Another year has passed us by and with the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt just concluded, now is the time to detail the new species I've seen in Cornwall this past year. I would have thought that the list would be quite small after 3 years in the county, but there are still over 30 new species seen and recorded.
Fragrant Agrimony is a species that had eluded me until this year. Its distribution is widespread, but isn't common in many places. It turned up on a Cornwall Botany Group field trip. The leaves are bigger and deeply cut, with glands on them giving off a faint scent; the seed cases have quite indistinct grooves down the lower half, whereas the more common Agrimony has deep striations down it.
Agrimonia procera
I've seen thousands of Wood Anemones over the years and all were white, bar a few that had pink tepals. So it was a surprise to me to find out that there is a named blue native variety too. Here it is from a mid Cornwall heath.
Anemone nemorosa var caerulea
Lesser Marshwort isn't stricly a new species as I found just the leaves last year, but this year I found it in flower for the first time, in a pool on The Lizard heathlands.
Apium inundatum
The next plant I'd also seen the year before, but again with no flowers, but I found a few flowers this year. It's the Heart Ice Plant from Pendennis Point where it's been naturalised since the early 1990s
Aptenia cordifolia
Distant Sedge from a beach on the Camel estuary. Often found with Carex extensa, these are the two commonest Carex species found on beaches here.
Carex distans
Tawny Sedge from Greena Moor culm grassland.
Carex hostiana
A small plant and flower that I found in a tarmac car park at the Jamaica Inn, Bolventor. It's called Bacopa and either self seeded from hanging baskets that were no longer evident, or escaped from a nearby garden.
Chaenostoma cordatum
The tall, imposing spikes of Great Fen Sedge, another plant I'd not heard of before. There was a large population around a stream at Kynance Cove.
Cladium mariscus
A real surprise was finding Orange Peel Clematis at Harbour Cove dunes, which has predominantly a native flora. It was recorded here some years before, so it has persisted. This alien species was growing with its cousin, Traveller's Joy.
Clematis tangutica
The hybrid between Field and Water Horsetail seems to be fairly common in mid Cornwall and I found it by a roadside stream. It's more branched than Water Horsetail and Field Horsetail doesn't usually grow in permanent water. The final way to tell if you're looking at a hybrid is to cut a stalk in cross section and examine the thickness of the fleshy part and size of the hollow part within, hence my second photo below. Water Horsetail has very thin walls and you can squash it easily in your fingers. Field Horsetail has a much smaller diameter hole with smaller holes in the fleshy part around the stem. If you get into things like this, there are great drawings in books like Stace that show these better than I can.
Equisetum x litorale
Next is another hybrid plant, the cross between Cross-leaved and Cornish Heath. I was shown it by my VCR on a field trip along with many rare plants, but my SD card corrupted and I lost all my photos for the day. Three weeks later, I returned and tried to find these species again, and fortunately I remembered how to tell the hybrid from the parents when not in flower. The growing tips are bright green, and neither parent has that feature. It seems the lower leaves of the hybrid resemble
E. tetralix and the upper ones
E. vagans.
I was recording the coastal turf near Daymer Bay, counting spikes of Autumn Ladies Tresses when I came across this huge Gladioli plant. Clearly an alien species but where did it come from? It's not a location likely to have fly tipping and no gardens were anywhere nearby. As such, the record is annotated with "origin unknown". It might have been planted to commemorate a pet that passed on in its favourite place perhaps?
Gladiolus x hortulanus Large-flowered Gladiolus
On another field trip, this time to Porthoustock in the SW of the county, we found lots of Ray's Knotgrass on the beach. It's commoner than Sea Knotgrass, though until now, I'd seen plenty of Sea Knotgrass, but none of Ray's. I later found lots more Ray's Knotgrass at Par Beach too.
Polygonum oxyspermum subsp raii
A December find was Creeping Saxifrage that had spread from a corner of a churchyard at St. Just-in-Roseland to a large wasteground area nearby. The composite photo below show the leaves and the small flower too.
Saxifraga stolonifera
Found by my VCR growing by a litter bin by the Camel Trail in Wadebridge was Nettle-leaved Figwort, another non native plant getting a foothold in Cornwall it seems. The flattened centimetre either side of the leaf stalk and the glossy leaves easily seperate it from Common Figwort.
Scrophularia peregrina
The beautiful habitat photo of it!
Here's a comparison of the two Figworts, note also the pointed sepals on S. peregrina
In Cornwall we have a Cornwall Botany Group WhatsApp page where we can inform others in the group of our finds, ask for an ID or ask any botany relevant question. It helps us keep in touch and aware of what's going on in the county plant wise. If you haven't got one, why not start one up?
Cornish Moneywort had eluded me until this year even though I had searched for it in previously known areas. I don't know why I couldn't find it before, however, the leaves are very small as you can see by the ruler next to one. From a distance, they can look like a big clump of lichens.
Sibthorpia europaea
Another field trip, not far from St. Michael's Mount, led to the discovery of Green Nightshade, a first for mainland Cornwall, though there are 22 records from the Isles of Scilly going back to 1989. Black Nightshade was growing with it, and side by side you could see the different leaves and flowers more easily. Green Nightshade has very hairy, almost grey leaves and the flowers have 4 dark coloured crescent moons with yellow bordering in the centre, Black Nightshade simply has white outer petals and yellow centre with an occasional darker blotching in the centre. As an aside, we also came across lots of Night-flowering Catchfly in this field too.
Solanum nitibaccatum
Taraxacum hamatum growing on a wall by a stream in mid Cornwall last Spring. Verified by the BSBI Taraxacum referee. I was only drawn to this plant because it was growing among moss and nothing else, so each part of the plant was easily visible.
Intermediate Periwinkle was a new one for me, though I had passed it many times in Wadebridge and not realised it. It is very similar to Greater Periwinkle, but the flowers are usually white or off white and the leaves look like Greater Periwinkle, but lack the line of hairs along the edges that the latter species has. Make sure you examine young leaves though for the hairs, as they can wear off as the leaf ages.
Vinca difformis
I've been quite into coastal Oraches in the last few years, but they make lousy photos! This is the hybrid between Long-stalked and Spear-leaved Oraches. There are a number of features to look at to determine these, but stalked, small bracteoles are a giveaway, along with the bracteoles themselves. Definitely not something for the beginner to get involved with. This was unusual in that I found it in February, growing by the tidal River Tamar at Saltash. They're normally all gone over by November. Verified by the BSBI Atriplex referee. If the plant is more procumbent with glossy, fleshy leaves and some stalked bracteoles, consider the hybrid between A. longipes x A. glabriuscula = A. x taschereauii.
Atriplex x gustafssoniana
This Elephant Ears plant was featured in my last blog as it was found on the BSBI's New Year Plant Hunt at Seaton. It was growing wild on a cliff, "origin unknown" again. I'd seen plenty of Elephant Ears having escaped gardens onto pavements and rural road verges, but this was the first I'd seen in a wild situation. Furthermore, I had recently read in Stace that there are three types, so I took the time to key this one out. It turned out to be a hybrid Elephant's Ear plant, new to VC2.
Bergenia x schmidtii
This next species doesn't really count for recording purposes as I found it as a weed in a garden centre plant for sale. However, it's worth recording with associated notes, as it shows how alien species get into the UK and then later escape from gardens into the wild. This is Asian Bittercress, a new arrival to our shores. It's already seeding before the plant it's with had been sold. I'd just read an article about it in the BSBI magazine, then saw this specimen, which the referee kindly confirmed was the real deal.
Cardamine occulta
With sedges, I try and familiarise myself with a few new ones each year and Pill Sedge was one of them this year. Found on a field trip, so accurately identified for me, which is nice as it saves a lot of time going through a Carex key to ascertain which one it is. I can't quite see the resemblance to a pill, but there you go!
Carex pilulifera
This Carthusian Pink turned up on a road verge near St. Austell along with Small Scabious, neither of which are native to Cornwall. It was clear that they were relicts of a wildflower sowing when the road was built around 20 years ago or more.
Dianthus carthusianorum
I normally don't record "pine"like saplings as they are usually on plantations where the whole lot would be cleared/felled in due course, and they take a while to work out to species level. However, I found several saplings of Monterey Cypress trees in wasteground at Pityme in December, all doing well and they could easily survive into mature trees here. Planted parents, unplanted saplings.
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa
Pygmy Rush is a Lizard speciality species that I had missed seeing in previous years. I was either too early or too late or they were flooded or droughted, but last year, I got a tip off from my VCR and found several hundred on one of the Lizard heaths in mint condition. Quite a distinctive little rush.
Juncus pygmaeus
Amother Lizard speciality plant species was Juniper. I had seen dwarf trees on chalk cliffs in Kent, but this was a different subspecies and formed sprawling prostrate mats. Near Kynance Cove.
Juniper communis subsp hemisphaerica
When you find duckweed, it's easy to say they're just Common Duckweed, but often there are other species hiding amongst them, like this non native Least Duckweed. It's a rubbish photo, but as the name suggests, they are minute.
Lemna minuta
A Plume Poppy growing as a pavement plant on a Wadebridge street. Previously recorded by my VCR in the same location, so it's survived council weeding and herbicides (as they are prone to do in Wadebridge). I never did get to go back and see any flowers.
Macleaya cordata x microcarpa = M. x kewensis
On the whole, Polypodium ferns can be determined morphologically in Cornwall as the predominant species are only Intermediate and Common Polypodies. However, in a few areas, you can find Southern Polypody. Given that Intermediate is a naturally occuring hybrid between Common and Southern, variation just by morphology becomes untenable to firmly identify it. As such, the microscope comes out to count basal cells and annulus rings in the sporangia, as per the notes in the photo. The microscope photos are me simply holding my iphone over the eyepiece of the microscope - tricky but doable. I found this one on a mortared wall by the Rivers Camel and Polmorla Stream in Wadebridge.
Polypodium cambricum
I found an alien bramble spreading far and wide by the Victoria industrial estate near Roche last January. It had been planted in amenity areas, but had spread a long way from it. The leaves and prickly red stems are quite distinctive. I've seen it in retail parks too, so it's only a matter of time before it gets into wilder areas, given that birds will eat the berries and spread the seeds about.
I was surprised to find an anthocyanin deficient Balm-leaved Figwort on a local walk in Wadebridge. I didn't know they existed, but they are named so a recognised variant (much like anthocyanin deficient Bee/Fly/Spider orchids). A first for me. There are only 13 previous records for this in VC2 (none in VC1), dating back to 1917.
Scrophularia scorodonia var viridiflora
Found on the Mevagissey New Year Plant Hunt on 29th December was a proliferous patch of Nasturtiums, given it was growing on a bare bank in a semi urban area, it probably originated from fly tipped material.
Tropaeolum majus
My final species was actually found in October 2023, but I had mis-identified it as a tall Black Nightshade. After reading an article on Tall Nightshade in Kent Botany (BSBI.org/Kent), I realised that I had found it in Portwrinkle. So I dug out my photos and noted all the identifying features and the West Kent VCR kindly confirmed that it was indeed Tall Nightshade I had found. This was a great find, with only 2 previous records for Cornwall, both in the 1920s. I suspect it is more common, but mistakenly identified as Black Nightshade (like I did), even though a closer examination would show it clearly isn't.
Solanum chenopodioides
Thank you for reading this far, it's been quite a long list and I was tempted to split the blog into two parts, then decided not to. It's Winter, cold and wet, so reading about plants is good for the soul!
I'm now also on Bluesly (bsky.app) as @sylvatica2024
Best wishes,
Dave
