RXwildlife Sightings

Old stable shingle on Dungeness that has supported broom scrub Cytisus scoparius for many years, has a deep acidic humus, with a pH of around 4-5 and it is probably the acidity that kills off the broom.  Once the broom has gone it is replaced by a remarkable community of plants, often dominated by lichens that caste the shingle a grey colour. As well as abundant lichens and mosses there are a mix of low growing plants such as wood sage Teucrium scorodonia, one of the hosts, along with broom, of dodder Cuscuta epithymum. I remember learning about this parasitic plant when I did  O-level biology but did not see it until I came to Dungeness. In the photo below it can be seen in the foreground of the picture with its trailing pink stems and flowers wrapped around the pale flowers of wood sage.

This plant was included in the Red List of vascular plants as a Vulnerable species in 2005 on account of its decline in Britain see this link, but it is still very common at Dungeness.

There are a lot of species of interest in this rare and easily damaged habitat which I will return to at a later date. This community of plants can be viewed on the old shingle ridges inland of the thick broom scrub, with good examples on the RSPB reserve as you drive to their visitor centre.

Posted in Dungeness National Nature Reserve, Plants, RSPB Dungeness Nature Reserve | by Brian Banks