Back in March, Peter Blake and I went to survey the indoor and tropical ferns at The Firs Environmental Research Station, part of Manchester University, on behalf of the British Pteridological Society. We were welcomed by site manager Oliver Hughes, who showed us around the indoor collection which is housed mainly in a series of glasshouses known as The Range.
The Firs site was originally owned by the English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist, Sir Joseph Whitworth (1803–87). Amongst many things Whitworth was known for setting the accepted standard for screw threads and the early development of the sniper rifle. Whitworth bequeathed much of his fortune to the people of Manchester, with the Whitworth Art Gallery and Christie Hospital being partly funded by
Whitworth's money. Whitworth Street and Whitworth Hall in Manchester are
also named in his honour. Upon his death Whitworth donated the The Firs site to Manchester University. The estate comprised a villa surrounded by extensive grounds, some of which were walled and cultivated as gardens. This villa is now known as Uttley House and forms part of the residential services for Manchester University at the Fallowfield Campus. Some of the land surrounding the villa was developed into sports grounds and about 1.5 acres, the former walled vegetable garden, became a place for botanical research at the University—known as The Firs.
Although there is no teaching classroom onsite at this time, in 2020 The Firs had a £2 million makeover with the creation of a new research facility. The facility is made up of fourteen climate controlled growing compartments which are able to produce a range of different environments from tropical to sub-arctic. Researchers are able to simulate different growing environments to replicate conditions from around the world and conditions as a result of climate change. As well as plant science, climate and atmospheric research is also being conducted on the grounds. Part of The Firs’ remit is to be a hub for wellbeing. Staff and students alike are encouraged to use the green space and plants as a way to destress and unwind.
Alongside the University’s research work, a team of volunteers help maintain the plant collections contained in The Range glasshouses, a moss house and various outdoor beds and borders. For many years Yvonne Golding, along with Roland Ennos, was instrumental in developing and maintaining the ferncollection at The Firs. So, Peter and I
were interested to see what remained of the collection curated by Yvonne. Back in 2013 Yvonne wrote about the moss house in the Pteridologist (5:6, pp. 429–
31). She successfully preserved the ferns whilst the building was restored after a storm destroyed the roof. At the same time Roland Ennos also secured a grant to add a watering system to help maintain the filmy fern collection. In 2008 Yvonne created a hardy fern bed alongside the moss house, with ferns bequeathed by BPS member Barbara Porter. Displaying around 30 hardy ferns, this bed is still there. Unfortunately, at the time of our visit spring had not sprung and most of the ferns were still in their winter dormancy. So, the hardy ferns did not form part of our survey. However, we can confidently say that Parablechnum chilense was clearly very happy and that a little work will be needed to prevent it from smothering the smaller ferns in the bed.
Peter and I set to work in The Range glasshouses: spotting, identifying and labelling the ferns. The Range is a series of lean-to glasshouses built onto the original walls that back onto Gunnery Lane. There are frequent references to Whitworth’s interest in armaments in the area, this plot was originally the site of the rifle range where Whitworth tested his rifles! The glasshouse is divided into five sections, each aiming to emulate a specific environmental biome: tropical, cloud forest, desert, Mediterranean and temperate. Each biome has benches on either side and then a central open bed for free planting. The original walls are also used for various climbing plants and some ferns have volunteered themselves into the mortar. There are a range of heating and automatic watering systems currently in use. The pots of ferns were interspersed with other plants. Many ferns had migrated throughout the biomes as volunteers.
Pteris vittata, Christella dentata, Deparia petersenii, Macrothelypteris torresiana and,
surprising for me at least, Psilotum nudum, whilst becoming a little invasive, were certainly helping to give a lush ambience to the biomes. In the case of Lygodium japonicum the original plant had long been lost but a few small volunteers had placed themselves close by in pots of orchids.
A full list of the ferns we saw is listed at the end of this article. It’s worth pointing out some features of the eclectic collection. It was nice to see a few aquatic ferns included. The tropical biome had a small pond and it showcased wonderfully Ceratopteris thalictroides in its floating form. There was a stunning, potted example of Platycerium hillii in the tropical biome and a Platycerium bifurcatum in the cloud forest—it was good to see the two species close to each other and be able to compare the frond shape.
There were several Selaginella species, hopefully correctly identified, some of which had been donated by Sean Barton. As a bit of a Blechnaceae fan I was pleased to see Stenochlaena palustris growing well in between a carpet of Nephrolepis cordifolia in the
middle bed in the Cloud Forest.
There was a magnificent lush bed of Macrothelypteris torresiana in the temperature biome. We also ventured into the Moss House. Unfortunately, the misting system had not been used properly when Oliver was away last summer, and the house got a little dry. The roof had also been replaced again recently. We found a fair amount of Vandenboschia speciosa growing very well and several huge Leptopteris hymenophyloides making the most of the space. Any Hymenophyllum had long since disappeared it seemed. The Asplenium scolopendrium, believed to be originally from Skibbereen, Co. Cork, still seemed to exist in a couple of places. Yvonne believes this could be the progeny from an accession from when the Moss House was originally stocked in the early twentieth century. There certainly seemed to be an enthusiasm to restock and restore the moss house to its former glory. The moss house is a fantastic asset to The Firs, there are very few facilities like this now in the UK.
It was great for the BPS to make this contact with The Firs. I’m hopeful that we can continue the legacy that Yvonne and others established. As like many glasshouse collection, modern pressures make maintaining them tricky. They all have similar problems, with a lack of staff and money and rising fuel bills. The new focus on climate research and that huge investment should mean that the site is secure for the foreseeable future. We hope we can work with Oliver and the volunteer team to help add focus to the fern collection and expand it in a botanically significant way. Considering the restricted resources, maybe longer term goals would be to house a national collect of a genus or theme the ferns in each biome to a particular geographic location. There are already plans to create an evolution themed bed outside, and curate more geographical collections in the outdoor beds. Such ‘themed’ collections I believe would help safeguard the future of the plant collections at The Firs.
MATTHEW REEVE
Matthew is an amateur pteridomaniac with a passion of tropical, tender and aquatic ferns. He works in theatre as a musical director and composer. He is Publicity and Communications Officer for the BPS and co-leads the Tropical and Indoor Fern Group with Peter Blake.
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