Three Chara specimens collected on Eigg last June have now been determined as Chara virgata (Delicate Stonewort), the one from Loch na Beinne Buidhe being the var. annulata. C. virgata is the commonest charophyte on Raasay and Rona and probably throughout the rest of the vice-county, though Nitella flexilis/opaca (Smooth Stonewort is probably under-recorded.
That just leaves Utricularia (Bladderwort) specimens awaiting expert determination. They were probably all U. minor.
During this week’s visit to Eigg at the top of a sandy beach we found nettles with strange things like this:
- Nettle Gall Image from Roger Cottis
At first we thought they were slugs that had died of a fungal infection but they turn out to be nettle galls caused by a rust fungus Puccinia urticata. Thanks to Carl Farmer for the i.d.
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