This is a continuation of the last blog which covered my botanical finds for the first half of May. The drought continued until the 21st May when we finally had some rain. However, I did notice that in the mornings, my car was covered in dew, so I would suggest that is how the small annual species survive extended dry periods, sucking up that early morning dew.
On the 16th May I took a trip to Pendennis Castle in Falmouth to see if I could find any Spring Vetch. It's the only place in mainland Cornwall to see it. It's been recorded in the castle grounds from around 1850, so it was likely brought in by accident by the military equipment of the day. If it was a native species, I would expect to find it at other sites in the county with suitable habitat. The photos that follow are from this visit to the Pendennis area.
In a rabbit fenced area where someone had planted some trees. I found several clumps of Piri Piri-bur, an invasive plant from New Zealand. I would surmise it was accidentally introduced by whoever planted the trees there. I would expect it to spread rapidly in the coming years.
Acaena novae-zelandiae
The leaves.
In the castle car park and the castle forecourt were lots of Mossy Stonecrop, easily seen as they are now turning bright red. Even so, they are very small plants, most only 1-2cm long.
Crassula tillaea
Other interesting plants in such habitat included a second generation of Common Whitlowgrass in flower (Erophila verna) and Henbit Dead-Nettles (Lamium hybridum), not in flower. It's always worth checking such cobbled or stony places as rare plants often do well there as they have less competition from bigger plants. A short way away from the castle car park is a leisure centre, now disused. However, its lawns are still kept short and I found a large colony of Toothed Medick along the edge of a path in this very short grass. Note the toothed leaf tips and you can just see the spikey (laciniate) stipule under the leaves too. Nearby were also Birdsfoot and Subterranean Clovers.
Medicago polymorpha
Lots of it!
Still at the disused leisure centre, and in a patch of grassland at its rear I found hundreds of Hairy Buttercups; I've not seen that many in one area before. These can be confused with Bulbous Buttercups as they both have hairy stems and leaves and both have fully reflexed sepals. However, Hairy Buttercups are annuals and so do not grow very large; they do not have a bulb at the base of the leaves and stems; the leaves of Bulbous are more dissected than Hairy too, though both are variable. If you find a small buttercup flowering with reflexed sepals at this time of year, it is likely to be Hairy. Bulbous, being a perennial, grows much bigger and often flowers from late Winter onwards if the weather is amenable.
Ranunculus sardous
Masses of them!
I eventually found the Spring Vetch in the castle grounds. Previous records did not have an exact grid reference and described them as being on a bank within the castle walls. In actual fact they were on such a bank, but on the edge of a concrete stairwell going down underground to a wartime building. I only found three plants, two were in seed and one in bud. To tell this apart from the tiny native Common Vetch (Vicia sativa subsp nigra), the leaves are more tomentose (hairy) and the tendrils, if present, are not branched.
So, it was disappointing not to find one in flower, but at least they were still there. The habitat available to them was tiny; the only bit suitable being along the edge of the concrete. The other plants were too vigorous and competitive on the rest of the bank there. You can see the concrete edge in the photos.
Vicia lathyroides
Here's what they look like in flower, taken by me in Kent some years ago.
Note that this species is very small. The other flower is a tiny Thyme-leaved Sandwort.
I've been to Bodmin Moor a couple of times recently to have a look around; the first thing one notices is that the area is heavily overgrazed, so any plants are very short and dwarf in form. Anything much over 3cm gets eaten. One such tiny plant was the humble Toad Rush, a small compact leafy plant with little star shaped petal-less flowers on the stems. Bulbous Rush can look similar prior to flowering, but the bases are bulbous, as the name suggests. They also flower at the tip of the stems, not along the sides as well.
Juncus bufonius
Sand Spurrey, with its minute flowers and low to the ground nature, escaped grazing. It was fairly common on roads and paths where there was no other vegetation.
Spergularia rubra
By a disused quarry lake I found some Green-ribbed Sedge in flower. Most keys for Carex need you to know if your plant has 2 or 3 stigmas at the very start of the key, so it's worth looking closely at the female spikelets to check them (the lower spikelet in the photo is female, top one is male with the pollen).
Carex binervis
Garden escapes are common in Cornwall and there are several species of Cotoneasters that have naturalised widely throughout the county. I found the one below on a dry wall on the Moor, not near habitation, so likely bird sown.
They are a difficult genus to key, but I now have a comprehensive Cotoneaster ID book to verify what I find. However, a tip is to look at what has been recorded there before and see if your plant matched the one previously found. It usually does! If not, then it's hard work going through all the options. What didn't help with this one was that the sheep and ponies had grazed it heavily, meaning it wasn't the usual shape; it was very compact and cushion like.
Cotoneaster integrifolius
Also in the quarry area on the Moor, I found the first Heath Pearlwort of the season (for me) in flower. They're not easy to photograph in bright sun as the petals are highly reflective.
Sagina subulata
New Zealand Willowherb was frequent on the dry quarry slopes.
Epilobium brunnescens
On the 19th May, I took a short walk around where I live in Wadebridge. Of course, I've heavily recorded it since living here, but there's always something new to see and I proved it on this walk. In what was previously a pasture meadow near the A39, some earthworks had been done and where the soil was disturbed I found a large amount of Common Cudweed, still young and not flowering, but very distinctive nonetheless.
Filago germanica
A flowerhead about to open.
In the same field, I also found several Hairy Buttercups, not recorded here for many years, and Changing Forget-me-not, a new monad record.
Other plants were more common but worthy of a photo.
Common Broomrape - Orobanche minor
Hop Trefoil - Trifolium campestre
Very uncommon inland, Rough Clover, which I discovered a couple of years back growing on a scruffy bank by the Cormac building in Wadebridge. There's still lots of plants flowering there now, but they are very small and easy to miss. Unfortunately, the whole site is now listed for redevelopment, so these plants will likely be lost.
Trifolium scabrum
Meadow Vetchling just coming into flower on a roadside verge. This plant was actually more than a metre tall, scrambling up other vegetation to get to light.
Lathyrus pratensis
The humble Common Birdsfoot Trefoil - Lotus corniculatus
A very small Common Poppy. It also had more orange than red petals so I considered Long-headed Poppy, but in that species the stem hairs are pressed flat to the stem, not erect as in Common Poppy. There were of course, no seedheads yet which would have made things much easier!
Papaver rhoeas
Wild Roses can be daunting as they are rather complicated to work out and they freely hybridise. However, there is a key that you can print off and use in the field at BSBI Rosa Key go to page 47.
I keyed this one out below to be Common Dog Rose, Of course, you need many more photos if keying them at home and should include: the flower head on; the sepals from underneath; the petioles (flower stems); the leaflets top and underside; the prickles and its general habit (such as arching stems, procumbent, habitat etc). Note any glandular hairs and on some species the smell is distinctive. For example, the glandular hairs of Sweet Briar Roses smell of apples and those of the Harsh Downy Rose smell of antiseptic (like TCP). Good luck!
Rosa canina s.s.
Wild Strawberries are an early Spring flowering plant, but from now on they will also have miniature little strawberry fruits on display. As you can see this pavement plant has both flowers and fruits.
Fragaria vesca
A brief walk by the Camel Trail near Padstow revealed a new grass species for me. It looked like a huge Brome grass, about 1m tall with massive spikelets semi-drooping off the panicle. The spikelets were odd in that the awns on the lemmas were minute, about 1-2mm long and the other thing that struck me was that the spikelets were heavily flattened with a pronounced keel at the base. The whole plant was hairless too. I took a specimen home and keyed it out in the Grasses book by Francis Rose. It came out as Bromus inermis or Awnless Brome. However, it didn't quite match this and had strongly keeled spikelets not rounded ones. So, a look in Stace Edn 4 and there was a note under B. inermis that if keeled with a tiny awn it would be Rescue Brome. A look at local records (which I should have done first tbh), revealed Rescue Brome had been recorded by my VCR in the exact same spot in 2012. It's native to South America. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so I took some at home later. Apparently, this is widespread on St. Mary's Island on Scilly.
Ceratochloa cathartica
A very short visit to Par Sands for a look around on the 23rd May.
Sea Bindweed - Calystegia soldanella
Sea Sandwort - Honckenya peploides
Balm-leaved Figwort growing in the sandy dunes rather than on pavements or waste ground where it is usually recorded.
Scrophularia scorodonia
Finally from here, Haresfoot Clover coming into flower, it has a lovely fluffy little flowerhead.
Trifolium arvense
On the 25th May I took a trip to an area south of Coverack. It had been well recorded, but a few species needed re-finding. I failed to find some of them, but here's what I did find. It's on serpentine there, so there's a mix of acidic and alkaline loving plants right nexct to each other, for example, Ladies Bedstraw grew with Heather.
Common Centaury was abundant, though be aware if you go looking for them, that the flowers only open in full sun. Common Centaury has a basal rosette at flowering time and the flowers are almost always this colour pink. Lesser Centaury (C. pulchellum) has no rosette, is very tiny usually and has an elongated calyx below the petals. The petals are usually a much darker pinkish red too.
Centaurium erythraea
One of the plants "missing" from previous surveys was Heath Spotted Orchid last recorded here in 1979, in fact that is the only record for it. However, I found two small flowering plants hiding under Bracken, so that alone was worth going for. In fact, the Bracken softened the direct sunlight enough that the petals look lovely in the photo and not bleached out, which is what usually happens in bright sunlight.
Dactylorhiza maculata subsp ericetorum
Wood Spurge is uncommon in Cornwall and is usually found in the East of the county near the Tamar river. However, there were a few plants on the cliffs here too.
Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp amygdaloides
Near to them was a colony of Bloody Cranesbill, native to the Lizard peninsular.
Geranium sanguineum
Here's a habitat photo of the Bloody Cranesbills, what amazing scenery.
Dropwort was abundant all over the cliffs and paths.
Filipendula vulgaris
The peach/flesh coloured form of Scarlet Pimpernel is frequent here too. These, and all colour forms, also only open in direct sunlight.
Lysimachia arvensis forma carnea
Sheep's-bit just coming into flower.
Jasione montana
A single spike of Ivy Broomrape ticked off another species, not recorded here since 1983, and a lovely specimen at that.
Orobanche hederae
The tiny, pale yellow flowers of Wild Madder, common around Cornwall's coastline, but rare the further East one goes in the UK.
Rubia peregrina
The trailing lines of tiny flowers of Black Bryony, which, in time will transform into strings of coloured berries for the birds to eat in the Winter.
Tamus communis
Sea Aster is typically a saltmarsh plant, but somehow a few plants live in the cracks of large boulders on the exposed shoreline here. They're flowering much earlier than their saltmarsh cousins too.
Tripolium pannonicum
After a lot of searching suitable habitats (very short coastal turf), I finally found a few Knotted Clover, though unfortunately, the flowers haven't yet opened.
Trifolium striatum
At the top of the cliff was a more acidic soil with Black Bog-Rush, Purple Moor Grass, Cornish and Cross leaved Heaths and Bell Heather. In amongst them was a clump of Flea Sedge, a previously unrecorded species here, so that was a good find.
Carex pulicaris
Navelwort (also known as Pennywort here) is abundant all over Cornwall, but occasionally I find an exceptional specimen, and they love growing on bare rocks with no other plants around them. I found this plant in just such a place with a sheer drop down to the sea below. It's a lovely pink and lime green colour too, quite unusual.
Umbilicus rupestris
Of course, I found many more plants than I have featured, though I failed to find Thyme Broomrape (Orobanche alba), Fringed Rupterwort (Herniaria ciliolata), Dwarf Rush (Juncus capitatus) and Pale Dog Violet (Viola lactea). However, the habitat had scrubbed over where these plants were last found, so it would need some management to clear it soon, or they might not come back.
One final photo from this walk is from the coast path, and these Giant Echiums have self seeded from gardens not far away. It was like being in the Canary Islands! This plant frequently naturalises in Cornwall, especially as a pavement plant.
Echium pininana
The next day we visited St. Just-in-Roseland for a walk and came across some Yellow Strawberries in fruit. Note how different they look to a normal or Wild Strawberry. That's because they're in a different plant family entirely. Apparently, the fruit is edible but tastes bland. I haven't tried them personally.
Potentilla indica
Strawberry Saxifrage escaped from a churchyard onto a rural road verge. It has panicles of small but pretty flowers, but it's rather thuggish as a plant and smothers everything in its way.
Saxifraga stolonifera
From there we had a look around a nearby beach at Pendower. On the walk down to it, the view was framed by swathes of Red Valerian. It looks lovely, but they're not a native plant, and in some areas, a lot of money has been spent trying to eradicate or thin them out.
Centranthus ruber
Some delicate little Sea Fern Grass grew on the short beach turf and next to them was a colony of Rough Clover, not recorded
here since 1969, so I was well pleased with finding them. I haven't
included a photo as the flowers were scruffy and I've featured them in other
blogs.
Catapodium marinum
This caterpillar posed nicely by keeping still, and fortunately it was in a sheltered spot as the wind was very blustery. It's a Yellow-tail moth caterpillar and its hairs are irritative to humans, so don't touch them. I used an AI app to identify this and they're very good with insects, though it's a shame they're not so good with plants, but I'm sure they'll get there eventually.
Euproctis similis
Knotted Hedge Parsley is easily missed as it's a small plant with tiny flowers. I found some on a grassy sandy verge near Daymer Bay at the end of May.
Torilis nodosa
Geranium purpureum
An evening visit to Glebe Cliff near Tintagel was not only scenic, but I found a colony of about a thousand plants of Chives. This is native to Cornwall, though it is widespread around the UK as a casual from garden waste or birdseed.
Here's a close up of this plant. The leaves smell of onions if crushed.
Allium schoenoprasum
A bit further along the cliff path I found some white flowered ones.
Genista tinctoria subsp littoralis
Yellow Rattle had clearly been sown in some meadows adjacent to the coast path. There were thousands of them, but none anywhere else in the area. As a result, other plants were doing well, including Common dog Violets and loads of Pignut flowering. In time, it is likely that orchids will colonise here, as conditions are now suitable for them with short, species rich turf. Nearby, the area was over run with Gorse and Cocksfoot grasses, Hogweeds and Blackthorn, so it's good the landowner has done this (most likely the National Trust).
Rhinanthus minor
On the 31st May, I made a short trip to a local woodland for a look around. I found this Rock Cranesbill flowering on a Cornish hedge, clearly escaped from a nearby garden. It's the second time I've found this growing in the wild in the last 4 years. Escaped Garden Ladies Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) was also nearby.
Geranium macrorrhizumum
Common cow-wheat is semi parastic on woody plants like Holly, Hazel and even Broom. If a seedling fails to attach to a host it dies quickly after germinating. They are declining over the UK due to habitat loss, but can be found in large numbers where conditions are right for them. It's always nice to find this plant in good numbers as I did this day.
Melampyrum pratense subsp pratense
Common Twayblades are a native orchid, though the flowers are all green and they look a bit dull compared to most other native orchids. However, it is uncommon in Cornwall, so it's great to find a few.
Neottia ovata
I see Sanicle leaves all through the Winter when I go out recording plants, so it's pleasing when they finally flower. Typically found in older woodlands.
Sanicula europaea
Bush Vetch with an attendant ant.
Vicia sepium
The star find of the day and to end the month with, was a stand of 17 Bastard Balm plants. They have impressive flowers and the leaves look rather like those of White Dead-Nettles. It hadn't been recorded here for 15 years, so it was great to re-discover them.
Melittis melissophyllum
Well, that wraps up May and what a month it's been. I hope you enjoyed the selection of plants and that they encourage you to go out and find out what might be in your area too. Until next time.
Dave
Great blog. Thank you. I've read it twice!
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