A Week in Kent in Mid May 2023

 It's been a while since I wrote a blog on Kent wild plants, but then I have moved to Cornwall. If you missed the transition, the blog for my Cornwall plants is at https://sylvatica2022.blogspot.com 

However, I still have family in Kent and I booked a few days on a farm at High Halstow on the Hoo Peninsular whilst I attended to family matters. Whilst there I had the run of the farm I stayed on and also took a trip out to the tidal Thames along paths through the marshes. Add in a few trips to the coast and mid Kent and I found some lovely plants. The following is what I found of interest.

 

One of my trips out was to Littlestone on the South Kent coast where Rosy Garlic had naturalised in several places along the sea wall.

Allium roseum

 

Rough Dog's Tail Grass coming into flower at Littlestone Warren.

Cynosurus echinatus

Sea Sandwort flowering in sandy turf.

Honckenya peploides

One of the rarer medicks in the short coastal turf was Bur Medick, a very softly hairy small plant with even smaller egg yolk yellow flowers.

Medicago minima

Not as easy to spot was Toothed Medick not far away, but easily told apart from Bur Medick in that it's hairless with toothed ends to the leaflets.

Medicago polymorpha

In 2019, me and my partner found a new colony of Early Spider Orchids, so it was great to see they have persisted here near Littlestone. Of course, this late in the season, most were in seed, but I was lucky to find just one still had a flower to show me.

Ophrys sphegodes

The short sandy nutrient poor turf and frequent droughts here, mean that vigorous plants do not thrive, hence you will find lots of smaller plants and grasses that would otherwise be crowded out by more competitive plants. Below is Sand Cat's Tail, a miniature version of Timothy Grass.

Phleum arenarium

The more unusual clovers also do well here near Littlestone. Below is Clustered Clover with quite small heads of clustered flowers that give it its name.

Trifolium glomeratum

Birdsfoot Clover was another I found in their thousands (but at High Halstow Marshes).

Trifolium ornithopodioides

My final clover of interest was Rough Clover.

Trifolium scabrum

Below is Harestail Grass. This is soft like cotton wool to the touch.

Lagurus ovatus

My final plant from here was found by looking over a fence onto a golf course. On a path there I saw the unmistakable red of mature Mossy Stonecrop, still an uncommon find in East Kent.

Crassula tillaea

Other places I visited were closer to Medway. I stopped off at a road verge near Tyland Barn, Maidstone and also verges of the A249 for the following plants.

 The very yellow flowers of Crosswort

Cruciata laevipes

I found some Houndstongue growing in disturbed soil from roadworks.

Cynoglossum officinale

The first of the Common Spotted Orchids coming into flower on a road verge.

Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Horseshoe Vetch from the same area.

Hippocrepis comosa

One of the last Yellow Archangels in flower from the Spring. Unlike Cornwall, they are mostly of the native form here without marked leaves.

Lamiastrum galeobdolon subsp montanum

Some very lucky Man Orchids on the road verge of the A249 given that a few hundred had been destroyed by roadworks. Hopefully the few remaining will be able to repopulate the completed road verges soon.

Orchis anthropophora

Of course, it would be remiss to feature only the Man Orchids, so here's some Lady Orchids too from a nearby nature reserve.

Orchis purpurea

Fly Orchids were nearby, but not abundant.

Ophrys insectifera

And a solitary Lesser Butterfly Orchid at the same site, quite rare in Kent.

Platanthera bifolia

Lesser Twayblades and Early Purple Orchids were also flowering still here.

That was it for other venues, and the remaining few photos are from High Halstow Marshes area.

Lesser Swinecress in arable field edges.

Lepidium didymum

White Bryony, absent in Cornwall, but common here in Kent.

Bryonia dioica

Some Common Spike-rush stands were growing around a farm reservoir.

Eleocharis palustris

The unassuming flowers of the Spindle Tree.

Euonymus europaeus

When I lived in Kent, I never did find any Small-flowered Buttercups, but at Northward Hill I found hundreds of plants, most lining the more open paths through the woods.

Ranunculus parviflorus

Stands of Bastard Cabbage grew close to the tidal Thames.

Rapistrum rugosum

That concludes my Kent plants of interest, but I thought I'd add the following plant at the end as it wasn't in Kent but on my way to Kent. On a dangerous small lay-by on the A303 on the Somerset border is a well known colony of Bee x Fly Orchid hybrids. They were lovely to see, but huge lorries passed within a few feet of them, so a very dodgy place to stay parked for too long!

O. x pietzschii

So ended my trip to Kent. I found several hundred botanical records too and overall had a nice time. My trip was primarily to attend my Mum's funeral, so a bittersweet visit. As such, I dedicate this blog to her, love you Mum.

 

Take care and don't forget to follow my Cornwall plants blog at https://sylvatica2022.blogspot.com/

 

Dave