Cornwall Botanical Group Field Trip to Ellenglaze - 05/07/22

 As well as having access to expert botanists on field trips, another big plus is that field trips sometimes take you to out of bounds areas that others cannot explore. This was one such trip to Penhale Sands near Ellenglaze which is a MOD training area, which is behind barbed wire and guarded. 

This was a sunny, warm day and before the drought had started properly, so the plants were still fresh. The area comprised mainly of fixed sand dunes with plenty of dune slacks, some with standing water in them and others that dry out leaving a damp area. Perfect for many of our rarer plants to thrive.

Whilst waiting to get started, I noticed a big stand of Babington's Leek, a large plant and one that can't be missed when in flower. They are relatively common around coastal areas and I saw some flowering today (20/08/22 at the time of writing) much further north at Crackington Haven too.

Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii

 One of the first areas we looked at had Marsh Helleborines, but as we went to look for them, I couldn't help noticing lots of Southern Marsh Orchids. I had a closer look at some and found them to be the hybrid between Heath Spotted and Southern Marsh Orchids, a new record for this monad. I think they are far more common than many realise and it is easy to overlook them as just another Southern Marsh Orchid as one walks by.

They really are quite stunning and mostly much bigger than either parent plant.
Dactylorhiza x hallii

It took a while to find the Marsh Helleborines, even though we knew where they should be. This was because only a few had come into flower, with the rest still in bud. This made it very hard to see them and to avoid crushing budding plants, we trod in each other's footsteps to minimise habitat damage. These flowers were narrower than usual, but I think that was because they were very fresh and had just opened.

We did find some and another small colony in a nearby dune slack too. I think Rock dunes are the only other place they are found in Cornwall.

Epipactis palustris

Portland Spurge is a very attractive native plant and it was dotted around the dunes in the drier places.

Euphorbia portlandica

Near the helleborines were hundreds of the rare Flat Sedge, a plant I'd not seen before. It really is flattened and compressed in fruit, so it's easy to identify. However, it is also confined to this site only within Cornwall, so it is unlikely I will find it elsewhere in the county.

Blysmus compressus

Someone then spotted the most tiny Gentian I'd ever seen in the short turf. On looking closer we found lots more. It was the Early Gentian, a species I had searched for and failed to find in Kent in years gone by, so another new species for me. This used to be classified as a very rare endemic species only found in the UK, however, taxonomists have since downgraded it to a subspecies of Autumn Gentian. Regardless, it is quite different to Autumn Gentian in appearance being much shorter and it flowers much earlier and is thus worthy of protection.

Gentianella amarella subsp anglica

My small eye loupe to give some scale.

Of course, there was an abundance of common flowers too, most of which do not get photographed. One of these was Common Centaury, which looked so bright and cheerful in the sun, I gave in and took its portrait anyway.

Centaurium erythraea

Most Eyebrights are difficult to identify, but the four sided structure of Western Eyebright is distinctive. Only found in coastal locations (to date) it was abundant here.

Euphrasia tetraquetra

There was another orchid to see and it was just coming into flower. It was another new species for me, the Marsh Fragrant Orchid. This species is most likely absent in Kent and I never did find any. It does look quite different to Chalk Fragrant and even the smell is different too.

Gymnadenia densiflora

In one of the drying up ponds was a arge stand of Watercress. Mixed in with it was the rarer One-Rowed Watercress, another new species and one I hadn't heard of before. There are hybrids here, but I couldn't find any mature enough seeds to find it.

Nasturtium microphyllum

Also in this pool were hundreds of plants of Common Clubrush with their distinctive heads and blue green stems. This is now mostly confined to this area of Cornwall too.

Schoenoplectus lacustris

 Our VC2 county recorder amongst the Common Club Rush

Another plant that likes to keep its roots wet and grows around the draw down line of ponds is this Lesser Water Plantain below. The leaves shown however, belong to another plant, Marsh Pennywort.

 Baldellia ranunculoides

The final plant we went to see was Variegated Horsetail and we walked quite a way across the dunes to find it. When we arrived at the right place, we were all on our hands and knees looking for it and it took some minutes before we did find it. It was very small and intertwined around Creeping Willow, so really hard to see and to photograph too. Another first for me too.

Equisetum variegatum

 

 There was also an abundance of butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets and insects in general, here are just a few of those seen.

Female Silver Studded Blue

Great Green Bush-Cricket

5 Spot Burnet Moth - Zygaena trifolii

Poplar Leaf Beetle

So ended a memorable field trip. Not only did I see many species of plants I hadn't seen before, but I also met fellow botanists and staff from Cornwall Wildlife Trust, thus making contacts too. I can't recommend strongly enough that you seek out your own local botany group and go along to a field trip or two. You will learn so much more than on a solo trip and also have access to locations you otherwise couldn't visit. The same applies to specialist groups looking for all types of insects, birds, mosses and bryophytes and so on.

For plants you can find your own local group at bsbi.org and click on your county on a map of the UK and Ireland. Good luck!

Until next time.

You can also follow me on Twitter: @Botany2021

Dave

Botanical Finds in Cornwall - Early July 2022

 July started with a heatwave and it continued for most of the month. However, native plants are quite resilient and many are also drought tolerant. I had a look around a brownfield site near Bodmin and found Common Cudweed, which was responding to the lack of water by simply growing a flowering head and not much else. It's enough to provide seed for next year and thus ensuring the species survival through a difficult time. In better conditions it could be a foot tall with multiple branches each bearing a flowering head.

 Filago germanica

 Garden Ladies Mantle had also self seeded over part of the site.

Alchemilla mollis

 

 There were at least a dozen Jersey Cudweed plants present too. This species is spreading very fast.

Laphangium luteoalbum

 

 That was it for the brown field site.

Note dated 26/11/24 - this site has now been developed into a large retail store and all the above plants have been built over, such is life.

One afternoon I had a drive up to Polbrock Bridge where I saw some hefty Thick-lipped Grey Mullet in the River Camel below. These are sea fish that travel right up to freshwater to the limit of the tides to feed on algae and mud.

Chelon labrosus

 

 I took a walk near Tregoss Moor and the road verges were stuffed with Southern Marsh Orchids like this one below. As I write (in August) they are now all gone to seed, so it's nice to remember them here.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa

 I don't know if Tutsan plants turn red as they age or if they do so if stressed. This was before the drought kicked in, so it's likely not caused by drought. The red leaves offset by the brilliant yellow flowers was very eye catching though.

Hypericum androsaemum

 

Bog Pondweed is prolific on Bodmin Moor and all the other moors in Cornwall too. Here it is in flower.

Potamogeton polygonifolius

Flower arranging by nature. A Heath Spotted Orchid with a Bog Asphodel on Tregoss Moor.

Dactylorhiza maculata and Narthecium ossifragum

On some disused ground on a farm track where I parked, were hundreds of Corn Spurrey plants. What made it hard to identify them was that all the flowers were closed when I got there. They only open in the sun. Thankfully, it was sunny by the time I returned to the car and then I recognised them straight away.

 

Spergula arvensis 

The unusual leaf arrangement for this plant.

Below is a typical example of fasciation. This was Hedge Bedstraw near the County Showground.

Galium album

I'd only seen this plant below once before, but it was instantly recognisable as being Balm-leaved Figwort, considered native to Cornwall, but absent from most other counties.

Scrophularia scorodonia

Growing out of a roundabout on the A39 was a Field Woundwort, a scarce plant and usually an arable one.

Stachys arvensis

On the north Cornwall coastal cliffs, new flowers had emerged, including these Meadow Cranesbills.

Geranium pratense

Some prostrate Dyer's Greenweed was still in flower, though most were now in seed.

Genista tinctoria subsp. littoralis

Greater Burdock is fairly scarce in Cornwall, with Lesser Burdock as the dominant species. In Greater Burdock, the flowers hardly exceed the exterior bracts and the flowerheads are all grouped at the extremities of the branches on corymbose stalks, with all the flowers almost on the same level, like an umbel. On Lesser, the flowers easily exceed the bracts and the flowers are all over the plant with the flower stalks being unequal. Here's a bee's eye view of the Greater Burdock flower. Also, the basal leaves are solid in Greater and hollow in Lesser, a useful tip for Winter ID of these plants.

Arctium lappa

Corn Marigold was a bird seed escape in Kent, but here it is still a viable species in arable fields. Where herbicide use is none or limited it thrives, as here at West Pentire farm near Newquay.

Glebionis segetum

At least a thousand Corn Marigolds flowering on this field edge by the sea.

The fields were very dry, but this didn't bother Bugloss very much. It's quite drought tolerant and flowered quite happily here by the sea. If you look for it, bear in mind that the blue flowers are actually very tiny.

Anchusa arvensis

Round-leaved Fluellen is quite uncommon in much of Cornwall, whereas Sharp-leaved is very common, I don't know why, as both grow together in places like Kent for example. However, I managed to find some Round-leaved Fluellen in a field edge near West Pentire, a nice find for Cornwall.

Kickxia spuria

On the cliffs of West Pentire and elsewhere, I found what I thought was Rock Sea-lavender. However, it transpired that these plants were in fact Western Sea-lavender, a South West species of Sea Lavender I hadn't heard of before.

Limonium brittanicum subsp brittanicum

 

On an evening stroll near Wadebridge (Polmorla), I stumbled upon what looked like a purple Meadowsweet. This was of course perplexing as I'd never seen one that wasn't white flowered before. After much research, I discovered it be be a garden escapee, Astilbe chinensis x japonica = A x arendsii .As with many plants naturalised, it probably originated from fly tipped material years before.

Astilbe chinensis x japonica = A x arendsii

Some plants attracted more insect interest than others, and a firm favourite was Hemp Agrimony, here with an attendant 6 Spot Burnet Moth.

Zygaena filipendulae on Eupatorium cannabinum

Drought conditions stressed this Common Field Speedwell resulting in the flower turning a deep blue. This made it look rather like a Grey Field Speedwell which has deep blue flowers but it is smaller than Common Field Speedwells. The best way to tell them apart is by the seeds. In the corner of the photo below are the seeds attached to this plant. They are attached to each other at around 90 degrees, whereas Grey (and Green) Field Speedwells are more or less parallel.

Veronica persica

I hope I never tire of these views, it certainly makes botanising the area even more amazing.

Until next time.

Take care

Dave

 

Botanical Finds at Colliford Lake, Cornwall - July 2022

This day in early July I went on a field trip to Colliford Lake with the Cornwall Botany Group. We went to find Frog Orchids which appeared in large numbers in the 1980s then disappeared again a few years later, never to be seen again. Of course, unless you look for such plants, you can't say they aren't there. So look we did! Unfortunately, we failed to find any, but we still had a good time.

Here are the highlights from that trip.

Round-leaved Sundews are quite common in Cornwall, but it's not so easy to see them when they are in flower. The flowers are only open for a very short time and often tower over the su dew leaves making photos very difficult, but today we timed it right here. Given the distance between leaves and flowers, 2 photos are usually needed.

Drosera rotundifolia

Marsh Willowherb eluded me in Kent and is on the Kent RPR, unsurprising given that the county is usually so dry, it lacks suitable habitat for the most part. Here in Cornwall, it is still uncommon, but is deemed to be an axiophyte, that is, a desirable plant for that type of habitat, but it is a first sighting for me so I was pleased to see some. It was quite an elegant plant and surprisingly graceful for a mid sized Epilobium.

Epilobium palustre

Trailing St. John's Wort was abundant in places, their tiny flowers dotting the ground.

Hypericum humifusum

Corn Mint was plentiful but easy to miss. Due to heavy grazing, these plants were about an inch or two tall at most. In fact the first I realised there were Mint plants about was the lovely smell that emanated from the ground as we walked over a few. You can see below that the flowers look over large due to the leaves being tiny having been grazed back repeatedly from the ever present sheep around the lake.

Mentha arvensis

Shoreweed was a new plant for me too. The flowers lack petals and this one had a few simple stamens arising from green lanceolate leaves topped with anthers to disperse pollen. Of course, it is an aquatic plant that grows in shallow water and only flowers as levels recede in the Summer, hence its name. With the dry conditions, the water level had dropped considerably, allowing this plant to flower well.

Littorella uniflora

Along the shoreline was another new plant species for me which was Allseed. Once it was pointed out, I saw many clumps of it all over the area. It clearly thrives where there is no competition from other plants.

 

 Linum radiola

When I am on a field trip, I try to learn a new grass, sedge, rush or similar type of plant. It is invaluable having experts to point things out to you, so don't waste the opportunity to question an expert to identify a plant for you. This plant below was Common Yellow Sedge and was quite distinctive as you can see. It was quite common around the lake margins.

Carex demissa

Below is Colliford Lake on Bodmin Moor, with the Summer drought beginning to bite as shown by the water levels. Imagine going in for a swim when the levels were high. You would likely badly cut your legs on those drowned, knarled tree branches, hence why swimming is banned here.

No Frog Orchids found - note how short the over-grazed turf is here.

The last plant I photographed here was a common Selfheal, however, this one was a white flowered variant which isn't so common. But around the lake edges, this white form was quite frequent.

Prunella vulgaris (var. alba)

So ended a great day out. Of course, there were many other plants seen too, but we have to end the blog at  some point. If you want to join a botanical field trip in your county then go to BSBI website and click on "Get Involved" and a map of the UK and Ireland appears. Click on your area and full details will be displayed.

Take Care

Dave