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SolwayFlowers
Beachcomber’s Guide
Identify seaside flowers found on the Solway coast
This guide will help you identify 16 seasideflowering plants found on beaches along theSolway Coast. The more you look the more you will find so if a flower you discover does not matchthose in this guide then search the internet or aseashore nature book to help with identification.
This flower guide has been produced as part of theMaking the Most of the Coast project managed bySolway Firth Partnership.
Riaghaltas na h-AlbaThe European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development:Europe investing in rural areas
www.solwayfirthpartnership.co.uk
Where the land meets the sea is always a demanding place for plants tosurvive because they have to cope with a combination of wind, salt waterand lack of soil. The dynamic nature of the coast with shifting sands orshingle makes life on the beach even more precarious.
Many flowering plants have adapted to flourish on different types ofseashore and to aid identification the flowers are grouped by shore type:saltmarsh (merse), sand dunes, shingle banks and rocky coast. Compareyour find with the pictures in this guide; although the shape and colourmay vary, the pictures show distinctive features which will help youidentify what you have found.
How to use this guide
Common Glasswort(Marsh Samphire)Salicornia europaea
Looks: Branched like aminiature tree, its leavesare fleshy scales whichchange from green to agolden red in late summer
Found: A pioneer specieson mud flats, it often formslarge colonies which helpestablish saltmarsh
Did you know?Once called Poor Man’sAsparagus, it nowappears on menus intrendy restaurants
Common SeaLavenderLimonium vulgare
Looks: An erect shrubbyplant with leathery leaves andeverlasting purple flowers
Found: On middle andupper saltmarsh
Did you know?Although it lacks the distinctscent of lavender it is stillirresistible to bees andbutterflies
CommonScurvygrassCochlearia officinalis
Looks: The glossy,kidney-shaped leaves areoften hidden by a mat ofsmall white flowers
Found: On saltmarshand rocky shores
Did you know?Rich in vitamin C, it waseaten by sailors to stayhealthy during long seavoyages
Sea AsterAster tripolium
Looks: A tall plant withpurple, daisy-like flowers
Found: On uppersaltmarsh and rockyshores
Did you know? One of the last flowersto bloom, the Sea Asteris sometimes calledSummer’s Farewell
Thrift (Sea Pinks)Armeria maritima
Looks: Thin leaves with arounded head of pretty pinkflowers on a long stalk
Found: On saltmarsh or asa compact cushion on rockyshores
Did you know?Featured on the reverse sideof the old threepence coin –perhaps a play on the phraseto be thrifty
Did you know? The trumpet-shapedflowers close beforenightfall and reopenin the morning
SeaBindweed Calystegia soldanella
Looks: Thick, waxyleaves with pink and whitetrumpet-shaped flowers
Found: Sprawling oversand dunes
Sea-holly Eryngium maritimum
Looks: Spiny, blue-greyleaves with round blueflower head
Found: On sand dunesand shingle banks
Did you know? The plant’s large sweetroots were once popular as a candied delicacy
Sea CampionSilene uniflora
Looks: Sprawling bluishleaves and delicate whiteflowers with a veined bladder
Found: On shingle banksand rocky shores
Did you know?Superstition says picking theflowers tempts death – itwould certainly be risky topick them from cliff tops!
Sea RadishRaphanus raphanistrum subsp. maritimus
Looks: A tall, ungainly plant with coarse hairyleaves, small yellow flowersand beaded seed pods
Found: On the strandline of sandy and shingle beaches
Did you know? The edible leaves have a spicyflavour somewhere betweencabbage, wasabi and radish
Frosted OracheAtriplex laciniata
Looks: Sprawling plant with whitish-greydiamond-shaped leaves
Found: On thestrandline of sandy and shingle beaches
Did you know?The “sugar coating” on theleaves helps to minimiseevaporation
Sea RocketCakile maritima
Looks: Straggly thickleaves with delicate lilacor white flowers
Found: On thestrandline of sandybeaches
Did you know?A long, deep taproothelps this plant groweven in the ever-movingsand dunes
Yellow Horned-poppyGlaucium flavum
Looks: Bluish-green leaveswith striking yellow flowers
Found: On sandy andshingle beaches
Did you know? The horned seed pods, thelongest of all British plants,split to spill the seeds
Sea Sandwort Honckenya peploides
Looks: A mat of fleshy leaveswith small, greenish-white flowers
Found: On sand and shinglebeaches
Did you know? The deep root system allows theplant to disappear undergroundover winter and then reappear inthe spring
Sea MayweedTripleurospermum maritimum
Looks: Large daisy flowers andsprawling divided, fleshy leaves
Found: Grows on sand dunes,shingle banks and rocky shores
Did you know?When crushed, the leaves releasea faint, sweet smell of camomile
Did you know?The plant’s fleshy rootcontains more starchthan potatoes
Looks: Large, purple-grey, cabbage-like leaveswith small white flowers
Found: On the hightide line of shinglebeaches
Sea-kale Crambe maritima
Did you know?It had many traditionalmedicinal uses and theleaves were even used asinsoles for tired walkers
SilverweedPotentilla anserina
Looks: A yellow flowerwith 5 petals; the dividedleaves often have adowny grey colour
Found: Creeping oversand dunes, shingle androcky shores
Enjoy your searchfor seashore flowers You will find many more seashore plants onthe Solway Coast than are featured in thisguide, some so scarce that they are protected.It is always a good idea to take a photographwhich you can refer to for later identification.
Remember a wild flower always looksbetter in the ground than in your hand.