On the very hot first day of July nine met in the car park by Pagham Shore for a walk along the shingle looking at coastal plants which have colonised the area.  Our leader was Helen Dignum whose remarkable knowledge of plants ensured we had an information-packed visit ahead of us.  She explained that the environment we were exploring was vegetated shingle with typical native plants to be found, plus some garden escapes. 

On the way from the car park to the shore we identified the delightful Hare’s-foot Clover, Yarrow, and the native but very rare Jersey Cudweed, first found at Pagham in 2002 and now spreading widely in southern England and London.  Then we looked at two mallows growing side by side, Common Mallow and Tree-Mallow, along with Red Valerian, Black Horehound, Fennel, Curled Dock and Spear Thistle.

Now on the beach, we found Yellow Horned-poppy, the first of many, with their spectacular colour and very long seed heads. There was much Sea Kale with its iconic grey-green leaves, and white flowers which become a dome of circular berries as the season progresses, a member of the cabbage family).  Red Valerian was present along the route (also available in white and a brick red – and is an entirely different species from Common Valerian).  We admired Hare’s-tail grass, spreading at Pagham with the first Sussex record found there in 1980, Common and Purple Toadflax, White Stonecrop, Hedge Bedstraw, Cat’s Ear, Carrot, Bristly Oxtongue, and an Apple, somewhat prostrate in shape, and clearly a garden escape.

An unusual plant was Snow-in-summer, an introduced plant continuing to increase near the coast.  The purple Viper’s-bugloss was growing abundantly, along with Curry-plant, and Butterfly-bush (Buddleja), and the hemi-parasitic Red Bartsia.  As we walked towards the harbour entrance we found Broad-leaved Everlasting pea, Clematis (Old Man’s Beard), Sea Campion, Sea Radish with its dark red beaded pods, Biting Stonecrop, Perforate St John’s-wort, Rock Samphire and Hedge Mustard.  
Then we stumbled across the plant of the morning, the very rare Childing Pink, which Helen had found before, but was extremely well camouflaged against the pebbles.  Its sparse thin stems ended with a tiny cluster of pink flowers, and was much photographed by excited botanists in the group.  Slightly taller versions were found later on by the large rocks, where we stopped for a lunch break.  The flower is found only at Pagham, Shoreham and in Jersey. 
On the lanes back to the car park we spotted Moth Mullein (which has been in Pagham since 1991), Common Knapweed, Pellitory-of-the-Wall, but here snuggled up to a fence, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Alexanders (a Roman introduction), Mugwort and Large-flowered Evening-primrose.
Heads were down most of the time but we also saw Red Admiral, Large White and Small White butterflies, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, Gulls (Black-headed and Herring), Terns (likely to have been Common) and small numbers of Linnets, using the Sea Kale as stopping points.
Thanks to Helen, and with interesting plant stories along the way from John Arnott and much  eager conversation, it was a fascinating morning.  We survived the heat, well covered with hats and shirts, and with the advantage of a bit of cloud and a welcome breeze!

The full plant list from the Pagham shore, including the East dunes, drawn up by Helen is available via the download link.

Diana Zeuner