will greatly reduce surface drainage through the peat to the advantage of the bog communities.
Cranberry occurs at many locations where blanket peat is wet and just two locations are illustrated here. |
| Dimensions | N/A |
| Geographical area | Stainmore |
| Species | Marsh Cranberry |
| Scientific Name | Vaccinium oxycoccos |
| Common / Notable Species | |
| Tree and / or Stem Girth | |
| Tree: Position / Form / Status | |
| Tree Site ID | 0 |
| Associated Site SWAAG ID | 0 |
| Additional Notes | During the 19th Century, cranberries were sold at markets 'by the cartload' (Sowerby, J. 'English Botany'. 1873) and G. Walker's print 'The Cranberry Girl'from his series on Yorkshire Dales Life which includes the well known 'Wensleydale Knitters' could have been set at one of the Mud Beck Mires in Arkengarthdale with views towards the Tan Hill Uplands.
The girl has collected a heap of cranberries in her apron for her basket and her companion is seen to be very busy picking and abundance of the fruit.
In each of the two bogs illustrated where cranberry stems and leaves are abundant, I recently managed to find just one berry.See photo. |
| Image 1 ID | 3295 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 1 Description | 'The Cranberry Girl' Print dated 1812 G.Walker. |  |
| Image 2 ID | 3296 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 2 Description | 'The Cranberry Girl' Print dated 1812 G.Walker. Detail. |  |
| Image 3 ID | 3297 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 3 Description | 'The Cranberry Girl' Print dated 1812 G.Walker. Detail. |  |
| Image 4 ID | 3298 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 4 Description | Scargill Moor. M19 Mire with deer grass (Trichophorum sp) in foreground and cranberry in wet places. Below Spanham West Hill. |  |
| Image 5 ID | 3299 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 5 Description | Arkengarthdale. West Moor. Adjustment Bottom Cranberry Mire. Moor drainage grip infilled. A job well done! |  |
| Image 6 ID | 3300 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 6 Description | Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) Sowerby 'English Botany' 1873. Plate DCLXVIII |  |
| Image 7 ID | 3301 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 7 Description | Surface of M19 Mire with heather or ling, cross leaved heath, crowberry, round leaved sundew, cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum),common cotton grass (E. langustifolium),sphagnum etc. |  |
| Image 8 ID | 3302 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 8 Description | Cranberry stems and leaves on sphagnum. |  |
| Image 9 ID | 3303 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 9 Description | Cranberry (the only berry seen) and cranberry stem |  |
| Image 10 ID | 3304 Click image to enlarge |
| Image 10 Description | Round leaved sundew. (Drosera rotundifolia). Sowerby 'English Botany' 1873. |  |
| Image 11 ID | 3309 |
| Image 11 Description | Arkengarthdale. West Moor. Mire at Adjustment Bottom. |  |
| Image 12 ID | 3310 |
| Image 12 Description | Arkengarthdale. West Moor. Mire at Adjustment Bottom. Surface. |  |
| Image 13 ID | 3311 |
| Image 13 Description | Deer grass. Trichophorum sp. |  |
| Image 14 ID | 3312 |
| Image 14 Description | Deer grass. Trichophorum sp. |  |
| Image 15 ID | 3313 |
| Image 15 Description | Caterpiller of Emperor Hawk Moth. |  |
| Image 16 ID | 3315 |
| Image 16 Description | Bog asphodel. |  |
| Image 17 ID | 3316 |
| Image 17 Description | Sphagnum with sundew. |  |
| Image 18 ID | 3317 |
| Image 18 Description | Sphagnum with massed cranberry stems. |  |
| Image 19 ID | 3318 |
| Image 19 Description | Sphagnum mound with sundew etc |  |
| Image 20 ID | 3319 |
| Image 20 Description | Sphagnum mound with sundew etc. Detail of surface. |  |
| Image 21 ID | 3320 |
| Image 21 Description | The main channelthrough the Mire. |  |
| Image 22 ID | 3321 |
| Image 22 Description | Marsh fern. Thelipteris thelipteroides. |  |
