Sunday, 5 January 2025

New Species (for me) of Vascular Plants Found in Cornwall in 2024

 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





Wednesday, 1 January 2025

New Year Plant Hunts in Cornwall 2024/25

 The New Year Plant Hunt is organised by the BSBI and has now run for several years. Botanists and beginners from all the UK and Ireland, go out and about for 4 days (3 hours per trip allowed) over the new year period and log all plants they can find that are in flower - provided they are growing wild and are not planted or in gardens. Most of the plants I have featured can be found in most towns by anyone, there are few rarities flowering at this time of the year.

See https://bsbi.org/new-year-plant-hunt for more details. It's purpose is two fold. It gives some scientific data that, over time, may show trends for a warming or cooling climate and it gets people involved and interested in botany, especially those that had never tried it before. So, the following are plants from new year plant hunts in Cornwall from two organised field trips.

The first was at Mevagissey on the 29th December, organised by the Three Bays Wildlife Group. This is a sheltered coastal town in South Cornwall with a variety of habitats. The more habitats, the more likely you are to find more species flowering. I didn't photograph every single flower, but all in, we found 79 species of native or naturalised flowering plants here.

Betony - Betonica officinalis

Adria Bellflower - Campanula portenschlagiana
Red Valerian - Centranthus ruber
Sea Carrot - Daucus carota subsp gummifer
Mexican Fleabane - Erigeron karvinskianus

Common Whitlowgrass - Erophila verna
Mediterranean Spurge - Euphorbia characias
Wild Strawberry - Ficaria verna
Wood Avens - Geum urbanum
Atlantic Ivy - Hedera hibernica
Common Ragwort - Jacobaea vulgaris
Red Dead-Nettle - Lamium purpureum

Lesser Celandine - Ficaria verna
Jersey Cudweed - Laphangium luteoalbum
Ox-Eye Daisy - Leucanthemum vulgare
Small-flowered Buttercup - Ranunculus parviflorus
Field Madder - Sherardia arvensis
Red Campion - Silene dioica

Hedge Mustard - Sisymbrium officinale
Prickly Sow-Thistle - Sonchus asper
Hedge Woundwort - Stachys sylvatica
Dandelion - Taraxacum lampropyllum 
Verified by Alex Prendergast
Scentless Mayweed - Tripleurospermum inodorum
 Nasturtium - Tropaeolum majus (naturalised)
Navelwort - Umbilicus rupestris
Black Mullein - Verbascum nigrum
Germander Speedwell - Veronica chamaedrys
Thyme-leaved Speedwell - Veronica serpyllifolia
Hybrid Wild x Field Pansy - Viola x contempta 
(we also found Field Pansy nearby).
Garden Pansy in an arable field - Viola x wittrockiana
The steep walk up from the harbour towards Portmellon, we found Sea Campion in flower by these steps.

On the 31st December the Cornwall Botany Group led a hunt from Seaton to Downderry on the south east coast of Cornwall. Here's some of the species we found. I won't post photos of any already shown above though. We found a total of 66 flowering plants this time.
 


 Three-cornered Leek - Allium triquetrum
Snapdragon - Antirrhinum majus
Hybrid Elephant's Ears (naturalised on cliffs) - Bergenia x schmidtii (a first for VC2)
Trailing Bellflower - Campanula poscharskyana
Naturalised Hottentot Fig - Carpobrotus edulis
Wild Fennel - Foeniculum vulgare
Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum
Hebe c.v. naturalised widely on cliffs
Toothed Medick - Medicago polymorpha
Pink-headed Persicaria - Persicaria capitata (naturalised)
Sea Radish - Raphanus raphanistrum subsp maritimum
Rosemary (naturalised) - Rosmarinus officinalis
Bramble - Rubus fruticosus agg.
Sea Campion - Silene uniflora
Alexanders - Smyrnium olusatrum
Common Michaelmas Daisy (naturalised) - Symphotrychum x salignum
Sea Mayweed - Tripleurospermum maritimum
Gorse - Ulex europaeus
Sweet Violet - Viola odorata


 On both trips, we all had a great time and the weather was kind. A third trip planned for the 1st January 2025 at Hayle was cancelled due to forecast bad weather. Just as well, as it rained all day long, heavily!

I hope you enjoyed the selection: urban and coastal areas will always have more species flowering than inland rural areas, due to less frost/warmer climate and the influence of humans in providing additional habitats for smaller plants, such as car parks, wasteground, walls and such like.
 

 
Take care and happy new year.
Dave
 




New Species (for me) of Vascular Plants Found in Cornwall in 2024

 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...