Cornwall Botany Group Field Trip to the Lizard - 25/05/22

 The geology of the Lizard area is well documented as are the plants that grow there. However, it is a very large area and it would take a long time finding these rare plants unguided. So what better way to have an introduction to the area than with a guided botanical walk with the Cornwall Botanical Group.

This is a blog containing the rarer species found, along with anything else I found interesting on the day. As there are so many species I will limit my ramblings and show you as many photos as possible.

I'll start off with the rarer Clovers as many botanists and students studying ecology visit there to see them. Below is Twin headed Clover, though all the ones we saw this day had single flower heads (probably due to drought).

 Trifolium bocconei

 Upright Clover

Trifolium strictum

 Knotted Clover

Trifolium striatum

Rough Clover

Trifolium scabrum

Birdsfoot Clover

Trifolium ornithopioides

Slender Trefoil

Trifolium micranthum

Long Headed Clover

Trifolium incarnatum subsp molinerii

Western Clover, the biggest of all the above, but still half the size of White Clover.

Trifolium occidentale

So now you know there are a few more clovers than Red or White ones! 

 

Wild Chives on a rocky outcrop

Allium schoenoprasum

The red form of Shepherd's Purse, though I have seen ordinary plants looking as red as these. Im sure there are some other differences between them too. Found in the Lizard car park area.

Capsella rubella

Also found in the car park were copious amounts of Green Sea-spurrey, much smaller than our native ones found in salt marshes.

Spergulria bocconei

I learnt a new sedge to identify and have seen it in several places since this visit, Flea Sedge.

Carex pulicaria

Dropwort is quite at home on the poor soils of the serpentine rocks.

 I used to only see it on chalk back East.

Filipendula vulgaris

Found in the Lizard main car park was Western Ramping Fumitory, locally known as Cornish Ramping Fumitory as it's only found in Cornwall and is also endemic (only found here in the world).

Fumaria occidentale

Petty Whin is very rare most everywhere, a thin, spindly bush with weak spines. On the Lizard it sprawls through other plants and thrusts up the odd branch and flower cluster between them.

Genista anglica

A related species was also in flower which are very similar to those above, Dyer's Greenweed. It was the procumbent subspecies that can survive being blasted by salt laden gales that happen here frequently over the cooler months. Oh and what a view too!

Genista tinctoria subsp littoralis

 

Look for this type of sparse, thin soil over granite habitat for the tiny Clovers.

A change of rock led to a change of wildflower. This below was one of hundreds of Bloody Cranesbills.

Geranium sanguineum

Scattered over the rocks in places and also in the main Lizard car park was Fringed Rupturewort, one of several new species I saw today.

 Herniaria ciliolata

Spotted Cat's Ear, another rare species.

Hypochaeris maculata

A very rare fern, Land Quillwort. The corm is usually buried but this had been kicked up by cattle we suspect. It gave us a unique opportunity to see the whole plant. Spores form on the underside of the leaves to disperse the plant by wind.

Isoetes histrix

Toad Rush abounded, but we also found the very small Dwarf Rush, not far away from the Chives.

Juncus captitatus

One of the stars of the trip was this plant, parasitic on Wild Thyme, it was of course, Thyme Broomrape.

Orobanche alba

Pillwort is an even smaller fern, dispersing its spores by forming a pill like ball at the base of the simple frond. Found in dried up winter puddle areas.

Pilularia globulifera 

Another amazing plant to see was Spring Sandwort, a bit larger than its common cousins with proper petals too!

Sabulina verna

Incredible scenery surrounded many of these plants. Here's Dropwort with an amazing backdrop.

 

 

Below is Sea Milkwort, it was the only plant growing across a fault line where the types of rock beneath changed 

 

Lysimachia maritima

 

 

There were of course many more plants to see and marvel at, but I've shown the most unusual or rare. It's a fantastic place and the end of May is the best time to visit it.

After the field trip me and another member decided to visit an area nearby for bog plants and orchids. Not much was up yet, but we did find these gems.

 

Common Butterwort, the only site in Cornwall for this plant.

 

Pinguicula vulgaris

 

 Close by were numeorus Pale Butterworts, which is much more common in Cornwall. It's also smaller in all parts than Common Butterwort.

 

 Pinguicula lusitanica

 

Early Marsh Orchids looking great. These are much pinker than Kent's population which are very white in comparison.

Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp incarnata

 

 Heath Spotted Orchid, one of hundreds found here and in the Lizard coastal areas too.

 

Dactylorhiza maculata

 Finally, Round-leaved Sundew

 

Drosera rotundifolia

All the above and the field trip in general were taken in adverse weather. It was very windy and at times very wet, yet ironically the area is suffering from a drought, which seems commonplace in recent years for early Spring.

 

That finishes up my botanical finds for May, what a month is was too.

 

Take care

Dave

Twitter - @botany2021

Amazing Plants Cornwall, mid to end of May 2022

 Species are flowering now thick and fast as the sun gains warmth in late Spring.

Alerted by photos on social media in other areas, I began to search for a very attractive plant with the very  unattractive name of Bastard Balm. It didn't take long to find it using historical records. However, I failed to find it in 3 out of 5 of my local sites. I don't know if this should be concerning or whether I was looking in the wrong places, but it warrants further searches in future years.

 

The two places I found them was in a large lay-by and a rural lane as shown below. Both were very shaded making competition from other plants less of an issue for the species.

 Here are the flowers. They are about an inch long, so not small at all.

 I noticed that the lip patterns varied quite a bit between plants too.

Melittis melissophyllum

 

The whole plant below

 

What an amazing plant. I have no idea why its range is restricted to western areas like Cornwall, but I was very pleased to see it for the first time this year.

 

Nearby, again on a rural lane was the biggest patch of Common cow-wheat I'd ever seen. It stretched for at least 50 metres along both sides of a lane, parasitising Holly, Oak and Gorse.

 

Melampyrum pratense subsp. pratense

The next day, I was again alerted via social media that Mountain Everlasting was in flower down near Perranporth. This was another new species for me and it would have been remiss not to have gone to see them. I could only find one patch of them, but it was a large one, in short rabbit grazed turf on aged sand dunes. You can see them below as the light grey patch.

Antennaria dioica

 

 Another amazing plant, at most 6" tall and nowhere near any mountains either. Probably about 50m above sea level.

On our return, we stopped off at Saint Columb Minor churchyard in search of finding a Hoary Plantain, considered extinct as a native in Cornwall. I didn't find any, primarily as it was too early for them to be flowering and rafts of Ribwort Plantain got in the way!

What I did find which were numerous Cuckooflowers that were double petalled along with the normal 4 merrous forms. I had not come across these before.

Cardamine pratensis 'flore pleno'

One of the odd things I have noticed about Cornwall is that you never know what garden escape you'll see next on a road verge, fully naturalised due to the mild climate. I spotted these Gladioli all over mid Cornwall, especially west of the Camel Estuary. Often on remote rural road verges and definitely not planted.

Gladiolus communis subsp byzantinus

Below is the country lane I photographed these on, no habitation or gardens anywhere close.

Below is Rock Sea-Spurrey on the cliffs at Carnewas (NE of Newquay). Reasonably common along the rocky north coast.

Spergularia rupicola

A walk along the Camel Trail north of Bodmin revealed another naturalised alien, this time a Honey Garlic, There were at least 30 flowering spikes along the old railway, now a long range cycle and footpath. I'd not seen these before. I thought these were a bit plain for a garden plant.

However, the flowers are nice but you have to lay on the ground to see them.

Allium siculum

I revisited Crowdy Marsh for the first time since 2018 when on holiday here. It was quite boggy, but drier than it should be due to the drought this Spring. Here's a young Round-leaved Sundew growing in the wetter areas. There's a fly being digested on the leaf and another stuck that will be digested soon.

Drosera rotundifolia

 Near Rough Tor I found plenty more.

 Also at Rough Tor was Round-leaved Water-Crowfoot in a stream by the car park.

Ranunculus omiophyllus

 Creeping Forget-me-not was plentiful at Crowdy with their very pale blue flowers.

Myosotis secunda

Some beautiful Bogbean was in flower also by Crowdy reservoir.

Menyanthes trifoliata

Locally, near Bodieve, some Southern Marsh Orchids were coming into flower.

Dactylorhiza pratermissa

A trip to Rock Dunes found several more spikes of these orchids flowering.

Sea Bindweed is now brightening up the dunes closer to the sea.

Calystegia soldanella

There were well over 100 spikes of Ivy Broomrape within the dunes. These are parasitic on Ivy.

Orobanche hederae

Other finds in the dunes included Harestail grass, Small Cats Tail Grass and Sand Sedge, all nice finds.The clifftops were coming into flower now too. Here's a previously unrecorded patch of the tiny flowers of Subterranean Clover from North of Polzeath.

Trifolium subterraneum

A Green Hairstreak butterfly on Thrift at Boscastle cliffs.

My local road verges East of Wadebridge at present remain uncut by the council. I suspect cutting is imminent for the impending Cornwall County Show, so I had a walk around to see what I might find. There were thousands of tiny flowers on the verges, so here's a small selection.

Only 100m from my house, this verge has thousands of Hop and Lesser Trefoils in flower, amongst larger plants such as Weld and Ox-eye Daisies.

 On some bare dirt was  a patch of Common Fumitory. Bare dirt doesn't stay bare for long.

Fumaria officinalis

Hop Trefoils look like miniature hops, hence their common name.

Trifolium campestre

 All these flowers attracted insects such as this Common Blue.

And then, mongst these lovely, but common wildflowers, I saw hundreds of Rough Clover dotting the verge. These are rare inland, and usually only found by the coast on short turf in dunes or cliffs. A great find.

 

Trifolium scabrum

That concludes my May finds, apart from a field trip to the Lizard. There were so many amazing plants from that trip that I will write a seperate blog for it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my May finds and that it inspires you to get out and about and find some in your area.

Regards

Dave

Twitter @botany2021