1 66 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



PLANT RECORDS FOR WELLS. 

 By James Saunders. 



■nPHE inteiesdng note on the flowering plants of 

 -*■ Hunstanton, that appeared in the September 

 issue (ante p. 105) of Scie.nxe-Gossip, from the pen 

 of Mr. E. T. Mott, of Leicester, suggests that a similar 

 list of those observed in the neighbourhood of Wells- 

 next-the-Sea, also in the county of Norfolk, would be 

 useful for comparison. They have a further interest, 

 in that they serve as recent confirmations of former 

 observations for the Watsonian vice-county 28-West 

 Norfolk. They were published in ' ' Watson's Topo- 

 graphical Botany" in 1S83. There is at least one 

 new county record, which is for the segregate 

 Ceratophylhim demursmii L. as Watson only gives the 

 aggregate C. aquaticiim, for both the vice-counties of 

 Norfolk. 



The most interesting localities that were visited 

 during a brief holiday early in August last, were 

 two sandy flats, that are apparently inundated in 

 winter. These have their counterparts, on a much 

 larger scale, at Braunton Burrows, N. Devon. The 

 two now referred to are situated amongst the sand 

 dunes, about midway between the entrance to Wells 

 Harbour and Holkham Bay. They are on the sea- 

 ward side of the pine trees which form so conspicuous 

 a feature in the landscape. The situation is certainly 

 a lonely one, for although three visits were made to 

 the spot, just in the height of the holiday season, not 

 a single traveller broke in upon the charming solitude, 

 nbr did even the ubiquitous keeper jar one's nerves 

 with his unwelcome presence. Nevertheless within a 

 mile of the spot there were on fine mornings, 

 several hundreds of visitors, either disporting in the 

 waves or sunning themselves on the sands. Hence, 

 however accurately the locality may be described, 

 there is little fear that its botanical treasures will be 

 exterminated by greedy plant-hunters. 



The smallest flower noticed on these sandy 

 plateaux was Erythrea "pidckella Fries. Of this 

 there were thousands, avefaging from an inch to two 

 inches in height. Oae had the whole plant 

 complete in about the dimensions of an ordi- 

 Roots, radical leaves, stem, calyx 

 corollas, all were present, the last 

 barely a quarter of an inch in diameter. Associated 

 with these were a few plants of E. centaurhim 

 Pers., which in this instance differed so greatly from 

 E. pitlchella that they appear to deserve specific rank, 

 although some authors consider them a sub-species 

 of E. centaiifhwt . 



Another interesting species, that over a considerable 

 area whitened the herbage with their cottony erect 

 stems was Gnaphaliiun hiteoalbiim L. The flower 

 neads are few and compacted at the top of the stem, 

 and they are very glistening, especially in direct sun- 

 'ighi. The unusually simple habit of the plants 

 mder consideration induced me to forward speci- 



nary pm. 

 and rosy 



mens to the British Museum, and in acknowledging: 

 their receipt ' Mr. Britten remarked that this 

 peculiarity distinguished them from any of their 

 large series. The species is very limited in; 

 its distribution over England, having at present 

 only been observed in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex. 

 Would not Lincolnshire botanists be well advised to 

 search for it on the western shores of the Wash ? 



A diminutive Euphrasia was also present in. 

 abundance, but which of the recognised forms of this 

 protean species it was, would require a specialist in' 

 this group to determine. 



Of the genus Statice, which are truly littoral 

 plants, two species were present, these being S.'. 

 aui-icu/aefo/ia ^'ahl. (S. spathtilata Hook) in great! 

 abundance, and 5. bellidifolia Gouan (S. caspia 

 Wind.) in small quantities. The latter is anocher; 

 instance of a plant of very limited distribution,: 

 Norfolk, Suffolkand Cambridge, being the only counties- 

 given for it in Hooker's " Student's Flora," although; 

 Watson queries it for Lincoln South, and records it 

 for Lincoln North,' on the authority of '.'Bank's 

 Herb." A recent record "for Lincoln South is a 

 desideratum. 



Close by, or in a small brackish pool, between 

 these two sandy plateaux, Glatix maritinta L. , 

 Scirpus lamst!-is 'L,.,Junc2is compressiis]z.!:(^., and the 

 comparatively rare grass Polypogon monspeliensis 

 Desf., grew in small quantities. On the seaward 

 side of the sand dunes and also on the shore above 

 high water mark, there were noticed sea holly, 

 Arenaria peploides L. , Lactuca virosa L. , Con- 

 volvulus soldanella L. , Inttla conyza D.C. (plough- 

 man's spikenard), Filago minima Fr., Salsola kaWL. , 

 Triticiim junceuvi L. , T. pungens R. and S. , and 

 Psam III a arenaria R. and S. Another grass similar to- 

 the last-mentioned is worthy of special remark. This is 

 Elyiiius arenarius L. A very large proportion of the 

 fruiting stems of this species had been destroyed by 

 smut. Probably not more than five per cent, had 

 escaped the attacks of this micro-fungus. This grass 

 is very useful in binding the loose sands of sea shores. 

 It throws up many barren shoots, which are clothed 

 with broad, glaucous green leaves. The peculiarity 

 that most arrested my attention, was, that these 

 barren stems were jointless and solid, at least so far . 

 as those portions above ground were concerned 

 This is unusual, I think, amongst grasses, the leading 

 character of which is, that they have hollow jointed 

 stems. In Elymus this is so with the fruiting stems, 

 but is not so with the barren. The sheaths of the 

 Leaves in both cases are split, which at once 

 distinguishes it from the sedges. It is one of 

 those plants showing the connecting links between 

 allied genera. 



The mud-flats to the east of Wells yielded the 



