BOTANY 



We will now direct our attention to the habitats of the more 

 interesting species which are to be met with in Sussex. 



If we consider our county latitudinally, we have three divisions 

 which differ greatly as to the character of their flora — the Coast, the 

 Downs, and the Weald. Let us take a brief survey of each. 



I. Plants of the Coast. — As preliminary it should be noted 

 that starting from the western extremity of the county we have the 

 London Clay extending from Hampshire along the coast south of 

 Chichester to Worthing, and that this includes the Manhood, one of the 

 most fertile districts in England. Beyond Worthing we come to the 

 remarkable shingle beach at Shoreham, on which some interesting species 

 occur. Thence we have the chalk, which in some places abuts close 

 upon the shore, as far as Eastbourne. Beyond this, to Pevensey, the 

 beach is composed almost entirely of rolled flints derived from the 

 erosion of the chalk cliffs to the westward, and is known to be in some 

 parts from 25 to 30 feet in thickness. The flora here is of considerable 

 interest, as is that of Pevensey Marsh. Proceeding further eastwards we 

 have the sand. 



The estuaries which include the Sussex half of Emsworth Harbour, 

 Bosham Creek and Chichester Harbour will repay examination. Some 

 of the species, although not showy, from the peculiarities of their 

 structure deserve notice, such as the greater ruppia (R. spiralis), uncoil- 

 ing its stalk above the water, the horned pondweed [Zaunichellia pedi- 

 cellata), the fennel-leaved pondweed {Fotamogeton pectiiiatus), and the 

 curious little spathes of the grass wrack [Zostera nana), while the sides 

 of these inlets of the Channel are everywhere clothed with the glasswort 

 [Salicornia herbacea), at first of a bright green, then changing to yellow, 

 fawn and reddish brown, and finally to deep mauve. At Thorney Island 

 we have the horned poppy {Glaucium luteum) and the wild English 

 clary {Salvia verbenaca), the foetid iris or roast-beef plant (/. fcetidissima), 

 and among the littoral graminece the scarce nit grass {Gastridium lendi- 

 geruni), the very rare annual beard grass [Polypogon monspeliensis), the 

 sea barley {Hordeum maritimum), and the sea hard grass {Lepturus Jili- 

 formis). We next meet with the pretty pink sea heath {Frankenia 

 Icevis), which occurs along our shore in marshy flats. At Hermitage too 

 we have the golden samphire {Itiula crithmoides) in its vicinity. A 

 little further on may be found the Danish scurvy grass {Cochlearia 

 Danica) and the English scurvy grass (C. Anglica). The sea kale 

 [Cratnbe maritima) still occurs occasionally, and among the crucifers to be 

 sought for is the purple sea rocket (Cakik maritima), to be found at 

 Brighton, Newhaven, Beachy Head and Eastbourne. One of our rarest 

 flowers is the proliferous pink {Dianthus prolifer), as yet met with in 

 Sussex only near Selsey, but which I have seen abundantly at Hayling 

 Island, where it is extremely stunted. Amongst pebbles we have some- 

 times patches of the curious sea purslane {Honkeneya peploides). Our 

 coast, too, well repays search for the various trefoils, as the soft-knotted 

 trefoil (^rifolium striatum), the rough rigid trefoil {T. scabriim), the 



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