2004 North Nofolk Coast 14th to 15th August Main Meeting
14th August
The warning of a long day and hard going underfoot did not deter the 22 members who met at Cley Eye car park in grey and windy weather. We knew we were in for a treat on what the Macmillan Guide to Nature Reserves calls "a wonderful example of shingle and sand interplay". The shingle spit to Blakeney Point stretches just over four miles north-north-west from Cley Eye, overlain with sand dunes at its western end and backed by extensive saltmarsh, mudflats and muddy creeks to the south. But we began with a diversion - to look at Ruppia cirrhosa (spiral tasselweed), a species of brackish water in the pool by the car park.
Once on the shingle we soon found Glaucium flavum (yellow horned-poppy), Sedum acre (biting stonecrop) and Silene uniflora (sea campion), characteristic plants. Grasses did not go unobserved, with Elytrigia atherica (sea couch) and E. repens (common couch) soon turning up. That set us searching for the hybrid, Elytrigia x oliveri. A convincing one was found and Bill explained that the anthers were narrow, indehiscent and no seed was set. There were rigid scabrules on the tough flower axis and the glumes were set acutely.
We kept on the leeward (southern) side of the shingle spit and were soon skirting salt marsh but we had to make our way through a hedge of Suaeda vera (shrubby sea- blite) to reach the drift line where Atriplex laciniata (frosted orache) and Atriplex littoralis (grass-leaved orache) were growing. A. portulacoides (sea purslane) on the other hand occupied extensive stands at the edge of the creeks and intertidal pools where we also saw Aster tripolium (sea aster) in both the ligulate and eligulate forms (i.e. with and without ray florets).
Blakeney is a good place to begin to understand the genus Limonium (sea- lavenders) as all four Norfolk species are found here. L. vulgare (common sea- lavender) is, as its names suggest, the commonest being frequent wherever there is salt marsh; it can be recognised by its pinnately-veined leaves and yellow anthers. L. humile (lax- flowered sea-lavender) is a nationally scarce species which usually grows where the saltmarsh overlies the shingle; it too has pinnately-veined leaves but reddish-brown anthers. Limonium bellidifolium (matted sea-lavender) is a Red Data Book species confined in Britain to the north Norfolk coast marshes. Like L. humile it also requires a firm substrate and grows where the saltmarsh lies over shingle. Perhaps the most distinctive Sea Lavender, it can be readily recognised by its numerous well-branched non-flowering lateral lower branches. The fourth Limonium is L. binervosum ssp. anglicum, the local (and fortunately, the only) ssp. of that difficult group, the rock sea-lavenders. It is a UK endemic found only on the north Norfolk coast and a small area of nearby Lincolnshire, and recognisable by... (Well, here I think you need to get the book out.)
We managed to find a grassy patch near the Watch House for our lunch stop where Galium verum (lady's bedstraw) provided a splash of colour. On then over muddy drainage channels towards the sand dunes, the Old Lifeboat House, the Salicornia beds and the brightening weather. There may have been several species of Salicornia(glassworts) in the shallow water but it was too early to tell for sure as the diagnostic fruits of those saltmarsh pioneers do not ripen until September or October. We did, however, find Sarcocornia perennis (perennial glasswort), apparently known locallyas sheep's samphire, being the only marsh samphire (glasswort) not gathered for human consumption.
As we moved away from the rippling shallow water to the dry sandy drift line we found Salsola kali ssp. kali (prickly saltwort), together with Cakile maritima (sea rocket) and some large patches of Honckenya peploides (sea sandwort). Before leaving the dunes and heading along the beach back towards Cley one member spotted Eryngium maritimum (sea holly) thus confirming a pre-1987 record for Blakeney.
We returned along the shore each at our own pace and all, I'm sure, grateful to Bill and Carol Hawkins for a varied and fascinating day with lots of new plants for our diaries.
JOHN SWINDELLS
15th August
Continuing on from John's report, the next day sixteen of us met to partake of a shorter walk than the eight or so miles that we covered over Blakeney Point, and, for once with good weather and plenty of sunshine. This is a beautiful piece of countryside with unadulterated farmland and large areas managed by English Nature and the Holkham Estate. It constitutes one of the largest expanses of undeveloped coastal habitat of its type in Europe. In and around 1860 the fixed dunes were planted with plantations of Pinus sylvestris and P. nigra ssp. laricio (Scots and Corsican pine) which botanically are quite sterile.
There are several ponds nearby which provide emergency water for any forest fires and near these we found Juncus maritimus (sea rush), Glaux maritima (sea milkwort) and Aster tripolium (sea aster), var. tripoliumwith rays - and var. discoidea without rays. On the edge of the trees is an old house which used to be a holiday home for the late Queen Mother (or so I understand) and from the grounds are now several naturalised escapes: Lathyrus latifolius (broad- leaved everlasting pea), Kniphofia uvaria (red-hot poker), Phlomis fruticosa (Jerusalem sage), Sempervivum tectorum (house leek), Hypericum calycinum (rose of Sharon), Helleborus foetidus (stinking hellebore), Rosa rugosa (Japanese rose) and Scrophularia vernalis (yellow figwort). Along the woodland path we had Odontites vernus (red bartsia) and Plantago major ssp. intermedia (greater plantain) - a coastal plant which is smaller, has less than five leaf veins compared to its larger cousin which has five to nine.
A fairly long traipse through the dunes brought us to our main goal which is a population of Lathyrus heterophyllus var. unijugus (Norfok everlasting pea) which has been growing here since 1949. Covering quite a large expanse, and spreading, it was covered in mauve-pink flowers and has very wide pairs of leaflets (cf with L. latifolius seen earlier).
We walked back on the seaward side of the Meals encountering Erigeron acer(blue fleabane), the unusual looking Carlina vulgaris (carline thistle), pink spikes of Centaurium erythraea (common centaury) and many flowering specimens of Inula conyzae (ploughman's-spikenard). The littoral was covered in Salsola kali (prickly saltwort) and a lot of Atriplix laciniata (frosted orache). A final foray through the moss strewn forest floor and we came across a small population of Goodyera repens (creeping lady's-tresses) with one plant still in flower. A very lucky and fortunate find because we almost took another path and would have missed them completely. At Holkham Gap there is a small area of saltmarsh in which we finally added Euphorbia paralias (sea spurge), Festuca rubra ssp. juncea (red fescue ssp.) and amazingly, a few more low growing plants of Limonium bellidifolium (RR - matted sea-lavender) - much easier to get here than to the end of Blakeney Point!
An end to a perfect weekend, for once graced with sunshine, and many thanks to Bill and Carol Hawkins for their knowledge and bonhomie.
STEPHEN CLARKSON