Coatham Dunes (VC62)

A work trip gave me the opportunity to explore the large sand dune system at Coatham, part of Teesmouth & Cleveland Coast SSSI. It is a fascinating site where open mosaic habitats (developed over historic deposits of lime rich slag from the former steel works) and garden escapes blur into a full succession of dune habitats, from grey dunes on the landward side to a strandline community at the top of the beach.

Plants that caught my eye, and sometimes my nose, included:

The famed (see British and Irish Botany) plant of Hart's Pennyroyal (Mentha cervina) at the edge of a pond, one of just a handful of known locations in Britain. Unfortunately it was not in flower at the time of my visit.

The margins of the pond supported good numbers of Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa), always a nice plant to find. These plants were prostrate and therefore probably var. moniliformis. A trip later in the year would likely confirm, as the large buds forming now should start to drop off to give rise to new plants.

Within the pond was a large population of Horned-pondweed (Zannichellia palustris). These plants had fruit on obvious stalks (1.5mm long, clearly apparent with the naked eye) from a common peduncle and are therefore, based on Stace 4, subsp. pedicellatus.

Everywhere within the dunes and on the slag deposits was the dinky coastal form of Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum subsp. maritimum), always a treat to catch in full bloom.

Perhaps one of the most exciting specialities of this dune system is Purple Milk-vetch (Astragalus danicus), a species holding its own further north but increasingly rare and patchily distributed in England.

Equally exciting for me was this curiously short, multi-stemmed (branching from base) and broad-leaved centaury. This meets published descriptions for the very poorly recorded and known sand dune form of Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea var. fasciculare). Thanks to Tim Rich for confirming my identification from photos. See the BSBI Handbook and an earlier analysis of variation in Common Centaury in Watsonia for further information. The pale flesh-pink flowers may or may not be relevant, depending on what other recorder's find in the field.

Another nice coastal plant is the dwarf dune form of Lesser Meadow-rue (Thalictrum minus subsp. arenarium). Some would have you believe this isn't a genuine entity. Bluntly, I don't believe them. Having previously seen its enormous rhizome system exposed by the wind; this is clearly a dune specialist and an important sand binding species at that. It would be interesting to know what the genetic evidence says about the validity of this species.

My dabbling in hawkweeds continued with a chance to examine the known population of Uig Hawkweed (Hieracium uiginskyense), present in huge numbers in the dunes.

Several of the dune slacks were fragrant with the scent of carnations, traceable to plants of Marsh Fragrant-orchid (Gymnadenia densiflora). This species packs a real punch.

Equally fragrant and stunning was this escaped Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum var. periclymenum 'Serotina') at the roadside.

To end with another garden plant. I am going to stick my neck out and say this is the hybrid lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora), although I would have been happier if I saw it in flower.  Long cultivated, I suspect this hybrid is overlooked elsewhere. This bush was notable for its more shrubby form and stubby heart shaped leaves.

The Little Things in Life

I had a pleasant surprise this week finding a plant that has long alluded me, and boy is it tiny. I have worried for a while that I was missing Annual Pearlwort (Sagina apetala), and even more so since it was split from Slender Pearlwort (Sagina filicaulis). The latter I know well from pavement cracks in summer when it generally occurs in abundance and it quite obvious. Looking at the New Atlas I was surprised at how widespread Annual Pearlwort was meant to be given I was not finding it.

So it was a great pleasure this week to be down at Brotherton Ings (VC64) and to find a tiny pearlwort in a sparse community of winter annuals on a pocket of otherwise unvegetated substrate derived from deposits of pulverised fuel ash (the Ferrybridge Powerstation is just across the river). So  popped a few in a bag to look at under the microscope. Back at home a quick look met my hopes and it keyed out quite nicely to Annual Pearlwort. Even better it was growing with equally diminutive Slender Pearlwort so I could see the differences in sepal arrangement (erect versus patent), and the ciliate leaves of the latter. The latter species was very different (smaller in all parts, more branched,  more compact, and ascending not erect stems) from the typical urban plant and seems to be var. minor, I shall have to look for it further in this kind of niche and at least a month before I would ordinarily be looking for and recording the species.

Having a feel for the niche now, I thought I would see it I could find it at my Little Mouse-ear (Cerastium semidecandrum) site down by the railway to the north of Rothwell Country Park (VC63). It took a little searching but low and behold there it was and even tinier than the previous population. There would be no spotting this without being down on your knees consciously looking.

Some photos below of plants from the Rothwell colony, the first with equally diminutive Little Mouse-ear and Silvery Hair-grass (Aira caryophyllea). I think this is var. patula, the equivalent of filicaulis var. minor.

The 'Grey Man' of the British Flora

The 'grey man' concept is about surviving by never drawing attention to yourself, blending into the background, giving no lasting impression. Sea Pearlwort (Sagina maritima) has this down to a T. Poor thing.

Photo by Geoffrey Hall, NatureSpot website for Leicestershire & Rutland

I suspect I have been overlooking this annual species, and I suspect this will be case for many others also. Particularly those like me who largely botanise inland and therefore do not have this species on their radar as a possibility. Mike Wilcox has recently drawn my attention to the presence of this species at St Aidan's (VC64), and having been for a look I had seen it previously and just ignored it as seedling Procumbent Pearlwort (Sagina procumbens). How wrong I was. After this I found it in pavement cracks in Leeds (VC63). Mike knows this species well from Bradford, about as far from the sea as you can get.

Photo by David Nicholls, NatureSpot website for Leicestershire & Rutland

Part of the problem is that this species is very variable, and many populations comprise tiny plants (2 pence coin size), so it is easily missed. Published descriptions are also not adequate, for example in Stace it is described as 'diffusely branched +/- erect annual'. Not strongly prostrate as per my plants and the photos above. The associated key also links the species to other annual species, the unintended mental image of which (coupled with the description) is a plant similar in character to these other species. The key jizz of the plant as shown above is a central rosette with flowering branches arising around its margins, and no sterile shoots (unlike the perennial species).

I was please to have opportunity again to use my bargain £10 macrolens for my iPhone. Quite pleased with the result below.

Ilkley Moor Baht 'at

I finally made it, after 7 years of not really trying, up Ilkley Moor this week in the heat of Tuesday and probably unwisely without 'at. This is of course a well botanised site so I was not expecting to add much new to the plant list, and in this light I did quite well.

The first good find was a new stand of the non-native Silver Lady's-mantle (Alchemilla conjuncta), extending its range into a new tetrad.

Not a new location, but of interest to me was the enigma that is Cut-leaved Bramble (Rubus laciniatus). No one really knows this species origins, or whether it is native or endemic to Britain. It is certainly not native in Yorkshire, but in comparison with the thug that is Himalayan Giant (Rubus armeniacus), I am more than happy to welcome it.

By far the best find of the day, apologies in advance for the over-exposed photo I blame the low late season sun!, was a colony of Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa) along the the historic alignment of Keighley Road. From the data available to me, it does not appear to have been reported from the Moor for decades, so I am pleased to have refound it. The associated Eyebright (Euphrasia) is giving me headaches and is one for the BSBI referee.

To end with, here is the view from Addingham High Moor where the carpets of Heather (Calluna vulgaris) were at peak bloom. Scenic as it is, it is important not to forget what an impoverished habitat this is for native flora. Over a century of over-management for grouse does not leave room for much else, and it is not a very satisfying habitat for a botanist. That said, Ilkley Moor seems to be suffering the opposite effect i.e. a legacy of under-management resulting in an ever increasing dominance of Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). There must be a middle ground somewhere, but it is a challenge to find the most favourable balance in the modern world where traditional agriculture and land management is no longer economic.