South Devon Botanising

Back in July and August we took a few trips to South Devon looking for three or four rare plants in particular. First we went to Plymouth Waterfront to see Field Eryngo a rare plant in the UK which has been growing wild in the Plymouth area for several hundred years.

Sign illustrating the interesting flora of the waterfront. We saw the Plymouth Campion too, although it was in seed, but didn't have any luck with the Plymouth Thistle ( one to try for again next year perhaps)

Field Eryngo - Eryngium campestre

A few other plants photographed in the area which aren't rare at all were...

Black Nightshade - Solanum nigrum

 Pellitory-of-the-wall - Parietaria officinalis

White Stonecrop - Sedum album

Then on to Slapton Lee famously Britain's only site for Strapwort. It's a tiny insignificant looking plant and very hard to spot until you 'get your eye in' but close up the flowers are quite pretty really.

That's it, there! Sprawling around in the centre of the photo.

Strapwort - Corrigiola litoralis

Common water-crowfoot - Ranunculus aquatilis

Keeled Skimmer - Orthetrum coerulescens

Then in early August a trip to Dartmoor to look for the rare Flax-leaved St John's wort which is a fussy plant and has very particular habitat requirements, explaining its rarity and limited range. It needs plenty of space with few other competitive plants nearby, and acidic soils in warm areas. Steep rocky slopes exposed to the sun are ideal and there are quite a few sites like this on Dartmoor. The one we visited was near Castle Drogo.

The plant was growing on the tops of the rocky outcrop in this photo which was south facing and very warm and was a magnet for butterflies especially Wall Browns.

Wall Brown - Lasiommata megera

Closer view of the habitat. With Flax-leaved St John's wort plants in the left foreground.

On a background of Map Lichen - Rhizocarpon geographicum

Flax-leaved St John's wort - Hypericum linariifolium

 The warm bare rocks and thin soils were also ideal for this lovely little plant 

Sand Spurrey - Spergularia rubra

Then in late August a trip to Warleigh Point near Plymouth to see another rare Hypericum, this time Wavy-leaved St John's Wort a plant which favours damp waterlogged locations and is only found in Cornwall, and a couple of places in Devon and South Wales.

The wavy leaves unique to this species of St John's wort.

Wavy-leaved St John's Wort - Hypericum undulatum

And finally a local find was this striking white form of Herb Robert in Shute Woods.

 

Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum

Goldilocks Aster Berry Head

Just over a week ago we went to see the Goldilocks Aster a rare plant in the UK which grows on cliffs in the Berry Head area of Torbay. Most of the plants were located in inaccesible spots on the cliff slopes but there were also quite a few small groups on the cliff tops. Some of them ideally placed for nice scenic shots too.

There were some large groups growing on inaccessible ledges.

 

Goldilocks Aster - Aster linosyris

Botanizing Around Charlton Mackrell, Somerset and My Dream Wildflower

Back in mid July we spent a few hours botanizing around the Charlton Mackrell area of Somerset. We had a few target plants which we managed to see but the one I wanted most of all was Blue Pimpernel, a sub-species of the very common Scarlet Pimpernel. It really is a flower 'to die for', well I think so. After looking for it and failing last year (mainly because I found out I was looking in the wrong field) I was so stunned to find it this year that I was momentarily rendered speechless, I was just standing there pointing and gibbering. Sad I know. And if that wasn't enough we spotted a beautiful pale pink form too, almost as nice as the blue but not quite!

 Wild Liquorice - Astragalus glycyphyllos

has subtle flowers ....

... and very striking 'in yer face' seed pods.

Field Garlic - Allium oleraceum 

Sharp-leaved Fluellen -  Kickxia elatine

One of about seven plants of Blue Pimpernel we found in a single arable field

Blue Pimpernel - Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina

 (This is blue pimpernel and not the blue form of scarlet pimpernel which looks almost exactly the same I even took a couple of petals home to examine under the microscope to be sure)

 Pink form of Scarlet Pimpernel  - Anagallis arvensis

And a couple of butterflies..

Peacock

Essex Skipper