Autumn 2021 - Botanical Finds from Kent
This is the last blog for 2021 for my Kent trips and covers September to mid November. First up is a recording trip I made to a rural road and adjacent fields near Upper Halling. This had a wonderful roadside flora given it was on chalk and mostly untouched by mowing, sprays and fertilisers. It didn't take long to find my first rare species, Dwarf Spurge, a lover of chalky fields. It's low growing with quite small pointy leaves, so it stands out as different to other Spurges. You will likely only find it on disturbed alkaline soils too. Euphorbia exigua Here's what you would see from a standing height. Three Toadflax species were nearby, Round and Sharp Leaved Fluellens with their tiny but exquisite flowers and Common Toadflax too. The photo is of Round-leaved Fluellen. Kickxia spuria A surprise find was several metres of roadside verge covered in Meadow Cranesbill. I think these likely came from fly tipped garden material as they are pretty much ab...