Notes and Additions to Flora of Suffolk

NOTES AND ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF SUFFOLK Compiled by F. W.

SIMPSON

Clematis vitalba L.—Travellers Joy. St. Olaves. An uncommon plant in Lothingland. F.W.S. Thalictrum minus L.—Lesser Meadow Rue. Sub. species Montanum Wallr. Clapham. Grows on roadside banks, Shaker's Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, where it is common in patches. Soil, light and sandy, 9 to 12 inches deep over chalk.

One plant observed growing on the edge of a garden at Chinery Mills, the terrain here is Breckland. H. J. Boreham.

Not very frequent. Newmarket Heath. F.W.S. Ranunculus hederaceus L.—Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot. Plentiful in a muddy stream, Woolverstone Park, 1953-54. On mud, edge of a cattle pool in pasture at East End, East Bergholt, where I have observed it for a number of years. F.W.S. Papaver lecoqii Lamotte.—Babington's or Lecoq's Poppy. A rare weed of fields and waste places. Distribution and status uncertain. Hollesley, June 1953 : F.W.S., Rorippa sylvestris L.—Besser. Nasturtium sylvestre L. R. Br. Creeping Yellow-cress. " They have grown yearly at Gt. Cornard, nr. Sudbury, on fields cultivated by Cramphorn, the seed merchant, since he used humus in wartime which he bought from Stafford Allen's Drug Farm at Long Melford."

Dr. Grace Griffith. 22nd July, 1953.

Lepidium latifolium L.—Dittander or Broad-leaved Pepperwort. " Near and on the banks of the River Lark at Tollgate Bridge, Bury St. Edmunds " : H. J. Boreham, 1 Ith August, 1953. " I have had it under Observation for several years now and find that it appears not to spread but to confine itself to an area of roughly 12 by 15 yards . . . It was probably cultivated here during the 13th and 14th centuries by the Monks of B ab well Priory (known locally as Fornham Priory)."

This plant is frequent in East Suffolk and favours the banks of brackish rivers and dykes and waste places where it is often abundant. First West Suffolk record. Vice-County 26.

Hesperts matronalis L.—Dame's Violet or Sweet Rocket. Banks of the R. Gipping at Sproughton : F.W.S. Viola stagnina Kit.—Fen Violet. Lakenheath. R. G. Rutterford, verified by Dr. S. M. Walters. NEW County record. ViceCounty 26.

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Saponaria officinalis L.—Soapwort. A specimen of the single variety from a hedge at the Pound Farm, Higham, Suffolk (East) : Dr. Grace Griffith, 4th August, 1953. Dunwich, Single flowers: Mrs. D. Jay. Southwold Cliffs, single flowers: F.W.S. Silene anglica L.—English or Small-flowered Catchfly. Fields near Burgh Castle Roman Fort, June, 1953. Abundant in fields about Fritton, August, 1953 : F.W.S. Silene anglica L. var. quinquevulnera L. Mert. & Koch —Spotted Catchfly. " From an old garden at Hitcham, where it first appeared, I am told, last year in a long-established pansy bed. This year there are at least two and perhaps more plants. The plants are about the size as in Silene conica."

A. L. Bull, 26th June, 1953. This variety is a native of the Channel Islands and a casual in S. England. Formerly cultivated.

Agrostemma githago L. Lychnis githago L. Scop. One flowering plant roadside near Hollesley Lodge. The plant appeared on sandy soil which had been disturbed the previous year during the laying of water pipes. Other plants here were Sisybrium altissimum L. and Lamium amplexicaule L. It would be interesting to know the period the seed had remained dormant and the depth buried. June, 1953 : F.W.S. Hypericum androsaemum L.—Tutsan. " Two plants growing in open space plantations of mixed trees and shrubs—Hardwick.

Soil: stony boulder clay over chalk. Not in flower, 24th April, 1953 " : H. J. Boreham. Always a scarce plant in Suffolk. Wiston and Nayland a few plants. Formerly in woods at Theberton : F.W.S. Impatiens parviflora DC.—Small Balsam. Stowmarket: Clifford A. Hall. " The last two years there has been a plant in the I.C.A. Factory, but this year it seems to have succumbed to the inroads of the concrete mixer," 12th July, 1953. " I have carried out a thorough search and have' found four plants. They are not such good specimens as in previous years when the plants grew into quite a bush. Last year the plant I found was about 300 yards from the 1951 specimen and now this year the four are all within a yard of each other and within 50 yards of the 1951 site," 25th July.

In a shelter-belt of beech between Foxhole Heath and Eriswell : Mrs. M. Southwell. Plantation Dunwich : Miss Rowlings, Ipswich.

Impatiens glandulifera Royle.—Policeman's Heimet. Introduced and naturalised native of the Himalaya. On the banks of a ditch near some allotments, left hand side of the railway, about J mile north of Beccles Station : F.W.S.

190

FLORA OF SUFFOLK

Trifolium fragiferum L.—Strawberry Clover. Large patch near the Deben R.D.C. pumping Station, Finn Valley, Rushmere St. Andrew, September 1953 : F.W.S. Plentiful on sandy acid high ground above the saltings, Old Manor House Site, Waldringfield. Now common on many coastal marshes since 1953 floods. Habitat—poor conditions above high water mark of spring tides behind the line of Juncus Gerardi : P.J.O.T. Prunus padus L.—Bird Cherry. In the wild (aboriginal) scrub bordering the shore of Fritton Lake, August 1953 : F.W.S. Agrimonia odorata (Gouan) Mill.—Fragrant Agrimony. " Several plants roadside verges, Fornham St. Genevieve. Soll : light loam. Also a few plants roadside banks, Horsecroft (near Bury). Soil : stony boulder clay " : H. J. Boreham.

T h e distribution of this species is imperfectly known and many more records are required.

Malus sylvestris L. Mill. ssp. Sylvestris.—'This is the true Wild Crab Apple of old woods and copses. Not frequent in hedges. A small thorny tree. Bevton and Bradfield St. George, 1953 : F.W.S. T h e majority of the Crab Apples (ssp. Mitis (Wallr.) Mansf.) have been derived from cultivated trees, frequently arising from the " pips " of cast away cores of dessert varieties.

Parnassia palustris L.—Grass of Parnassus. In pastures near Eastbridge, Leiston. Known there for some time : Dowager Countess of Cranbrook and the Misses Copinger Hill.

Visit of Aug. 1953 : found one pasture had been cut and all flowers gone, but a few plants were observed in an adjoining pasture. T h e Eastbridge pastures include Epipactis palustris L. Crantz., various Marsh Orchids, Potentilla palustris L. Scop., Scutellaria galericulata L., etc.

Astrantia major L . — I n the grounds of the Old Vicarage, Benhall : Mrs. Rivis per Lord Cranbrook, 24th June, 1953. Identified at Kew. Probably introduced.

Coriandrum sativum L — Coriander. Casual. I.C.I. Factory, Stowmarket: C. A. Hall.

Galinsoga ciliata (Rafn.) Blake.—Dr. Grace Griffith, Sudbury.

(NEW to Suffolk. Vice-County 26). From cultivated fields at Gt. Cornard. A casual, resembles Galinsoga parviflora.

Native in America.

Cichorium intybus L.—Chicory, Wild Succory. Darmsden Hall, Needham Market. J. Vane, 6th July, 1953, " It grows on all types of the mixed soils of this farm, from sandy gravel to heavy loam. There is an old kiln on the farm, now converted to a cottage. It was used for drying chicory about a hundred years ago. T h e plants on the farm may well be

FLORA OF

SUFFOLK

191

seeded from the original crops." It is a rather frequent weed of the waysides and borders of fields, especially on the heavy or good mixed soils, but rare on the sands of Breckland : p j c r r N ° W S°wn as a h e r b in f a r m grass seed m i x t u r e s : Gnaphalium sylvaticum L.—Wood Cudweed. Dunwich : Mrs. D. Jay. Near Pin Mill, Chelmondiston : F.W.S. Echinops sphaerocephalus W.—Globe Thistle. Alien, escape from cultivation. Two plants approximately \ mile apart, wayside between Alderton and Hollesley, July 1953 : F.W.s!

Erica cinerea L.—Bell-heather. In addition to the usual crimsonpurple flowers, forms occur with pure white and a number of attractive shades of pink to dark crimson-purple. White flowers are not very frequent in this species, but rather common in Erica tetralix— Cross-leaved Heath. White Bell-heather in Westleton parish: Mrs. D. Jay. Form with beautiful pale pink flowers, Snape Common : Dowager Countess of Cranbrook, 2nd September, 1953.

Calluna vulgaris L. Hull.—Ling, Heather.

Westleton parish : Mrs. D. Jay.

White

Ling

in

Trachystemon Orientale D. Don.—Introduced. Now naturalised and spreading in plantations at Woolverstone. Specimen flowering 2nd January, 1954. Identified by E. B. Bangerter, British Museum. It is a native of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Similar to the genus Borago and at one time placed in that genus. NEW County record. Vice-County 25 • F.W.S. Solanum chenopodioides Lam.—Alien. Very plentiful in a field of sugar beet at Foxhall, October, 1953 : F.W.S. NEW County record. Vice-County 25.

Verbascum pulverulentum Vill.—Hoary Mullein. Barrow Bottom a few handsome plants : C. A. Hall, July, 1953.

Veronica filiforme Sm.—Near Belstead Lodge and Gusford Hall, April, 1953. Large patches in damp grassy spot near the brook, also in plantation. A garden escape. A pretty species with bright blue flowers. Native of Asia Minor and the Caucasus.

Veronica anagallis-aquatica x catenata.—Hybrid Water Speedwell.

In the large flooded gravel pit, Rodbridge, near Long Melford August, 1953 : F.W.S. NEW County record.

Melampyrum cristatum L.—Crested Cow-wheat. A flourishing colony growing on boulder clay, in a lane near Haverhill: B. David Jones.

Verbena bracteata Lag. et Rodr.—This interesting adventive was found by Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Green during the excursion,

CHEQUER-FLOWER OR SNAKE'S

HEAD.

E. C. Green.

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FLORA OF SUFFOLK

18th July, 1953, beside a sandy track in the large quarry Barham Crossing. Identified by N. Y. Sandwith, M.A., F.L.S., Kew. NEW to Suffolk. Vice-County 25. Native of the United States where it is widely distributed, extending into Northern Mexico. At one time this species was cultivated in Botanic Gardens.

Viscum album L.—Mistletoe. On Ash and Black Poplar at Wetherden : F.W.S. On Elm at Grange Farm, Wetherings e t t : P.J.O.T. Polygonum bistorta L.—Snake-root, Bistort. Large patch in a wet spot at Monks Eleigh : F.W.S. Euphorbia esula L.—Leafy Spurge. About six plants growing in the Brecks near Icklingham : B. David Jones, June, 1953.

NEW County and Vice-County record (Vice-County 26). *

Ammocalamagrostis baltica Fleugge P. Fourn. (Ammophila baltica) Fleugge Link.—Said to be the hybrid Ammophila arenaria x Calaniagrostis epigejos. South end of Gorleston, August, 1953 : F.W.S. NEW County record. Vice-County 25.

Blechnum spicant L. Roth.—Hard Fern. In a search for this scarce fern in a Polstead wood, F.W.S. found a woodman who showed him two small colonies. Locally known as Herring-bone Fern, on account of the shape of the fronds.

Several plants at Lound Decoy, Aug., 1953 : F.W.S. Festuca arundinacea Schreb.—Tall Fescue. Marshes at Beiton, Burgh Castle, Reydon and Bawdsey. Not prominent prior to the 1953 floods and now common : P.J.O.T. Cochlearia anglica L.—Long-leaved Scurvy Grass. Saltings below site of Old Manor House, Waldringfield : P.J.O.T. FUNGI.

Hygrophorus russocoriaceus Berk. & Mill.—Woolverstone Park, Chelmondiston, Nov. 1953. It has a strong smell like Indian sandalwood, incense, or Russian leather, which is retained for many years. NEW to Suffolk : F.W.S. Helvella crispa Scop. Fr.—In a grassy spot under some Oaks at Stoner Point, Sutton : F.W.S. Sepultaria sumneri (Brk.) Che.—A specimen of this family was found 23rd Jan., 1954, on a roadside bank, Horsecroft Road, Bury St. Edmunds, under overhanging boughs of a Cedar Tree (Cedrus libani). It was identified at Kew by Dr. R. W. G. Dennis : H. J. Boreham (See also Notes and Observations).