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

 

 

Botanical Finds in Cornwall - end of June 2022

 As June comes to an end, the wildflowers keep on coming. Here's the best of what I found in the last week of so of June.

A road verge in a completely rural area provided me with this Orange Day Lily, a species I'd not seen before. It no doubt originated from old fly tipped material, though there was no evidence left and no other alien plants, gardens or habitation nearby. I researched this and found it to be a commonly found naturalised plant in Cornwall. Without the flower present the leaves look remarkably similar to Montbretia, so this may go un-noticed as a result.

Hemerocallis fulva

I found the dead stems of Pale Galingale in a roadside disused quarry in early Spring, so I returned to hopefully see them in flower. I wasn't disappointed and I can see why one of the common names is Umbrella Plant!

Cyperus eragrostis

This same quarry had loads of Spear-leaved Fluellen around the chippings on the track there.  The flowers were tiny, but beautiful.

Kickxia elatine

In the same area was a Balm-leaved Figwort, another first for me. This is apparently native in Cornwall, but absent in much of the UK. The flowers are like any other Figwort, but the leaves are a different shape and look crumpled up.

 

 Scrophularia scorodonia

Tregoss Moor was visited to see what I could find. It had the usual but amazing array of bog plants, however, it also included hundreds of Marsh Cinquefoils.

Comarum palustre

There was a huge hybrid swarm of orchids along a path by a railway line, interspersed with both parents, which were Heath Spotted and Southern Marsh Orchids. These contain a number of morphological features from both parents and are often (but not always) double the height (or more) of its parents too.

 

Dactylorhiza x hallii

The impressive and large Royal Ferns were abundant on the Moors too. The fruiting frond is quite unmistakable as shown below as no other UK fern looks remotely similar.

Osmundia regalis

An exciting find on the edge of the bog were several clumps of Ivy-leaved Bellflowers. I'd only seen these once before at Sissinghurst in Kent. However from reveiwing previous records for it, I can see they are more common in Cornwall on the bogs and moors. The flowers are quite small and usually you see the odd looking leaves first.

Wahlenbergia hederacea

Not all roses are Dog Roses. This rose below, is Sherards Downy Rose, which has lots of glands under the flowers and on stalks. When rubbed these smell a bit rank, like a resin. They are called Downy Roses as the leaf undersides are hairy to some extent. On this plant the leaf veins were hairy and the flower stalks short, telling it apart from the Harsh Downy Rose.

Rosa sherardii

 

 A quite different habitat to Cornwall's bogs and moors are the calcareous dunes on the north coast. As such, different flowers can be found such as these Pyramidal Orchids in a sandy car park at Trevone. In 2012 just 6 spikes were recorded here, however, there were easily over 100 now, so it's doing well here.

 

 Anacamptis pyramidalis

 As June comes to an end, the Summer wildflowers are coming into full bloom. Also at Trevone was this lovely stand of Greater Scabious growing on top of a Cornish wall.

Centaurea scabiosa

 In the last few days of June, I visited another disused quarry, this time not that far from Wadebridge. I was surprised to find numerous bushes of Himalayan Honeysuckle with their unique flowers. I guess some were originally planted, but they have seeded over a wide area by themselves now.

Leycesteria formosa 

Betony is now in flower. A plant of Cornish walls, road verges and in abundant numbers on some areas of coastal turf. This plant was doing very well at Carnewas, managed by the National Trust. The other flower spike belonging to Sea Plantain.

Betonica officinalis and Plantago maritimum

More Betony flowering with Wild Carrot.

Betonica officinalis and Daucus carota (ssp gummifer)

Outside the NT cafe at Carnewas (also known as Bedruthan Steps) were two sea spurries growing side by side. This gave me an excellent opportunity to see the differences between them easily. The large flowered plant by the wall is Rock Sea-Spurrey and the tiny flowered plant in the foreground is Greek Sea-Spurrey with woody stems at the base.

A close up photo of Rock Sea-Spurrey

Spergularia rupicola

And Greek Sea-Spurrey, note the smaller petals in comparison to the sepals underneath. The woody stems and dense glandular hairs all over, seperate it further from Lesser Sea-Spurrey.

Spergularia bocconei

So ended June, I hope you liked the wildflowers featured. Of course, there were lots more that I photographed, but ran out of time and space to include them. What will I find in July I wonder. One thing for sure that I will find is heat and drought!

Take care

Dave