A Botanical Journey mostly from Kent & SE England

This was a follow up trip from the 1st May to the Brecks to find some other later flowering rarities. We had a good idea of where to go but will give special thanks to Karen Woolley and Brian Laney who helped out with specific areas at some locations. On a single day trip, there isn't much time to explore and find one's target plants without such information. One such tip Karen gave us was to stop off en route in North Essex to see some magnificent rare plants. On the way to it we passed numerous Knapweed Broomrapes, sadly gone over. Needless to say I got lost, but eventually found an unassuming country lane with  an unmown verge. This is that verge! This is the amazing Crested Cow-wheat, a hemiparasite and very rare. It is absent from Kent and East Sussex and there are only a few colonies left in Essex and the surrounding counties. Given its rarity and beauty, forgive me for adding several photos of it.  Melampyrum cristatum If that wa

I'd been given a tip that there were some nice Bee orchid variants at Mersham near Ashford, so I set off to see them and botanically record species I found at the same time around the nearby village of Aldington. Unfortunately the tip didn't come off, but I still had a great time and found plenty of the usual Bee Orchids to marvel at. Ophrys apifera Some deep coloured Pyramidal Orchids dotted a grass slope in amongst the Bee Orchids Anacamptis pyramidalis A Marbled White, one of many, resting on Black Medick. A Small Heath on Hop Trefoil Hare's Foot Clover. Trifolium arvense Common Centaury gave a dazzling bright pink display en masse on the sunny slopes. Centaurium erythraea Yellow-wort wasn't about to be left out. it only opens in full sun and being a sunny day, they put on a fine display for me. Blacksto