Cornwall Botany - Kynance Area, Early June 2024

 At the end of May I went on a Wildflower Society field trip to The Lizard, along with the VCR, to help members identify the special plants there. I took many photos of the amazing flora there and reviewed them afterwards to make sure they were really good before we moved on to the next area. Near the end of the trip, my SD card corrupted and I lost all my photos from that day. I couldn't retrieve the data, even after taking it to a local computer shop who ran some recovery programmes. As such, I would have to revisit the area at a later date to capture those special plants again.

However, a few days after that trip I had a week long holiday in Kent (see https://barbus59.blogspot.com/) and it wasn't until early June that I could return. Of course, the incessant rain for much of May had stopped and there had been 10 consecutive dry days on The Lizard in my absence. This didn't bode well for tiny annuals that would rapidly seed and shrivel up in such conditions. So it was with some trepidation that I set out to retrace my steps once again.

I had good cause to worry, as on arrival the ground was dry and crispy and it looked so different to when I visited there 2 weeks prior. However, I did find almost all the plants again, so here they are, in scientific name alphabetical order. I hope you find them interesting.

Wild Chives are abundant here and form a carpet in some areas, however, I was drawn to this one silhouetted by a small cave in the rock behind it, thus highlighting the flower structure.

Allium schoenoprasum

Kidney vetch is a common plant, but not so common is the red form. Many people in other areas never see this variant.

Anthyllis vulneraria var. coccinea

Lesser Marshwort in flower elduded me last year, although I did find some leaves of the species in a dried up pond last September. So it was great to see some in flower and in fine form in one of the pools on the dry heath. It is actually an umbellifer and closely related to Fool's Watercress, with which it sometimes hybridises. The flowers are tiny and the underwater leaves are very finely pinnately divided and not like the above water leaves at all.

Helosciadium (formerly Apium) inundatum

Some sedges were now fruiting, such as this lovely Star Sedge.

Carex echinata

On my last visit, 2 weeks prior, there were no flowering Common Centaury to be seen, but now the heath was dotted with their lovely little pink flower clusters. There were no Lesser Centaury as yet to be found, but they usually flower a bit later. Common Centaury has a basal rosette at flowering and light pink flowers and lacks an elongated calyx. I also hoped to find one of its relatives while here, the Yellow Centaury.

Centaurea erythraea

I searched for the Yellow Centaury where I had seen it 2 weeks before along with Dwarf Rush (Juncus capitatus), but noted with dismay that the small herd of ponies there had grazed them all off. This was clearly evident with the rushes, with just the bottom 1/2" of the plant ungrazed, with the tops neatly cut off. So, I had a look around and thankfully found a small group of Yellow Centaury in another area.

These are very slender plants ranging in height from around 2" to 6" tall with tiny 4 petalled yellow flowers showing singly on top.

Cicendia filiformis

Nearby on either side of a small stream that cut through the heath, was a stand of hundreds of Great Fen Sedge. I'd not seen these before my last visit and I was surprised at how sharp all parts of it are. Even the leaves can cut you like a paper cut if you brush past them. Impressive plants though with some spikes over 6' tall.

Cladium mariscus

Heath Spotted Orchids are in places, very common on The Lizard heaths. Around Kynance there are hundreds of them. Unlike other areas, most plants are of a very similar colour and patterning. None of them are large, the harsh coastal climate keeping them short in stature.

Dactylorhiza maculata subsp ericetorum

On the guided trip, the VCR pointed out to us the hybrid between Cornish Heath and Cross-leaved Heath, obviously not in flower until July/August. I hoped I would be able to refind them without guidance, but I remembered the rough area and that the hybrid had bright green tips to the shoots, whereas the other parents did not. As such, I soon found them and recreated my original photograph.

Erica x williamsii comparison with its parents.

Apart from a couple of odd records, Dropwort is only found in The Lizard peninsular in Cornwall, so it was odd seeing it all the place. It's a pretty flowered plant with pink buds and creamy white flowers that  I used to only see on the chalk of the North and South Downs back East.

Filipendula vulgaris

In coastal areas in Cornwall, we get a prostrate form of Dyer's Greenweed grow, it's always flat to the ground, unlike the upright forms inland.

Genista tinctoria subsp littoralis

Bloody Cranesbill feels at home on the serpentine bedrock here.

Geranium sanguineum

Fringed Rupturewort is mostly confined to The Lizard peninsular and the Scilly Isles. Have a look at its distribution in the UK here - https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.xme It's flowers lack petals as you can see below and you tend to notice it as a lime green patch on or next to bare rocky areas.

Herniaria cilioata

Trailing St. John's-wort doesn't like much competition from other plants and the dry, open heaths suited it nicely.

Hypericum humifusum

Just come into flower were the Slender St. John's-wort as well, with orange coloured buds, matching orange anthers and dainty flowers on an upright stem.

Hypericum pulchrum

Smith's Pepperwort is mostly a coastal species, but here the ones I found were under 8" tall, as opposed to up to 2' tall inland.

Lepidium heterophyllum

A third species that was in bud 2 weeks prior, but open now, was the slender and beautiful Pale Flax. Its stem is very thin and very difficult to photograph in even the slightest breeze, so I was fortunate with this photo.

Linum bienne

Scarlet Pimpernel in its usual form of a deep orange colour is a very common plant. Here the dominant form was one with flesh coloured flowers and below you can see both types growing together. Look at the amazing shape of the seed pods in the top left of the photo below.

Lysimachia arvensis forma carnea

Thyme Broomrape is a very rare plant and outside of The Lizard area it is very rare until you go North of the Pennines. Have a look at its distribution here: - https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.921

As the name suggests it parasitises Wild Thyme (Thymus drucei here), and is a particularly attractive broomrape. Despite the name "alba" it is always this colour as shown below. No doubt the type pecimen was collected and dried and probably turned white, causing it to be mis-named. It should really be re-named now we know differently. I like it a lot, so there are a few photos below and not just one!

Orobanche alba

In a pasture field, left fallow for only a short time was Yellow Bartsia coming into flower. This species is hemipararsitical on nearby plants, and it produces chlorophyll, unlike the  Broomrapes.

Parentucelia viscosa

Spring Sandwort is restricted to The Lizard in Cornwall, with the only other southern site being in the Mendip Hills. It's a small but pretty flower. It was looking at its best 2 weeks ago, but now the dry weather had wilted the leaves, however the flowers remained fresh. In the 2nd photo below it's growing with a small Common Centaury where you can see the basal rosette of that species clearly.

Sabulina verna

Finally, we come to the Clovers for which this area is famous. I didn't find Long-headed Clover which apparently has had a bad year here, but I found a few others.

Below is Twin-headed Clover, though in reality, the vast majority only have one head of flowers. In the 1st photo below you can just see a 2nd flower head forming at the base of the 1st.

Trifolium bocconei

By the cliffs, but almost always sheltered by some rocks, were clumps of Western Clover. These are superficially like White Clover but the calyx teeth are red and the leaves are quite different, lacking any chevron markings and much smaller than White Clover leaves.

Trifolium occidentale

On my last visit 2 weeks prior, I saw many Upright Clovers in flower. It was different now and I had to search a long time to find just one plant remaining with a flower showing, the rest had seeded.

Trifolium strictum

Finally, a photo of T. bocconei and T. strictum together.

A habitat photo for one of the rare Trifoliums. As you can see, it is bone dry and parched. However, that will be good for next year's clovers as these bare patches are what they need to germinate and grow. If other plants established in such places, the rarities would be lost.

As I saw the following plant 2 weeks ago, but didn't refind it thanks to recent grazing, I thought I would add a photo from last year, the lovely little red coloured Dwarf Rush

Juncus capitatus

I hope you enjoyed the blog and its wonderful plants, until next time.

Take Care

Dave

@Botany2021 on X

Cornwall Botany - Mid to Late May 2024

 These are some of my finds for the rest of May in Cornwall, I hope you like the selection.

I've started off with a photo of several flowering plants in the one image. Cornwall's clifftops come alive now and are awash with colour. Included below are Thrift (Armeria maritima), Sheep's-bit (Jasione montana) and Sea Campion (Silene uniflora).  It's a lovely sight to see.

Pignut is considered a plant of shaded woodland and that's where it's most commonly found, however, it also grow in sheltered areas in grassland on clifftops here, like near Tintagel, as shown below.

Conopodium majus

The Heath Spotted Orchids were out a bit early this year, and this coastal meadow had hundreds of them in flower and bud on its slopes. Perfectly managed by the National Trust with winter grazing to keep scrub and coarser grasses at bay.

Dactylorhiza maculatum subsp ericetorum

It's not always native plants that I find in coastal areas. A surprise find was this hybrid garden cransebill (between French and Pencilled), nowhere near habitation and on a secluded part of the coast path, so I wondered how the seeds got there? I can't see someone trekking an arduous distance just to dump some garden waste?

Geranium x oxonianum

Below is the equivalent of a woodland scene in Spring, Cornish style. Unlike the South East of England, Bluebells happily colonise many clifftop areas en masse, with not a tree in sight.

Hyacinthoides non-scripta

There's an area near Boscastle that used to be used as medieval strip farming, which was the common form of farming before the Enclosure Act saw our countryside changed forever. These few fields are still in strips and known locally as "stitches". However, they had not long been tilled and this was the only arable plant I could find, Corn Spurrey.

Spergula arvensis

Comfreys are a common escape nationwide and identifying them can be difficult, so be sure to look at the flower colour, sepal shape and especially the leaves and how they join to the stem to determine which species you have found. The one below was Russian Comfrey, one of the commoner garden escapes.

Symphytum x uplandicum

Navelwort (or Wall Pennywort) is a tough little plant. It can grow on vertical walls, cliffs and pavements and is very common in Western areas where the climate is wetter than further East. Of course, growing in exposed places means it can make for some lovely photographs too.

Umbilicus rupestris

The Wadebridge area is blessed with an abundance of Little Robin plants. These are smaller than Herb Robert, have almost hairless leaves and these smell a bit like Celery when crushed. Herb Robert leaves just smell like something gone off or clinical when crushed in comparison. Little Robin also has yellow anthers  and lacks notched petals which also separates it from Herb Robert. I've also noticed that Little Robin has a thinner and more elongated calyx.

Geranium purpureum

I was used to finding Salad Burnet on chalky hillsides, but they also do well on the less acidic coastal turf areas around the Camel Estuary, no doubt due to the alkinity of years of blown ashore shell grit. Other species found nearby in revious trips, included Common Gromwell, Houndstongue and Pyramidal Orchid, all calcareous loving plants.

Poterium sanguisorba subsp sanguisorba

I usually visit saltmarsh areas in late Summer to see Atriplex and Salicornia species which are at their best then. As such, I usually see Sea Arrowgrass only in seed. The plant below was the only one on a small area of saltmarsh grass on a raised hillock within Porthilly Bay and it's in flower! Shame they have no petals, but then they get covered by the tide on a regular basis!

Triglochin maritima

Virtually all the Sea mouse-ear plants have seeded and died off, but it was possible to find a few late stragglers. The one below had an exceptionally hairy calyx. Note the 4 petals which easily identifies this species from all the other mouse-ears.

Cerastium diffusum

Mid month I took a trip to Rame Head to see what small plants I might find on the coastal turf, so I was surprised to find a naturalised Gladiolus here. It's widely naturalised around Cornwall now and is a frequent sight along rural road verges and cliff tops. However, unlike Montbretia (Crocosmia), it doesn't (as yet) seem to be invasive to the detriment of native species.

Gladiolus communis subsp byzantinus

Onto the short turf species and Trailing St John's-wort was plentiful in places sheltered from salt laden winds. It's really a plant of woodland rides and acidic heaths where the competition from other plants is limited, but it seemed to do well here along the edges of the SW Coast Path. Perhaps the walkers constantly treading on the path edges keep the more vigorous plants at bay?

Hypericum humifusum

Upright Chickweed was dotted here and there along the path and on clifftop turf, but never in great numbers. Having said that, the flowers are so tiny, you barely notice them in the grasses. Luckily it was a sunny day as the flowers only open in the sunshine. The last photo shows that the flowers average about 5mm in diameter.

Moenchia erecta

I found Birdsfoot along the SW Coast Path too, another species with tiny flowers.

Ornithopus perpusillus

Dotted around the clifftop turf were patches of very small, Small-flowered Buttercups. These were less than 5cm tall in this harsh environment. Inland, I've seen them over 30cm tall. The even tinier flower in the top left corner is a Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis).

Ranunculus parviflorus

The first Heath Pearlwort was now in flower, lovely.

Sagina subulata

A tiny Sand Spurrey in well trodden areas around a bench on the coast path.

Spergularia rubra

The first Clover found was Birdsfoot Clover (not to be confused with the Birdsfoot species above). This has white, very small flowers, singly or in pairs. By the same bench as the Sand Spurrey above.

Trifolium ornithopodioides

The dominant small clover here was Subterranean Clover, there were huge swathes of it in the coastal turf.

Trifolium subterraneum

Rough Clover joined in the fun too.

Trifolium scabrum

I was pleased to find Knotted, or Soft Clover, though out of over a hundred plants in bud, I only found one in flower, but one was enough for me.

Trifolium striatum

Hop Clover flowering gave a variety of colour to the other clovers seen. Also seen but not photographed were the following clovers - White, Red, Slender Clovers and Lesser Trefoil.

Trifolium campestre

That's it for the clovers from Rame Head for now. The Lizard area has the rare ones and I hadn't been to see any so far this year, but see June's blog instalment (to come) for most of them.

 I popped into Par Sands following a shopping trip and found what is known as a Leopard Marsh Orchid. This is basically a Southern Marsh Orchid variant that has  spotted leaves. It's probably a throwback from hybridising with spotted orchids generations ago. Surprisingly, it is a first record for this Southern Marsh variant in this area.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa var. junialis

 

The reason I went to Par Sands (apart from shopping nearby) was that Dan, a botanical colleague from the Cornwall Botany Group had found a rare alien clover there. Fortunately, he recorded an accurate map reference and I found it quickly from that. It's an odd clover in that its flowers are upside down and it forms a woolly coat around the seeds as it matures. It's called Reversed Clover and was last recorded here almost a century ago. Great find Dan. The first photo is where it was found in the dunes. It's an area with no other alien species nearby and unlikely to have been dumped or seeded there. As such, I suspect it came in with some birds, either in their feathers or droppings.

Trifolium resupinatum

 

 Most people forget to take a habitat photo, but it helps to show in what circumstances an unusual or rare plant was found in. A photo is much better than words. In the next photo, note the upside down flowers.

That's it for May. In the last week of May I was in Kent on holiday to see family members. I found plenty of great species there too, including many orchids and plants absent from Cornwall, so if interested, please have a look at https://barbus59.blogspot.com/

Take Care

Dave