Botanical Finds in Cornwall - Early July 2023

 

 July started with wet weather which we needed herein Cornwall after such a prolonged dry spell in May/June. In the first week, I went on a Cornwall Botanical Group field trip to Goss Moor, a SSSI in Mid Cornwall. Here are some of the highlights from it.

Sneezewort is relatively common in acidic damp areas, but it's hardly ever noticed until it flowers, you can't miss those. It's a relative of the very common Yarrow plant

Achillea ptarmica

There were some lovely colourful displays from the bog plants at this time of year. Below, the yellow flowers are Bog Asphodel and the pink ones Cross-leaved Heath

Narthecium ossifragum and Erica tetralix

The frilly patterned petals of Heath Spotted Orchids were plentiful.

Dactylorhiza maculata subsp ericetorum

Marsh Ragwort flowering, it's flowers about half as big again as Common Ragwort and the terminal lobe on the leaves is huge in comparison.

Jacobaea aquatica

Round-leaved Sundews grew abundantly on the wet sphagnum moss.

Drosera rotundifolia

Near where we stopped for lunch, we noticed some odd looking St. John's-wort plants. After noting the black streaks on the leaves, lack of transluscent dots and 4 angled stems it became apparent that it was Imperforate St. John's-wort. A sample was taken to ensure it wasn't the hybrid. This was a new species for me. It is probably extinct in Kent and only the hybrid with Perforate St John's-wort is still found there.

Hypericum maculatum subsp obtusiusculum 

Here's some of the group looking for species at Goss Moor.

We also found plenty of Pale Butterwort, a carnivorous plant. I managed to get a nice photo of one in flower, including its basal leaves which traps insects using a sticky glue like substance.

Pinguicula lusitanica

We saw plenty of insects too, but my personal favourite was this Scarlet Tiger Moth, named after the colour of its underwings. There were several roosting here waiting for the rain to stop.

Callimorpha dominula

A few days later, on a local walk, I came across some Small Toadflax, a species I'd not seen in Cornwall until now. It was growing in imported aggregate surrounding an electrical sub station by an arable field. This plant seems to have taken advantage of the lack of competition from more robust plants along the field edge and moved in here.

Chaenorhinum minus

Another Toadflax nearby was Spear-leaved Fluellen with its very tiny, but colourful flowers.

Kickxia elatine

A road verge near home had some Musk Mallow in its white flowered form, beautiful!

Malva moschata

A walk in the Clay Country, north of St. Austell usually brings the discovery of some smaller species that grow in the nutrient poor mining waste of the china clay areas. Below is Trailing St. John's-wort, a small, sprawling plant with small flowers.

Hypericum humifusum

Common Centaury was in flower showing off its pink petals offset with yellow anthers, though sometimes the flowers can be white too. You can tell this species apart from the other likely species, Slender Centaury, in that this plant has a rosette of leaves persisting at the base of the plant. Slender Centaury has no rosette of leaves.

Centaurium erythraea

A nice find on the china clay waste was Heath Pearlwort in flower.

Sagina subulata

So ended early July, at least the damper conditions will favour plants staying in flower longer, rather than burning off early in Summer heat. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the plants featured.

Dave