VEGETATION OF SHINGLE 



ii 



10 or 12 inches long, and are a very striking feature of the plant. 

 The other characters are those of the common Poppy : a calyx 

 of two sepals, which drop off as the flower opens, four petals and 

 numerous stamens, which in this species are orange. The flowers 

 are very showy, being large and yellow, and the leaves have a 

 silvery tint from the rough, thick hairs which clothe them. The 

 Sea Holly is an equally striking plant. Its foliage is greyish-green, 

 the upper leaves and bracts having an edging of the brightest 

 blue ; the flowers are also blue. The leaves are very thick, with a 

 ' bloom" on them. They are four or five inches across, and by 

 their great breadth protect the stem and roots from the scorching 

 sun ; their spiny margins prevent the 

 plant being eaten by animals. The 

 plant belongs to the Umbelliferse, 

 and the flower-heads are protected 

 as is usual in umbelliferous plants 

 by bracts, which like the leaves are 

 spiny. Each flower has a prickly 

 calyx, and the fruit is also prickly. 

 The long underground stems are 

 sometimes candied and used as a 

 sweetmeat ; if the plant were not 

 well protected by its thorniness it 

 would probably soon be extirpated 

 by animals. 



The Sea Purslane (Arenaria pep- 

 loides) is one of the Sandworts, and 

 belongs to sandy shores quite as much as to pebbly beaches. 

 One or two species of Clover are also common among the stones, 

 and the Viscous Senecio, though hardly common, is found among 

 shingle. This latter is a plant not unlike the Groundsel, but 

 taller and stronger smelling. The accompanying photograph of a 

 newly formed shingle beach, kindly supplied by Mr. J. H. Priestley, 

 is full of interest. It represents an "open" Plant Association, 

 the dominant species of which is the Yellow Horned Poppy, whilst 

 the Viscous Senecio (fruiting in the photograph), has come in 

 along railway embankments during the last ten to fifteen years. 

 Observations of this kind help one to realise something of the migra- 



FIG. 5. Sea Purslane (Arenaria 

 peploides). 



