New Species (for me) of Vascular Plants Found in Southern England in 2025

 I hope you liked the last blog instalment of new species of plants I found in Cornwall over the last year. Here's a selection of new species for me that I found (often with help) mostly in Devon, but with a smattering of species in Kent and one from VC9, Dorset.

 

On a trip to Kent last June, I stopped off at several locations to record plants; including Somerset, Dorset, South Wiltshire and Hampshire. This is made so much easier now there is a BSBI Recording app that the relevant VCR can access and check from a holding area on the app. Previously, I would have had to email a spreadsheet to each VCR separately, so that's a step forward for recorders. You can access it here - https://recording.bsbi.app/app/home

The only new species for me that I found was Hairy Sedge in Dorset. I've probably seen it before but hadn't previously recognised it. For several years I ignored sedges as I found them too difficult. but now I am slowly getting to grips with the genus and building up some useful knowledge about them for the future.

Carex hirta

 There are three more sedges new to me to feature. The next was Pill Sedge at Dunsdon NNR in North Devon, just across the border from Cornwall. Again, I had probably seen this before but not put a name to it. It has a distinctive look about it, so is easy to remember.

Carex piluifera

 

My last sedge was from a marsh in North Kent, Cyperus Sedge. Not helpful was that it was growing in shade so it was taller and thinner in stature than usual. I asked the Kent VCR for a determination of this one as it was not one I even remotely recognised.

Carex pseudocyperus

 

My final new sedge of the year was from Braunton Burrows in North Devon and was the delightful Small-fruited Yellow Sedge, a local speciality there. Its fruits were superficially similar to Common Yellow Sedge (Carex demissa) but the leaves were different and the tiny pineapple fruits were all unstalked, forming a cluster in the centre of the plant. The tiny pink flowers are Bog Pimpernel (Lysimachia tenella) and the red stemmed plants are Creeping Willow (Salix repens).

Carex viridula

 I was kindly shown around Braunton Burrows by Bob Kirby, the VCR for North Devon. I found a host of new species there thanks to his help. The next plant was one that is tricky to identify, Sticky Storksbill. I had looked for this many times but never found a convincing specimen until now. I did cover what you need to look for in the original blog it was featured in, see 

https://sylvatica2022.blogspot.com/2025/06/ 

which shows you how to identify it.

Erodium lebelii

 

Sand Toadflax was the next amazing plant found there. It was likely introduced by military vehicles many years ago, but it certainly thrives on the sandy soils and dunes. Nearby were hundreds of beautiful Dune Pansies, but I had seen those before in Anglesey, so they are not featured here.

Linaria arenaria

 

On the strand line we found Sea Stock, a plant I'd often wondered about but had never found. It is still extant here in North Devon and across the Bristol Channel on the south coast of Wales. There are old records from Cornwall (north and south coasts), two of which date back to the 1930s and one from 1930-1969, so it could turn up on a Cornish beach in the future.

Matthiola sinuata

 

My last new species from Braunton Burrows was the weird looking Round-headed Club-rush, which was quite abundant in parts of the dunes.

Scirpoides holoschoenus 

 

On a trip to Kent, as previously mentioned, I visited the wonderful Plantlife's Ranscombe Farm reserve near Strood and Rochester. I had walked its paths many times when I lived nearby as it is home to many amazing and rare arable plants, such as Venus Looking glass, Blue Pimpernels, Ground-pine, native Meadow Clary and a host of wild orchids too. I took a different route around parts of the reserve not often visited to see if I could find some new plants and I was rewarded with a fine display of Rough Poppies in an arable field edge. These are a lot taller than I thought they'd be and the petals were like scrunched up normal Poppies. I've included a seedpod too in case you spot one on a chalky farm near you.

Roemeria sicula 

 

Whilst I very much enjoyed a few days in Kent, it meant I missed a Devon Botany Group trip to Berry Head to see some amazing plants. As such, I went there solo two weeks later hoping to find some of the rare plants there. Unfortunately, those two weeks were hot, dry and sunny and most plants had burnt off and shrivelled up, so I failed to find Slender Hare's-ear, but here's what I did find that was new to me.

The easiest plant to find was White Rock-rose, a cousin of the familiar Common Rockrose so often adorning the chalk slopes back in Kent. As the name suggests, the petals were white and the flowers were quite a bit larger than those of Common Rockrose too. They covered many areas where the soil was thin over limestone outcrops on the clifftops. Most were in seed, but a few still managed to flower despite the drought. The clump of white flowers left of it was White Stonecrop, a non native that escaped gardens in much of the UK but is widely naturalised (especially in Cornwall). Interestingly, those at Berry Head are considered probably native, which might explain why there was so many of them growing here. Of note, was that English Stonecrop (Sedum anglicum) was noticeably absent, perhaps that species needs a less alkaline base rock to grow.

Helianthemum appeninum

 

Another rare plant that was easy to find was Small Restharrow. The flowers look the same as those of Common Restharrow, but are considerably smaller. Both may grow together (and did), but that made it easier to see which was which. 

Common Restharrow: is a perennial, so is larger and bushier; it's flowers are much larger than Small Restharrow;  its leaves are widest at the middle of the leaf; pods contain 1 or 2 seeds; common, grows in almost all soil types except very acidic ones.

Small Restharrow is an annual; is thus small, diminuitive, usually 1-2" tall and not sprawling or procumbent; Flowers are quite small; its leaves are widest at the tip (below the teeth though); pods contain typically 10 or more seeds; rare and only grows on limestone. 

The trifoliate leaves just above my hand lens belong to Common Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and the hairy edged leaf is Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum). 

Ononis reclinata

 

Honewort is a small umbellifer with white flowers, only found on dry limestone rocks at Berry Head and in North Somersert in similar conditions. Unfortunately, I was too late to find any in flower after the drought and could only find one plant in seed, looking in rather a sorry state. However, you can see it's an umbellifer from the flower stalk arrangement.

Trinia glauca

 

My final plant was from a walk along cliffs near Plymouth on a day out from Cornwall where I found Dwarf Elder, a low growing shrub with elder like flowers.

Sambucus ebulus

That rounds off 2025, it was an interesting year for sure. I wonder what botanical surprises 2026 will bring? My next blog will be about the BSBI New Year Plant Hunts in Cornwall. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Dave