Cornwall Botany - 1st-16th July 2025

 The first two weeks or so of July has seen the country suffer a heatwave with temperatures over 30 degrees and commonly in the high 20s for days on end. This gave rise to drought, with even Wood Docks wilting in the woods. The weather has only just given way to cooler temperatures with some drizzle. Hopefully, the surviving plants will get enough water to survive the next heatwave forecast later this month. Here's some of the plants I have seen in the first half of July. 

First off was a trip to Tregonetha Downs, West of Bodmin. I chose to record the under-recorded Eastern end which was very overgrown with Western and Common Gorse. At the end of it I had around 100 small punctures and cuts to my lower legs where the spines had gone straight through my jeans. Sometimes the scrub was waist high and was very hard going in the heat. After this, I thought it prudent to get a tetanus jab, as the last one I had was over 40 years ago!

 There were still  a few Heath Spotted Orchids in flower which was nice.

Dactylorhiza maculata subsp ericetorum 

 

 Bell Heather coming into full flower now - Erica cinerea

 

Cross-leaved Heath dominated much of the heathland.

Erica tetralix

 

In one of the few damp areas, Marsh Bedstraw was flowering. It looks very similar to Fen Bedstraw, but Marsh lacks mucros (bristle points) on all leaves, and the stems only feel rough in one direction not two.

Galium palustre

 

 Common Yellow Sedge was abundant in places. Its fruits are very similar to mini pineapples and all fruiting clumps are stalked.

Carex demissa 

 

A few Bog Asphodels were hanging on in a few damp areas not swamped with Gorse (yet).

Narthecium ossifragum 

 

Lesser Skullcap from the same damp area.

Scutellaria minor 

 

On the road verge by the heath were some Marsh Woundworts in dappled shade.

Stachys palustris 

 

The final plant of note was on dumped spoil by the roadside. There was easily over a ton of soil, so it was likely either placed there by a farmer or a tipper lorry dumped it here. It was reasonably vegetated, so it had been here a while. Growing by it was some Cornfield Knotgrass, one of the rarer species in this difficult group. The photos show the key characteristics of this plant. It also has an upright habit or may creep along the ground before rising upwards.

Polygonum rurivagum

 

A few days later I was recording a monad near Week St Mary.  After much searching, I found Broad-leaved Helleborines in a dark woodland, last recorded here in 1998.

Epipactis helleborine

  

Common Cow-Wheat was abundant in one part of the woodland here.

 

Melampyrum pratense subsp pratense

 

I usually find Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot in the Spring, so it was nice to find some flowering in a series of large puddles caused by cattle on a footpath.

Ranunculus hederaceus

 

In the same puddles, I noticed some thicker than usual Duckweeds, so I took a good look at them and found them to be Fat Duckweed. On returning home I discovered the species had been rejected for Cornwall, though I don't know why. As such, I sent the photos to the BSBI referee for Lemna and he confirmed this was indeed Fat Duckweed. Clearly it is present in Cornwall and some older records will now be reconsidered. Until they are, this find remains a first for Cornwall.

The undersides of the leaves often have inflated cells clearly distinguishing them from Common Duckweed which has lots of tiny cells. Both have just one rootlet attached.

 

Lemna gibba

 

 

On a side view you can clearly see the underside is enlarged and not flat.
 

I managed an hour at Par Sands for a walk and noted some nice species, including one new to the area. In recently cleared of scrub dunes, hundreds of Tall Rocket were flowering. They have very long curled seed pods and they looked rather like Eastern Rocket with which I am familiar. However, the stem leaves  were finely divided (pinnate) which was wrong for that species. A first for me too with this species.

 

Sisymbrium altissimum

 

 The rosette leaves were different too, being narrower than Eastern Rocket.

 

 

There are three previous records for Opium Poppy here, two from the early 1900s and one from 2021, however, the one I found this day appeared to be a garden variety, likely the variety called "Pink Chiffon" which is a double flowered form, so another first for the dunes.

 

Papaver somniferum "Pink Chiffon"
 

Wild Parsnip does well here. It's the only yellow flowered umbellifer with large pinnate leaves, making ID easy. However, there are three subspecies to consider too. The wild one (below) has strongly angled stems with hairy leaves and stem and no swelling at the base of the stem. A lookalike, the Garden Parsnip (subsp sativa), has a swollen base and is almost glabrous (hairless). The third species is continental (subsp urens) and has recently colonised the M20 in Kent, probably from lorry movements, that one has round stems.

 

Pastinaca sativa subsp sylvestris 

 

 

Several hundred Haresfoot Clovers were mostly in seed on the eastern part of the dunes. I don't know why they haven't spread to the western areas though.

 

Trifolium arvense
 

 

Sea Knotgrass is our only perennial knotgrass, and it lays buried in the sand until Summer when it comes up to flower. The first few spikes were coming up out of the sand. Note the heavily curled over leaves and clumped flowers separating it from Ray's Knotgrass.

 

Polygonum maritimum
 

 

Sea Daffodils were discovered growing here a few years ago and there was much debate as to how they arrived. It seems likely now that someone discarded seed here some years back after a trip to the Mediterranean area. There is an older colony at Marazion where they may have arrived naturally from Brittany, no-one really knows for sure. I was about a week too early for the first flower which was still in bud.

Pancraticum maritimum
 

A few days later I took a walk around the Kerdroya labyrinth on the Bodmin Moor. I visited here in the Spring and found many new species to the area, no doubt introduced when the labyrinth was built. It is comprised of many sections of Cornish hedge which are earth filled walls, using stone from all around the county, including Serpentine rock from The Lizard area, so anything could turn up here.

 

The first new plant was Purple Bugloss, previously recorded near Sennen Cove in the West of the county. However, this appeared to the blue flowered form, which is commonly found as garden escapes or in wildflower mixes ( source: http://webidguides.com ). There were no other alien species in that section, so it's a bit of a mystery where it came from.

 

Echium plantagineum "Blue Bedder"

 

 

The flesh coloured flower form of Scarlet Pimpernel, common on The Lizard, but a first here for Bodmin Moor I suspect.

 

Lysimachia arvensis forma carnea
 

 

A normal coloured Scarlet Pimpernel growing with Trailing St. John's-wort

 

Hypericum humifusum

 

 I noticed a tiny white flower on one of the Cornish hedges and found it to be a drought stricken Thyme-leaved Sandwort. If it has needle like leaves consider Slender Sandwort (Arenaria leptoclados) which also has cylinder like pods rather than the flask like ones in Thyme-leaved.

 

Arenaria serpyllifolia 

 

 On another wall was a small colony of Alsike Clover. It differs from red and white clover in having unmarked leaves with many branched veins; the stipules taper into a long point; there are no leaflets directly under the flower and the colouring is typical as shown in the photo below.

 

Trifolium hybridum

 

 I rounded off the first half of July with a visit to a part of Cornwall, West of the Tamar, that is in botanical Devon (VC4), to a small village called North Petherwin. A variety of habitats enabled me to record almost 190 species of plants here. The area had only been recorded three times in the 21st Century, so it was good to update and find new records there. One of the best places in the monad for species was the old Otter Sanctuary, now the Willowtree Cafe. Parking is free and after a nice lunch in the friendly cafe, you can walk the woodland and ponds that used to be the otter reserve.

 

In the car park, I found 5 spikes of Broad-leaved Helleborines, but surprisingly, I found a further 18 bigger spikes near the ponds in the grounds. They are always lovely to see in this part of the country as they are nowhere near as common as they are in other parts of the UK.

 

Epipactis helleborine

 

 

The most commonly seen pollinator of Helleborines is the Common Wasp, and one alighted onto the flowers while I was trying to photograph it.

 

 

Another rare plant for Cornwall was the Wood-club-rush. There were several hundred flowering spikes in one of the ponds. 

 

Scirpus sylvaticus

 

 Their stems are thick and strongly triangular.

 

  

 Forget-me-nots that grow in water can be tricky to identify, though only two (Creeping and Tufted) have small pale blue flowers, the other, Water Forget-me-not has larger, deep blue flowers. I've added text to show you what you need to look at to separate Creeping and Tufted Forget-me-nots, so always look under the flowers at the sepals; the hairs at the top of the stem and at base of the stem where they may be different (as here). I usually find Creeping Forget-me-not in acidic bogs, but it was quite at home around the disused otter pools and ditches. It also has stolons, though these aren't visible unless you uproot a plant. Species like Hard Fern were also present, indicating some acidity to the soils here too.

 

Myosotis secunda 

 

 The ponds also had a large population of Curly Waterweed, a species that doesn't look much like anything else, so easily remembered. It's green in early Summer, turning brown as they age. It's quite common in the Bude area too.

 

Potamogeton crispus 

 

 Common Hemp-Nettle on a woodland ride.

 

Galeopsis tetrahit 

 

 

 That rounds off the first half of July, I hope you liked the selection of plants from Cornwall. With the cooler, wetter weather of late, I am hopeful that the Summer plants will perk up for the second half of the month. Until next time.

Dave 

 

 

Adventures in Devon - Berry Head and Braunton Burrows - June 2025

 A few days after returning to Cornwall from Kent, I ventured back East to South Devon to visit Berry Head. Whilst in Kent, I had missed the Devon Botany field trip there, so I hoped to find at least some of the rarities found on this limestone outcrop on my own.

  The first plant of note was White Rock-rose and it was quite easy to find as it was abundant wherever there were boulders and short turf. However, the majority of plants were clearly in seed (see 3rd photo below) and I had to hunt around a bit to find some flowering. It's a beautiful flower and large enough to easily find.

Helianthemum apenninum 

Small Restharrow is another Berry Head rarity. Its flowers looks the same as Common Restharrow, however, it is an annual plant and is very small as a result. To differentiate from Common and Spiny Restharrow, look at the leaves. They are widest near the tip in Small Restharrow and widest in the middle in the other two species. Add in their tiny stature and that they lack a creeping habit, and they become easier to spot. They were widespread over the headland, sometimes growing with Common Restharrow too. I'm surprised they do not hybridise, but perhaps one being an annual means they are not genetically compatible.

Ononis reclinata

 

I was very surprised to find Autumn Squill flowering in large numbers on the cliff slopes (and one in the cafe lawn!). They're a good 2-3 weeks early, in fact, so early that I could still find Spring Squill in seed nearby.

Scilla autumnalis 

Honewort is another rare plant found here. Unfortunately, they had all burnt off in the heat and drought of the past week and I could only find a single plant in seed with withered leaves. In this area were records of Small Hare's-ear too, but I couldn't find any, despite extensive searching.

Trinia glauca 

Narrow-leaved Everlasting Pea is a native species, usually coastal and with dull pink flowers. As the name suggests the leaves are narrow and around six times longer than wide. That is nicely illustrated in the photo below.

 

Lathyrus sylvestris 

Lesser Meadow-rue is a species that I had seen a few times along the lanes in Cornwall, but always as a garden escape. At Berry Head, it was plentiful as a native plant in slightly scrubby areas away from the clifftops. It's a spindly, thin plant, so rather difficult to get a photo of the whole plant, as the stems merge into background vegetation and appear invisible. The flowers lack petals, but the delicate pink stems and bright yellow anthers make up for that.

 

Thalictrum minus 

 

 

 

A patch of Rough Clover near the cafe. These were very small, no doubt drought stricken plants.

Trifolium scabrum

 

The end of my walk took me down into the quarry area of Berry Head where I found two plants of Pale St. John's-wort, unfortunately still in bud, but clearly different to the other Hypericums present.

 

Hypericum montanum

 

 Finally, in a short grassy clearing in the quarry were around 50 Southern Marsh Orchids in prime condition. Pyramidal Orchids were plentiful over much of the headland too.

 

Dactylorhiza praetermissa

 

A few days later, I went to Braunton Burrows in North Devon, where I was kindly guided by the VCR for North Devon, Bob Kirby. One of the key species I had hoped to see was Water Germander, but it was only flowering in the northern area of the venue and we had chosen the south. We looked hard, in known places, but couldn't find any in flower. So finding it will be a good reason to go back next year for another visit.

 

However we did find many wonderful plants, including some new species for me. Here's some of them.

 

Close to the car park growing on the edge of a sandy path was a lot of White Horehound, a rare and declining species.

 

Marrubium vulgare

 

 Nearby, on the beach was Sea Stock, a new species for me, and also quite rare.

 

Matthiola sinuata

 

A few Frosted Orache were nearby, with one in full "flower", though they lack any petals.

 

Atriplex laciniata

 

 Soapwort on the beach.

 

Saponaria officinalis

 

 The last plant from the beach area was Prickly Saltwort. A spiny annual plant with tiny flowers that lack petals.

 

Salsola kali

 

  

We then headed into the vegetated dunes and it wasn't long before we came across drifts of Sand Toadflax. It was first recorded here in 1971, but it's not a native plant. The military often do training here and perhaps the seeds of this plant came in on military equipment or boots. It was an interesting plant though with toadflax like blooms atop a slender stem; the plants sometimes in tight clumps, sometimes singly.

 

Linaria arenaria

 

 

We then found Sticky Storksbill and took some time to determine that it was indeed that and not just a sand covered Common Storksbill. Sticky, as its name suggests has glands that sand sticks to which doesn't blow away if you blow on the plants leaves; in the seeds there is a basal pit with lines of flat hairs laying horizontally along the edge of the pit and finally, there is no groove outside of these hairs. All these things together show this to be Sticky Storksbill. You have to pull back the sepals to see these details. I've probably seen this before and failed to recognise it as I didn't know for sure what to look for; so many thanks to Bob for showing me.

 

Erodium lebelii

 

 

Marsh Helleborines were plentiful here, as were Southern Marsh Orchids. It was great to see so many given that it's a rare and declining species over much of the UK.

 

Epipactis palustris 

 

It's unusual for this species to have well developed stem leaves on show. At most venues, the plants are small and the leaves wither quickly, so it was nice to see some giant specimens with plenty of leaves too.

 

 Dotted around the dunes were lots of small sedges with tiny pineapple like fruits. A new species for me, Small-fruited Yellow Sedge. Unlike the floppy leaves of Common Yellow Sedge, these had stiff, short leaves form a central rosette.

 

Carex viridula

 

Another small plant on the dunes was Knotted Pearlwort which was plentiful in places. So called, as from a distance, the leaves look like knots up the stem.

 

Sagina nodosa

 

 

 Often seen was another new species, Round-headed Club-rush, a peculiar looking rush with round fruits poking out of a central stem.

 

Scirpoides holoschoenus 

 

 

 Near one dune slack I found some Sea Milkwort in flower which was an odd find given that at that point we were over 1km from the sea. It shows that the dunes still hold some salinity.

 

Lysimachia maritima

 

  

In one of the damper areas were some Skullcap plants with their intense blue flowers. I haven't seen this plant for quite a few years, so it was good to see it again.

 

Scutellaria galericulata 

 

 

Nearby was Pink Water Speedwell.

 

Veronica catenata 

 

 The loveliest sight there had to be literally hundreds of Dune Pansies growing over a large dune slope. Beautiful delicate little yellow and white flowers, interspersed with other species was a delight to see. I'd only seen these before at Newborough Warren in Anglesey, several years ago, so it was a pleasant surprise to see so many in one place this day.

 

Viola tricolor subsp curtsii

 

Of course, I saw many other species there too; it's a special place for sure, as is Berry Head in the south. I will return next year to find the species that eluded me this time and hopefully other surprises too.

 Every county has a special venue or two for wildflowers, seek them out and take a visit, you won't be disappointed.

 

Take care

Dave