1995 South East Kent 10th to 11th June Main Meeting
These two days were advertised as being led by Eric Philp, v.c. recorder for East and West Kent, "at a very gentle pace". Anyone who knows Eric would take such a statement with a large pinch of salt, for, despite recent major heart surgery, Eric is not a man who botanises slowly; however, they would also know that his knowledge of the natural world is so wide and deep that he will identify and explain anything encountered along the way, from a critical plant to a slug, insect or bird song!
Our group of 29, from as far afield as Anglesey and Blackburn, met at Dungeness on a typical June Saturday, dull, overcast, and cold! Dungeness is a promontory comprising the largest expanse of shingle in Europe, a rather extreme habitat which gives rise to a special community of plants and, indeed, other wildlife.
Eric told us that we would spend the morning at Dungeness and then return to our cars for lunch before driving to two other sites. We looked around the lighthouse area, finding Sea-kale (Crambe maritima), Smith's Pepperwort (Lepidium heterophyllum). Shepherd's Cress (Teesdalia nudicaulis), the procumbent maritime variety of Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara var. marinum). Hare's-foot Clover (Trifolium arvense) Dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) and Chinese Mugwort (Artemisia verlotiorum), one of the few exceptions to the 'in flower' rule. Most impressive were, perhaps, the large areas of Nottingham Catchfly (Silene nutans), very variable in both colour and form, and a beautiful patch of Sea Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) in prime condition.
We then headed north-west along the line of the old pre-war railway, noting the procumbent forms of Blackthorn (Primus spinosa), still with flowers and leaves, and Broom (Cytisus scoparius); surprisingly, neither of these is recognised in Stace as being distinct, but perhaps more work needs to be done on them. We saw an attractive, silvery-leaved Willow (Salix repens var. argentea) and Small-flowered Buttercup (Ranunculus parviflorus) before reaching the flooded gravel pits. Dick Barrett was foolish enough to wear wellies, so he was volunteered to fetch a Water Crowfoot which was tantalisingly close to the bank. It turned out to be Ranunculus circinatus. Eric decided to provide some light entertainment by demonstrating the use of the grapnel, a wonderful device which seems to guarantee that you will retrieve every part of an aquatic plant except the part that you actually need - the flower! We therefore had to record the Waterweed Elodia nuttalli as NIF, but fortunately, having recorded the Pondweed Potamogeton lucens also as NIF, we later spotted a flower from the bank. Sadly the grapnel proved to be more interesting than the pits themselves, which have declined markedly in floral diversity in the last few years, although we did find Greater Spearwort (Ranunculus lingua).
After lunch, our convoy of cars headed for Boulderwall Farm, between Dungeness and Lydd, for a 'five-minute stop'. Half an hour later we were still there, having recorded three more small clovers (Trifolium ornithopodioides, T. subterraneum and T. suffocatum) and two horsetails (Equisetum fluviatile and E. palustre). As a southerner, I walked straight past the scruffy specimen of Annual Mercury (Mercurialis annua), little realising that this plant would cause a level of excitement in our northern friends akin to a major pools win! Eric clearly felt as unexcited about the Annual Mercury as I did, since he again decided to liven up the proceedings with the grapnel, this time to investigate the local dyke. More success this time, with three of the four Duckweeds (Lemna minor, L. trisulca and L. gibba), two Pondweeds (Potamogeton trichoides (NIF) and P. crispus) and the Water-starwort Callitriche obtusangula. On the return to our cars, Eric described the characteristics of a specimen of the under-recorded Lesser Soft-brome (Bromus x pseudothominei). We then headed for Littlestone, a small resort with some interesting sand dunes and waste ground. Fragrant Evening Primrose (Oenothera stricta), Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca), Sand Cat's-tail (Phleum arenarium), Toothed Medick (Medicago polymorpha), and Fiddle Dock (Rumex pulcher) were readily identified, but Eric spent some time describing the salient features of Hirschfeldia incana, a yellow crucifer which has frequently been mis-identified. The beautiful little Sand Catchfly (Silene conica) attracted much interest, and was found in good quantities on the dunes, as was the rare Dune Fescue (Vulpia fasciculata). An interesting find was a white form of Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara), which I would probably have noted as Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) - be warned! The dunes also supported some well-naturalised garden escapes, including Blanket-flower (Gaillardia anstata) and the Seaside Daisy ( Erigeron glaucus); and on waste ground we found Great Brome (Anisantha diandra) and Yellow-juiced Poppy (Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii). It had been dull and overcast the whole time, but just as we decided to call it a day the sun came out!
On the Sunday we met by the war memorial, a 90-foot high obelisk, at St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, to walk along the top of the chalk cliffs. We expected showers, so wet-weather gear was to the fore - it did the trick, since not a drop of rain fell the whole day. Eric described the difference between the stellate hairs on Common Ivy (Hedera helix ssp. helix) and Atlantic Ivy (ssp. hibernica), and an essential difference between the Festuca rubra (fused sheaths) and F. ovina (split sheaths) aggregates. We also found the glaucous-leaved Festuca rubra ssp. junceaamong the much more common ssp. rubra, Bromus hordeaceus ssp. thominei with ssp. hordeaceus, and, appropriately, Kentish snails.
We felt that we must find the Sea Carrot (Daucus carota ssp. gummifer), though only Eric seemed to know what it looked like. Likely candidates were proclaimed as having the necessary degree of pubescence, but Eric was not impressed. When we had almost given up hope, we heard a cry of "eureka" (or something like it), and found Eric hanging precariously over the cliff edge examining the hairiness of a fine specimen; we were all happy to take his word for that one! (Apparently he has been known to abseil down these cliffs in search of rare plants, but fortunately on this occasion nobody had a rope.) We tried, but failed, to find more than one species of Broomrape. A giant one, 18 inches tall, and a smaller, very yellow specimen, were examined, but both proved to be varieties of Orobanche minor. A field edge provided some interest with Venus' Looking-glass (Legousia hybrid) and Stinking Chamomile (Anthemis cotula). We also found a Small Blue Butterfly on Kidney Vetch and a rare weevil. By this time, however, we had plucked up the courage to mention 'lunch' to Eric. He was very good about it, and said that we could stop at the beach a bit further along. However, we had failed to consider one possibility, the odds against which seemed almost as high as winning the National Lottery. It is not often that Eric gets a 'lifer', but Dick Barrett had received a hot tip that Scorpion Senna (Hippocrepis emerus) was to be found along our route. Eric was sceptical - after all, he knows most of the plants in Stace down to their glandular hairs, but he had never even heard of this one! To everyone's amazement, however, two large, well- established bushes were found, in full accordance with Stace's description, a new county record. We lunched on waste-ground just outside Kingsdown, although Eric, anxious not to lose any time, made us botanise the patches around us. This turned out to be quite productive, with Rock Stonecrop (Sedum forsterianum) and Purple Crane's-bill (Geranium x magnificum).
When our regulation ten minutes was up, Eric set off, announcing that he would come back that way if people wanted to stay longer. That promise fooled nobody, and belongings were hastily gathered as the remains of sandwiches were gulped down Evergreen or Holm Oak \Quercus ilex) and Rough Clover (Tnfolium scabrum) were identified en route, as we headed towards Kingsdown to look for the rare Narrow-leaved Ragwort ( Senecio inaquidens) which used to be naturalised on the beach We failed to find it, but two enthusiasts somewhat rashly agreed to continue the hunt and catch us up. We wondered if we would ever see them again as Eric off at a cracking pace for Otty Bottom - yes, it's even called that on the OS maps. - where we compared two whitebeams growing together (Sorbus aria and S. intermedia) and found a Bloody-nosed Beetle. We found the hybrid Pink Campion (Silene x hampeana) in the presence of its parents, and managed to stop Eric for long enough to explain its characteristics and for the two others to catch up.
Banks and field edges along our return path proved interesting with Hairy Rock- cress (Arabis hirsuta). Dense-flowered Fumitory (Fumana densiflora) a late flowering Cornsalad (Valerianella dentata and a Whitethroat singing. We made it back to the car park only half an hour later than promised. Eric said that this was out of consideration for our more distant visitors, but between ourselves he was also hoping to catch the start of the Canadian Grand Prix.
We all had a great time. We recorded 166 plants in flower on the first day and (surprisingly since we had not driven to different habitats) 174 on the second with a total of 275 for the weekend, thus swelling our diaries with many 'right-hand page entries We also learned a lot about plants, beetles, snails, birds ... Thank you Eric from all of us, but next time I will take my lunch with me whatever you say!
DAVID CARDER