THIS winter, a Newcastle-based charity is generating interest in often overlooked aspects of the plant kingdom.

The immediate beauty of wild flowers means they naturally inspire people.

But their lesser known counterparts such as ferns, mosses and lichens are just as beautiful if you look at them closely.

They are often difficult to identify, but with the help of a hand lens, a good field guide, and the Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN), they can be recognised by everyone.

The society is focusing its attention on these neglected species, with a new adult education course, talks and field meetings.

A course introducing lower plants has just been held, led by NHSN lecturer and lichenologist Dr Janet Simkin.

Dr Simkin said: “The society has an unrivalled knowledge of local flora, and our aim is to share our knowledge. We thought a beginners’ course would be a great way to interest people in lower plants, and best use our resources.”

The course was so well received and subscribed that Dr Simkin agreed to run two classes to cope with the demand.

On a visit to the society’s nature reserve at Gosforth Park, the class observed at first hand the effects of air pollution on fern, moss and lichen numbers.

Although ferns and mosses were plentiful, lichen numbers declined in areas closer to the main road, and increased further into the reserve.

Lichens are a fascinating combination of fungi and algae working together. The subject of effects of traffic on lichen distribution is also being studied by the OPAL air quality survey, and Dr Simkin and Katy Barnard will be giving a talk about it to the society on Friday evening. The free talk is open to the public.

The society’s midweek botany group of flora enthusiasts who meet up on Wednesdays to explore the region, has also been to Gosforth Park reserve recently.

Members found several interesting species, including an unusual sedge, previously unrecorded in the area.

In February, NHSN’s botanical course will continue.

Dr Simkin said: “Winter is a good time to study lower plants. They thrive in cold wet weather, unlike the people who study them! They are easier to see when the leaves are off the trees, so the course starting in February will be ideal for identification and photography. New enrolments are more than welcome.”

Ferns, horsetails, mosses and liverworts are all plants. They do not have flowers but reproduce by spores, and so are thought to be less highly evolved than flowering plants. They are often confined to damp, shady places, but are an important part of the ecosystem.

Moss spores are produced from the capsule, which is raised into the air on a thin wiry stalk called the seta. The colour of this seta and the shape of the capsule are used in identifying the moss.

Lichens are a combination of a fungus and a green or blue-green algae, working together in a close association from which both partners benefit. This is called symbiosis, and it allows the lichen to grow in sunny, exposed places where neither partner could survive alone.

A 10-week course on lichens and bryophytes will start on February 1, running on Mondays and based at the Great North Museum: Hancock with field trips into rural Northumberland.

:: Indoor meetings are held at the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle in the society’s Council Room. To support the NHSN, you can become a member and receive updates on courses, talks and outings. Enrolment forms for all natural history courses are available from our website at www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk , or call (0191) 232-6386.