The Hunt for Sand Crocus in Cornwall 08/04/22

 

 Sand Crocus is a very rare native plant, only found at Dawlish Warren, Devon and on a couple of rocky outcrops near Polruan, Cornwall, on mainland UK. Online photos of some Dawlish plants now being in flower led me to plan a trip to see them. Billy, a young botanist from Bodmin joined me and we set off to see them.

One issue was that the flowers are very small and only open in bright sun. As we left  it started raining and it was quite cold too, so would they be open today? I hoped the sunny spells bewteen the showers would be enough for them to be visible at least, but I wasn't very optimistic.

We had also decided to record all species we could find in the monad after being prompted by the County Recorder to do so. All recording is now worthwhile as from 2020 we are in a new 20 year date class. As such, all records after 2020 are in effect new and valuable to show continuity of species in that area.

Having decided to record everything we could, it became apparent that, like most botanists, it would take some time to get out of the car park as it was full of species. This one really caught our eye.

It's White Ramping Fumitory, but a rare form that turns white to almost crimson as the flowers age and are pollinated. 

Fumaria capreolata subspecies capreolata forma speciosa

Below: look at how crimson the flowers have turned on this one, beautiful!

After recording lots of species, we arrived at the first Sand Crocus site. What a view!

The Sand Crocuses grow on the very thin soils over these granite outcrops to avoid competition from more robust species. It was a pretty cold Easterly breeze and the sun was more in than out. Where were they?

 It was Billy who raised a yell as he found the first one.

He'd found one! Barely open in the poor conditions.

We then scanned the area and found lots more, over 40 in fact!

There was enough sun out after all.

Romulea columnae

 

These were a bit more open and easier to see.

A habitat photo. Note the foreboding sky! In fact, it hailed on us too.

 

At the second place for these (another rocky outcrop nearby) we only found 2 plants in flower, which wasn't so good. However, there may have been a lot more plants there but they were pretty much invisible without an open flower. Here's me (looking very old) having a closer look.

Nearby was an interesting Dandelion with a small capitula and small dissected leaves making it a Section Erythrosperma species. Handily, I found lots of these last year in Kent and had them verified by the BSBI referee, so hopefully, I can identify a few of them now with some confidence.

Taraxacum lacistophyllum

The final plant of note from here was a plant I usually find (though rarely) in arable fields. There was a stand of Field Woundwort growing well in a rabbit scrape. It needs disturbance to germinate and here, rabbits provided it.

Stachys arvensis

As there was plenty of time left in the day, we decided to pay a visit to Lantic Bay nearby. This is a shellgrit and shingle beach surrounded by high cliffs with a long walk down (and back up 120m in fact). The flora is somewhat different to usual as the shellgrit allowed for more calcareous plants to grow here.

 On the way down the cliff, we came across a lot of rosettes of Early Purple Orchids, but sadly, if any were to flower, it was too early for them yet. Look at the markings on this one!

Orchis mascula 

Here'a a view from halfway down the cliff to the beach

However, the top of the beach was sparsely vegetated and contained some nice plants such as Sea Spurge and Sea Radish as shown below.

Raphanus raphanistrum subspecies maritimum

 I found this bug on vegetation on the beach.

https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Coreidae/enoplops_scapha.html says about this bug -

"A large and distinctive dark grey squashbug with cream markings on the connexivum. Early instar larvae have very spiny antennae and a green abdomen. Later instars are superficially similar to the much commoner Coreus marginatus (Dock Bug) but the abdominal tergites are more pointed.

A local species which is confined to coastal cliffs and sand dunes between Kent and north Wales, with outlying populations on the north Yorkshire coast. The foodplants are various Asteraceae".

Enoplops scapha - Boat Bug

At the top of the beach was a small cave with fresh water dripping down from the roof. Growing about this was the largest and most impressive Maidenhair Fern I had yet seen. It must have been 3 feet long hanging down from the roof.

Adiantum capillus-veneris

Before the long climb back up the cliff, we had a sit down on a log. Whilst there I spotted another delicate Dandelion. This one turned out to be Taraxacum oxonianum

 

The last flower I photographed here was a stand of Sea Rocket. Its seeds wash up on the highest of tides and start off the next generation of plants. They are quite common around the coasts.

Cakile maritima

The vegetated beach at Lantic Bay. It was a long way back up again!

So ended a great day out. Billy was great to be around and it was good to talk botany with another person interested in the subject. We found the Sand Crocus and overall, the sites were in good condition so they should be around in the future too.

I hope you liked this blog, take care.

Dave

Follow me on Twitter - @botany2021

Bogs and Dunes, early April 2022

 Near to Wadebridge is a bog and heath called Rosenannon Downs managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust. I thought I would visit as I had never seen Bog Myrtle before and it should be in flower. It was only a short drive and as soon as I drove onto the heath, I saw hundreds of Bog Myrtle, flashing like gold specks in the afternoon sun.

As you can see, it is a small woody shrub with golden coloured "cones" that contain the pollen and stigmas.

Myrica gale

It was nice finding something easily for a change!

Here's a habitat photo. The grassy strip by the road is where the Dandelions were found mentioned later on.

 

I had a walk about to see what else might be flowering. In the damper places I found plenty of Lousewort in flower, a parasitic plant, common in boggy habitats.

 Pedicularis sylvatica

One of thousands of Lesser Centaury amongst a carpet of Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage.

Ficaria verna and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium

This young rush was coming into flower. I hadn't seen this before, but found it to be the Black Bog Rush, a common plant here. The young inflorescences really were quite dark, which gives the plant its name. The plant eventually forms a large tussock and the black fruits persist into the next season too.

Schoenus nigricans

A very common fern here is the Soft Shield Fern. The fronds have a thumb shaped basal leaf and they run paralell to the stem.

Polystichum setiferum

Along the road verge (see habitat photo for Bog Myrtle above) was a grassy strip, kept short with rabbit grazing. Dotted all over it were Dandelions, so I took a sample to key out at home. This one appears to be Taraxacum brittanicum though I will ask the BSBI Taraxacum referee to confirm this later.

Once home, I noticed a Fumitory growing on bare earth in my garden. The concolourous top petal (all the same colour) means this could only be Tall Ramping Fumitory, a nice find for a garden.

Fumaria bastardii

The next day, I took a late afternoon walk on fixed dunes near Rock. This is a calcareous site, so the flora is completely different to most areas here.

Not much is showing yet, but in the sand dunes were carpets of Rue-leaved Saxifrage, a tiny, sticky plant that turns red with age. If you look at the photo below, notice the moss growing around it. This plant is barely larger than the moss!

Saxifraga tridactylites

There were hundreds of tiny specks of blue in the dunes. These were the flowers of the minute Early Forget-me-not. If you find a flower 2mm across, that's a large one.

Myosotis ramosissima

I then came acrosss a rather attrctive Euphorbia that I hadn't ever seen before. I guessed that it might be Portland Spurge and I later confirmed that it was. The stems were a deep red and it grew on the sand and in cracks in the rocks too.

Euphorbia portlandica

My last photo was of Cornsalad, rather small in this harsh environment. Seeds are need to identify them to species level and it's too early yet for them.

Valerianella

 So ended my trip this day. The flora is awakening and soon I won't be able to keep up with what comes into flower. I can't wait!

Blackthorn framing the wonderful scenery that is local to me now.

Prunus spinosa

 

Take care

Dave

Follow me on Twitter @botany2021

March and Spring Wildflowers - Cornwall

 It was still quite cold, though we had a period of dry weather with associated high pressure. This was a welcome relief from the endless rain of previous weeks, but brought with it cold Easterly and Northerly winds. Thus, Spring was still delayed.

 

I recorded a monad around Little Petherick, a small village between Wadebridge and Padstow and found my first ever Tall Ramping Fumitory. I found it again since, in my back garden, which is a new build with bare dirt and no plantings. Fumitories tend to all look similar, so lots of photos and measurements are normally needed to identify it. In this case though, this is the only species with larger flowers (over 11mm) with its top petal being all the same colour. For brevity, I only include this one photo, but in the field, I take many of all parts of the flowers and leaves.

Fumaria bastardii var. bastardii

Some of the views were pretty good too, though for most of the walk, you couldn't get near the creek's edge due to trees or fences. I was surprised here to find masses of Wild Madder (Rubia peregrina) which is very rare in Kent, but seems ever so common here. I should catch it in flower in a couple of months time.

The only sure 100% way to tell Polypodiums apart, is to microscopically examine the spore carrying aparatus in the sporangia.

this wasn't possible for me until Lidl happened to sell a cheap microscope which I bought and used straight away on these Polypodies. I could even attach my phone and take a photo, excellent!

I was pleased to say that the morphology of each plant matched the determination given by the microscope. This is Polypodium interjectum or Intermediate Polypody. The photo doesn't show all the rings that you need to count to determine the species, but it was my first attempt at one!

There are drawings for each species of Polypody in Stace 4, page 41, have a look.

No doubt I will be using the microscope on pollen and seeds from assorted other species too.

The first Wild Garlic were flowering, or Ramsons as some know them as. They smell strongly of garlic so can't easily be mistaken for anything else. I included this photo as it shows the flowers and the leaves which are bright green, shiny and glossy. They usually grow in shaded places by roadsides, but they are happy with anywhere permanently damp. On the ground they usually grow in dense mats of hundreds of plants.

Allium ursinum

The first Wood Anemones were out too now, these in a lay-by off the A39 north east of Wadebridge. There are no huge carpets of them like in the East of England, but they look great nonetheless. Again, I include a photo to show the leaves too. These sometimes persist into late Summer allowing one to record them after the flowers have long gone.

Cornwall has miles of slate or stone walls covered in earth, often hundreds of years old. As such, you can get underneath many plants that grow on them for photographs, without getting muddy knees, like this one!

Anemone nemorosa

In a boggy area off the road were these mysterious leaves. After some research I determined they belonged to the Greater Cuckooflower, a plant I have never heard of until now. I will return to see some flowers I hope later on in Spring.

Cardamine raphanifolia

More fantastic scenery, this time across the River Allen, the whole length of which is an SSSI for plants and insects. This is actually a footbridge and a ford across the river. It drains into the River Camel at Sladesbridge just upstream of Wadebridge.

By the ford, I found a plant I recognised as Water Purslane. Unfortunately, it was in flower bud with none yet open, however, the flowers are small and unexciting anyway... This plant sometimes grows in mud or places that flood in Winter and dry out in Spring.

Lythrum portula

By the river, I also found a mystery plant that I had not seen before. One patch by the road and another half a kilometre upstream well away from any habitation and clearly not planted. My Twitter botanist friends identified it for me as Lesser Knotweed. It was first found in the area over 10 years before 2 km upstream. So it has obviously spread downstream from there over the past decade or so all by itself. At present though, I wouldn't say it was smothering out other plants. Two patches in a large distance isn't really of concern.

Koenigia campanulata

Above: habitat

Below: close up showing the purple veining and edging to the leaves.

My final plant stood out as very obvious as it was bright blue. It was a Primrose, much like the type you buy in a supermarket at 50p each. I took some photos as it was obviously not planted and was amongst native plants on old fly tipped soil. I laterdiscovered the find was a first for VC1 and 2 (West and East Cornwall) for this particular cultivated hybrid. I can't say such garden escapes particularly excite me, but it's still nice to get a 1st occasionally.

Primula x pruhoniciana

So ended March. April began, still with a cold weather pattern overall, but as I write this on the 5th April, it is currently mild, so Spring will come in full soon. It's also Dandelion time, so some of those will no doubt feature in my next blog. As I now live in Cornwall and not Kent, I am sure I will encounter completely different Dandelion species too.

Take care

Dave

Twitter: @botany2021