Adur Wild Flowers 2017

To see a World in a grain of sand,
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour

William Blake

15 December 2017
The cyclepath between Old Shoreham and the gap in the wall in Old Shoreham Road was reopened. Most of the distinctive bushes had been hacked down but lots of the hardier wild plants showed glimpses of past flowering including Wild Carrot, Hogweed, Fennel and Sow Thistle.

I went for a walk along Southwick Beach with the sea lapping over a small amount of sand in the late afternoon, but nothing was showing washed ashore. There were a few beach flowers on the promenade. Annual Wall Rocket grew between cracks in the pavement as did the Common Poppy.

The mown green space at the the top of Chanctonbury Drive, north Shoreham, was not only grass but a mixture of the common species of wild plants or weeds including a wide variety of he dandelion-like Cichorioid Daisies which I find tricky to identify and even more problematic to remember how to differentiate them for sure, with all the leaves entangled and not always easy to see and remember which is which. The patch as far as I could determine included the easy to recognise Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale agg., and Rough Hawkbit, Leontodon hispidus, the reasonably easy Lesser Hawkbit, Leontodon saxatilis, but also thought to include frequent Autumnal Hawkbit, Scorzoneroides autumnalis, which I am far less positive about.
Adur Cichorioid Daisies

Of the cichorioid daisies (dandelion-types) that are so easy to confuse, the lower slopes of Mill Hill hosted Rough Hawkbit and Lesser Hawkbit, but not Smooth Hawk's-beard (misidentified).

Symphyotrichum lanceolatum is the accepted name for Aster lanceolatus (Narrow-leaved Michaelmas Daisy), which is the name by which this is known in the UK. I cannot tell whether this is Aster lanceolatus, for which is needed a close-up shot of the phyllaries. The outer ones have conspicuous membranous borders, as long as the inner ones. Unless you can confirm this, it is best to leave it as "Aster sp."

Sea Aster was now flowering on the estuarine margins of the River Adur. Purple Loosestrife bordered the stream at Bramber and Everlasting Pea brightened up a grass verge.
In Castle Lane Park (adjacent to Clays Hill), Bramber, there were stands of the blue flowering Pickerelweed. The pond was surrounded by large clumps of Fleabane and Water Mint.

I spotted this little weed at the vehicle slope entrance to Coronation Green, Shoreham as I waited for he number 2 bus to Steyning. I did not recognise it and I had an inkling that it was an accidental immigrant. I was proven right as it was quickly identified as the Shaggy Soldier, Galinsoga quadriradiata, by the British & Irish Seasonal Wildflowers facebook group.
NB: Five white ray florets widely spaced around the centre, each an oval shape typically with three crenate teeth at the tip. This and closely related Gallant Soldier, Galinsoga parviflora, are abundant on allotments in the Norwich area and also in the Greater London area. But the only way to be really positive about Shaggy and Gallant is to look at the scales on the pappus as the two species are easily confused..

With a breeze (Force 4) blowing from the north and black clouds over the sea, conditions were unsuitable for photographing the fragile flowers like the miniature Childing Pink at Silver Sands that swayed too much in the wind. Kidney Vetch was still in flower on Silver Sands with an unrecognised small plant that has not yet been identified. Hare's Foot Clover was more rigid and did not sway.
By the Shoreham Fort I recognised Cat's Ear, Perennial Sow Thistle and Thrift in flower.

27 July 2017
Under a cloudy sky and a constant breeze (Force 5) and the added gusts made photographing wild flowers very tricky on the Down's Link Path between Old Shoreham to just north of Erringham Gap.

Great Mullein were a relatively new noticeable feature on the disturbed land on the northern end of the lower slopes of Mill Hill, the yellow flowers had now appeared on the tall stem, which rises from the large rosette of leaves. More Ploughman's Spikenard was flowering in large groups on the lower slopes with more budding Carline Thistle.

And my change of route back via the ridge route added more Musk Thistles, Spear Thistles, Creeping Thistles, and Welted Thistle to the widespread Dwarf Thistles. Perennial Sow Thistle was noted by me for the first time on Mill Hill by the southern steps. The small umbellifer Upright Hedge Parsley Torilis japonica was identified for the first time on Mill Hill.
Adur Thistles
Adur Cichorioid Daisies

Wild flowers on Anchor Bottom were most notable with Common Ragwort, Small Scabious and Dwarf Thistle very commonly seen with well over a few hundred plants each, and very frequent Wild Thyme especially on the numerous ant's nest mounds, and even a few remnants of Kidney Vetch. Near the gate at the bottom there were slightly anomalous presence of a clump each of Red Star Thistle (a Knapweed) and the first ever wild record on these web pages of the Pineapple Weed, Matricaria discoidea.

On Mill Hill. Marjoram, the tall Great Mullein, Wild Mignonette, the diminutive Squinancywort, Dwarf Thistle, Wild Basil, Field Scabious,Small Scabious, were attractive natives coming into bloom. Welted Thistle was seen on the ridge, but Musk Thistle seems to have disappeared and likewise Meadow Cranesbill.

Meadowsweet was common and dominant bordering the streams around Annington and Bramber. A Teasel were seen with purple flowers in the fields around Bramber. Meadow Cranesbill bordered the Coombes Road at the top of an incline with both white and blue flowers. Dwarf Mallow was seen in Shoreham town for the very first time it was recognised.
Adur Levels
Adur Teasels
Adur Daisies
Adur Mallows

1 July 2017
Going into the last month of summer, the verges of the Down's Link Cyclepath changed in character as the late summer flowers put on a burst of growth and the verges became dominated by Buddleia bushes, Meliliot, Lady's Bedstraw, the two Knapweeds, (Greater & Hardheads), with significant appearances of Common Hogweed, Willowherbs (Rosebay and Greater), and the continuing Ox-eyed Daisies. Pyramidal Orchids were still flowering but they were swamped and hidden by the taller vegetation. Teasels were growing up to over a metre high but not yet showing their purple flowers. Other flowers of note on the verges included Yellow Rattle, small amounts of the diminutiveEyebright and Self-heal, the occasional tall Viper's Bugloss, hidden Red Bartsia, the first flowers of Marjoram, early Hemp Agrimony, the umbellifer Wild Carrot, occasional Common Mallow and Tufted Vetch, Common Ragwort, Creeping Thistle, Restharrow, Field Bindweed, a Bellflower, Meadow Vetchling and Bird's Foot Trefoil.

Common Centaury flowered near the River Adur including white flowered specimens at Old Shoreham. There were a few flowering Cat's Ear. Yarrow flowered on verges in Shoreham town. .

On a cloudy afternoon, the vegetated shingle patch outside Carat's Cafe, Southwick Beach, alongside the road on the north side was full up with a selection of wild plants notably Silver Ragwort, Yellow-horned Poppy, Sea Beet, Rock Samphire, Sea Campion, a prostrate Mallow, Sea Mayweed, a Spear Thistle, Dock, Bird's Foot Trefoil, Black Medick, Seaside Daisy, the dead flowers of Kidney Vetch,the leaves and globular seed pods of Sea Kale, a small Viper's Bugloss and lastly one only of my first ever RockSea Lavender (species not known).

The species of Limonium which are endemic to Britain all belong to the Limonium binervosum aggregate (Rock Sea Lavenders). The taxonomy of this group was revised in 1986 and nine species and numerous infra-specific taxa are now recognised. Of the nine species, eight are believed to be endemic to Britain, these are Limonium britannicum, L. dodartiforme, L. loganicum, L.paradoxum, L.parvum, L. procerum, L. recurvum and L. transwallianum. These species grow almost exclusively on rocks and sea-cliffs of a wide range of geological types although a few have also been recorded from other habitats. Source.

There was a prostrate Spear-leaved Orache with what looked like "seed pods" on the shingle near the wind turbines. However these were leaves rolled up by the Orache Gall Aphid, Hayhurstia atriplicis.
Adur Orache

I recorded Feverfew in Shoreham, and in Steyning my first of the year Lesser Hawkbit.

26 June 2017
Three new plants were spotted in flower for the first time this year: isolated Melilot on Shoreham Beach and the yellow Biting Stonecrop and Rock Samphire on Widewater Flood Plain. Perforated St. John's Wort was beginning to flower on Buckingham Cutting (south) where Pyramidal Orchids were in flower replacing the fading Spotted Orchids.

23 June 2017
With a Strong Breeze (Force 6 gusting to Gale Force 7) conditions for photographing flowers was difficult to near impossible.

Viper's Bugloss was noted as being prevalent and very common on Shoreham Beach, with Silver Ragwort plentiful in flower and small amounts of Yellow-horned Poppy, Cat's Ear and Field Bindweed. The edge of the cyclepath by Widewater, Lancing, had notable amounts of a Mayweed (Sea or Scentless?), and the inevitable Smooth Sow Thistle. Occasional Tree Mallow swayed in the breeze west of Lancing Sailing Club. The Widewater Flood Plain was covered in flowering Sea Heath with small patches of Ivy-leaved Toadflax and English (?) Stonecrop had just started flowering.
Yarrow was seen on the road verges in Shoreham.
Adur Daisies


Annual Wall Rocket, Common Poppy	Silver Ragwort, Thrift, Sea Mayweed Rock Samphire, Sea Campion


Perennial Sow Thistle, Yarrow Hawkweed Ox-tongue, Melilot, Common Toadflax	Bristly Ox-tongue


Knotgrass at Soldier's Point	Knotgrass at West of Old Fort Beach


Little Weed at the Bus Stop Shaggy Soldier, Galinsoga quadriradiata


Rock Sea Lavender	Rock Sea Lavender Thrift	Sea Kale


Sea Campion	Yellow-Horned Poppy Rock Samphire	Sea Beet