Blysmus compressus grows in only one place in Oxfordshire (V.C. 23), in Old Marston within the complex of meadows and floodplain grassland along the River Cherwell designated as the Almonds Farm and Burnt Mill Meadows Local Wildlife Site. The population of Blysmus is quite healthy, extending over about 30m of the bank and with thousands of inflorescences produced last summer. However, its future has been uncertain for several years with the cessation of grazing following the lapse of the previous tenancy and there has been no management for the last six years.
Not any more! This last weekend volunteers mowed the bank on which Blysmus grows in order to set back the coarse sedges and grasses beginning to overwhelm the smaller plants requiring shorter, finer vegetation, Blysmus included. Without this cutting Blysmus will eventually disappear under a thatch of coarse grasses and sedges, joining the list of Oxfordshire's extinct plants. Repeated again toward the end of summer and again in future seasons this management should result in a diverse sward of herbs and short sedges, just as it ought to look!
Many thanks to the volunteers who helped with this conservation intervention, to the owners Oxford City Council for their permission and assistance, and to the tenant farmer for his permission and sympathy for the cause of this threatened plant. Judy Webb who helped to organise the day has put some excellent photos and videos of scything in action on her website — except for the clothes and the kind of scythes used, the scene could be medieval.
Vegetation supporting Blysmus at Marston, dominated by grasses and with abundant Equisetum arvense and Potentilla anserina. According to results of the Threatened Plants Project the latter is a common associate of Blysmus compressus.
