Cornwall Botany - June 2024

 Below follows a summary of interesting plants I came across whilst botanically recording in Cornwall in June, I hope you like the selection.

 

The non-descript, but sandy car park at Trevone Beach, continues to provide interesting plants. Last year, I found Toothed Medick in the worn areas where cars turn over the sand during the Summer months, this year, I found several patches of Rough Clover.

Trifolium scabrum

 

 In the same car park were patches of Greek Sea-Spurrey. This is a tiny plant with flowers less than 8mm in diameter. With such tiny flowers, the only other plant it could be would be Sand Spurrey. The key to telling them apart is that in Sand Spurrey, the upper bracts  are about the same length as the stem leaves (so both look like leaves of similar length), and pedicels are much longer than the capsules. With Greek Sea-Spurrey the upper bracts are much shorter than the stem leaves, or present as simple tiny stipules and most pedicels are shorter than the capsules. My personal observation too is that Sand Spurrey usually has a darker rose red petal colour, rather than pale pink to creamy white in Greek.

Sometimes, the habitat overlaps with Lesser Sea-Spurrey and then you have to look at whether the stipules on young shoots are fused for more than 1/3rd of their length or not. Also check seeds if present, winged seeds will be Greater or Lesser Sea-Spurrey only.

Spergularia bocconei

 

Navelwort (or Wall Pennywort) is so common here that it doesn't usually warrant a photograph, but because it can grow where other plants can't, it sometimes gives a botanical aspect to a great view, as below, near Cadgwith on The Lizard peninsular.

Umbilicus rupestris

We had pizza on the beachside at Polzeath recently, and afterwards I had a wander around (like one does). By the toilet block (there's always something interesting by them isn't there!) I found a diminuitive Fumitory growing on sandy soil. It was clearly Tall Ramping Fumitory, but it was small and not one of the variants I usually see. As such, I took a sample and sent photos to the referee. He agreed it was F. bastardii but didn't recognise the variant. It could well be var. gussonei but as the referee was unfamiliar with that variant, it remains unconfirmed. To work these plants out to species and sub species levels you really need a copy of the BSBI Fumitories Handbook.

Fumaria bastardii var gussonei (unconfirmed).

One weekend, I made a trip to East Cornwall to try and refind Bird's Nest Orchid, but failed to do so. I did find plenty of other plants though, like this Heath Spotted Orchid in peak condition.

Dactylorhiza maculosa subsp ericetorum

Southern Marsh were present too, but past their best. Other orchids were in the vicinity including both types of Butterfly Orchid, both are pollinated by moths with a long probiscis.

Platanthera chlorantha - Greater Butterfly Orchid

 

Note the diverging pollinia in Greater.

Platanthera bifolia - Lesser Butterfly Orchid

Note the parallel pollinia.

A very uncommon plant was also growing profusely in the same area. Below is the rare Cornish Bladderseed, a parsley like umbellifer with strange leaves compared to the more common lookalikes.

Physospermum cornubiense

Wild Raspberries were frequent in this woodland too.

Rubus ideaus

The stunning Bastard Balm put in an appearance on a woodland track edge.

Melittis melissophyllum

In places, the woodland floor was carpeted with Common Cow-wheat with hundreds in flower.

Melampyrum pratense subsp pratense

 I saw a pair of small butterflies, about the same size as a Small Copper and I managed to get a photo. They turned out to be Heath Fritillaries, a rare butterfly in Cornwall.

Melitaea athalia

 Welsh Poppy is considered native in Cornwall and this was a good example: in native deciduous woodland surrounded by native plants nowhere near habitation or likely fly tipping. 

Papaver cambricum

 

 I put my car in a for a service and had a wander around an industrial estate while I waited (like a botanist would do) and found 5 Southern Marsh Orchids hiding behind a pile of rubble from recent roadworks.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa

The coastal clifftops are becoming awash with flowers from now until July, below is one of the first to flower, Kidney Vetch, shown here with two colour forms growing together.

Anthyllis vulneraria

 Western Sea-lavender coming into flower at Trevose Head, this one being a very small, drought resistant sub species.

Limonium brittanicum subsp brittanicum

 Mid June and I took a visit to Greena Moor nature reserve in North East Cornwall, a relic of Culm grassland. Dotted around were lots of Flea Sedges, whose ripe seeds apparently fly off in different directions when touched.

Carex pulicaris

 One of the reasons for my trip there was to try and find the hybrid between Meadow and Marsh Thistle. I found this hybrid easily at another nearby site last year, but after examining hundreds of thistles, I failed to find any. However, the Meadow Thistle is an attractive thistle and much loved by bees too.

Cirsium dissectum

                                      Bitter Vetch was plentiful in parts of the reserve.

Lathyrus linifolius

A damp flush came out of a hillside and Bog Pimpernel had colonised it.

Lysimachia tenella 

Water Purslane is a common plant in shallow pools, puddles and dried up wet areas, but it's quite hard to find one with all its petals intact as they fall off very quickly. So it was nice to find an intact one in a puddle frequented by cattle; the second photo shows the muddy pool they were growing in.

 

Lythrum portula

In the last week of June I went to Davidstow Woods, near Camelford. The woods themselves are quite barren, being a pine plantation woodland, with only a few ferns growing beneath them. But the woodland rides and open areas had more interest for me.

Alchemilla mollis - Garden Ladies Mantle

Confused Eyebright on short turf. To determine these properly to species level you really need to key specimens out using the BSBI Euphrasia Handbook (which I did). Previously recorded here too. One of the interesting traits of this species is that it often branches from the cotyledon node and the stem and branches are flexuous, not straight.

Euphrasia confusa

 

I don't see Heath Rush very often, but there were hundreds of tufts of it here, taking advantage of recently felled pine trees.

Juncus squarrosus

Creeping Forget-me-not is the species I usually see in the acidic wet areas of Cornwall, but here, the dominant species was Tufted Forget-me-not. It has smaller flowers and flattened hairs top and bottom of the stem, whereas Creeping has larger flowers (similar colour though), and patent hairs from the base to about half way up the stem. In the second photo you can see the sepal lobes are not equal in length x width. This separates it from Water Forget-me-not, which also has larger, usually deep blue flowers.

Myosotis laxa

Toad Rush on a woodland track

Juncus bufonius

Back to Wadebridge and on an evening walk I found the first Red Bartsia of the year (for me) in flower on a grassy verge.

Odontites vernus

Nearby were some Knotted Hedge Parsley, now in seed.

Torilis nodosa

Then I found a strange looking Balm-leaved Figwort, considered native in Cornwall: the leaves clearly showed this to be the species, but it was all green with no red colouring in the flowers at all. Much like var Chlorantha Bee Orchids and the like, this is a plant deficient in anthocyanins. It was a first for me and only the 14th record for Cornwall since records began, so a nice find.

Scrophularia scorodonia var. viridiflora

On the same walk I found a mystery Mullein. It had the look of Twiggy Mullein but its vigour and a combination of white and purple hairs on the stamens show this to be a hybrid plant. I keyed it out to be the hybrid between Twiggy and Great Mullein and I have sent photos to the BSBI referee for a determination. I still await his reply as I write. If it is, it will be a first for Cornwall. Both parents recorded nearby.

Verbascum x lemaitrei - unconfirmed

Update - the Verbascum referee determined this to be an atypical Twiggy Mullein after all. He stated that this species often has purple and white hairs on the stamens, yet the books never mention this combination. He is considering writing an article for BSBI News to put this right.

Verbascum virgatum - confirmed

 

Another plant that I found, but this time on a coastal clifftop in short turf had me confused. On first glance it looked like Slender Birdsfoot Trefoil, which is rare and would have been a great find. However, after speaking to the BSBI referee and my VCR, it clearly wasn't this species. It seems to be Common Birdsfoot Trefoil, but an uncommon hairy variant with a pronounced keel. There were hundreds of "normal" Common Birdsfoot Trefoils nearby, all virtually hairless and looking quite different to the one below.

Lotus corniculatus var. hirsutus - unconfirmed

 After finding the above plant, I thought it might be useful to compare the various Lotus species you might find in the UK. For all the relevant details separating these species from each other, you really need to get a Wildflower ID book until you get to know them. I started off with Harrap's Wildflowers then went on to Stace and Sell and Murrell; the latter two being quite expensive, but well worth the money and essential if botany is your thing. After all, you wouldn't expect to become a golf professional if you carried on using the clubs you started out with playing pitch and putt would you?

I write this with 4 days of June left, though I doubt I will add anything to June's finds, but if I do, I will include them in next month's blog instalment. I hope you enjoyed the plant selection; as usual, I had to leave out so many species. 

It's a lovely time of year for wild plants, so go and see what you can find in your own area.

Take Care

Dave

@Botany2021

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