Through the ice

I took a little walk along the northern end of leg 1 today. It was about 1° in the sun and zero in the shade. This part of the walk is under Ash trees and has an excellent wet area in a rutted entrance to a field.

Given the long spell of cold weather I was quite surprised to find so many plants showing new growth.

First, Brooklime - one of the Speedwells:

Note the fallen piece of the lichen Ramalina fastigiata floating on the Ash seed.

Next, a few specimens of Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot were actually encased in ice:

Watercress was also making an appearance:

The back of the stream was covered in plants of all kinds. This shot has Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage (centre), Lesser Celandine (top), Cow Parsley (left), and Hard Fern (left).

The back of the stream is also home to a wide range of liverworts. The central specimen is the thallose liverwort Conocephalum conicum on a background of a much smaller liverwort that I haven't had time to identify yet. Conocephalum group about 15 cm. across.

And here's a close-up of the thallus: