24 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF BLACKPOOL AND DISTRICT 



Suaeda maritima .... .... Herbaceous Seabhte. 



Triglochin maritimum Sea Arrow Grass. 



Carex distans Distant Sedge. 



Carex externa Long-bracted Sedge. 



Triticum pungens v. littorale .... Sea Wheat. 



Pottia littoralis .... Shore Poltia. 



Tor tula aloides 



Area V. 



Building and with it destruction of the sand-dune belt is progressing rapidly. 

 Utilisation for golf links has also increased. ' It is painful to think how many 

 of these plants have now gone, and none of the old marshy ground remains m 

 its original condition. Where not already built upon it is " improved " and 

 drained, and given over to crowds of excursionists, or conveited into golf 

 links. Here amongst a silvery carpet of dwarf willow (Salix repens v. 

 argentea) grew a rich profusion of Epipactis longifolia (Marsh Helleborine), 

 Orchis incarnata (Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid), Pyrola rotundifolia V. 

 arenaria (Small-leaved Larger Wintergreen), Parnassia palustris (Grass of 

 Parnassus), and the curious Monotropa hypopitys (Yellow Bird's Nest). In 

 July the damper spots were pink with Anagallis tenella (Bog Pimpernel), and 

 with it flourished Carex Oederi (Short-beaked Yellow Sedge), Selaginella 

 selaginoides (Lesser Clubmoss), Equisetum variegatum, Bryum Warneum, 

 Bryum lacustre, Hypnum Wilsoni, v. hamatum, Hypnum lycopodioides, and 

 other interesting species. On drier ground about the foot of some of the 

 dunes grew Convolvulus soldanella (Sea Bindweed), Brassica monensis (Isle 

 of Man Cabbage), and Vicia lathyroides (Spring Vetch), whilst in many parts 

 the sand was gay with bright patches of rest harrow, yellow bedstraw, skullcap, 

 and centaury, of which latter three species were abundant.' 1 



The following list is representative of present and former flowering plants 

 around St. Annes, where the curve of the coast gives this region advantage of 

 aspect over e.g., the Rossall dunes, and where the former practice of poultry 

 fanning, proximity to the Ribble, and greater mass of dunes to the south of the 

 estuary, have made introduced species more common than elsewhere. 



The reflection of an excess of silica and deficiency of humus and free water 

 is well shown in the occurrence of many xerophytes and highly modified species. 

 This deficiency of moisture and of humus greatly limits the cryptogams, and 

 above all the fungi. 



Thalictrum dunense .... .... Sand Meadow Rue. 1 



Ranunculus Baudotii 



Cochlearia danica .... .... Danish Scurvy Grass. 



Sisymbrium Thalianum .... Thale Cress. 



Brassica monensis .... • .... Isle of Man Cabbage. 



Diplotaxis muralis V. Babingtonii Stinkweed. 



Cakile maritima .... Sea Rocket. 



Reseda lutea .... Cut-leaved Mignonette. 



Viola canina Dog Violet. 



Viola Curtisii Sand Pansy. 



1 Wheldon and Wilson, Op. cit. 



