FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS. 31 



our six-mile circle, it grows just outside it at Bungay, and in 

 the lower parts of the valley is frequent. 



Sinyrmum olasatrum. " Waste places, especially near the 

 sea" (Hooker). This plant is a doubtful native in Britain, 

 and if only a few specimens of it occurred in the district, it 

 would not call for notice, as in olden days it was cultivated as 

 a pot-herb under the name of " Alexanders." It abounds, how- 

 ever, in many spots on the valley-sides, as a rule at a somewhat 

 lower level than the Fennel. 



The following plants are particularly interesting in this 

 connection, as they are representative of the Flora now exist- 

 ing on the coast : 



Trifolium suffocatum. This Trefoil grows in a pit on 

 Bungay Common, and also at Broome. It is found " especially 

 near the sea," and, though a rare plant, is abundant on the 

 sandy Denes of Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Southwold. 



Erodmm cicutarium. The Stork's-bill, which is "most 

 frequent by the sea," is common on dry banks throughout the 

 district. Both here and on the coast it is one of the earliest of 

 the wayside flowers. 



Teesdalia nudicaulis. The Teesdalia forms one of the 

 principal elements of the coast Flora, and in the early months 

 of the year characterises it. In the Harleston district it grows 

 on a bank of Post-Glacial gravel, called " Homersh'eld Heath," 

 opposite the Flixton. Park gates, and has also been found on 

 the gravel at Needham Hill and Ditchingham. 



Senecio viscosus. This Groundsel is especially noticeable 

 on the coast, where its sticky stem is coated with the blown 

 sand. In our district it has been observed in a gravel-pit at 

 Ditchingham. 



Coryne])ltorus canescens. This rare grass was discovered 

 by Mr. Walter Cordwell, of our Club, on the Post-Glacial gravel 

 at Flixton before-mentioned. It is plentiful on the Denes at 

 Yarmouth and Lowestoft, but grows nowhere else in England. 

 Its presence so far inland (about sixteen miles due west) is re- 

 markable ; but Dr. Hind has received the report of another 

 inland station in north-west Suffolk. The fact that, sixty 

 years ago, Mr. Stock cultivated specimens of this plant in his 

 garden at Bungay, does not seem sufficient to account for its 

 establishment on Homersh'eld Heath. The east winds, which 

 might perhaps transport the seeds from the coast itself, are 

 almost entirely confined to the earlier months of the year, 

 when the grass, which is an annual, is not even in bloom. The 

 late Mr. Holmes, moreover, who knew Mr. Stock, and often 

 spoke of Homersfield Heath, never mentioned its existence 

 or its introduction there. As it grows in immediate associa- 

 tion with Teesdalia^ and in close proximity to the plants named 



