Page:VCH Cornwall 1.djvu/112

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A HISTORY OF CORNWALL rocks, but the record is a very old one, and the indigeneity of the heath has been frequently discussed. Although the plants which are confined to this part of Cornwall are not so numerous as can be cited for some of the other seven districts, they form an interesting group. Nasturtium palustre, once found along the banks of the Tamar, and. at Copperhouse near Hayle, is now believed to be restricted to a very circumscribed area near Lostwithiel. Brassica Cheiranthus simply abounds at Par and Pentewan, and stretches away in scattered patches and single plants several miles from the two centres. Since it was first noticed at Pentewan more than fifty years ago as a straggler, it has seized on hedge-banks, waste-heaps, blown sand and pasture land to an astonishing extent. Between Par Sation and Fowey Point Silene Armeria occupies the hedges and sandhills at intervals over fifteen miles of country. This announcement was made thirty years and more ago, and like many another species which has immigrated to that part of the coast from the continent, the plant has settled on the soil. Two localities are known for Eryngium campestre, each having two thriving colonies of plants. Near the Looe locality (Enanthe silaifolia grows in tolerable quantity, and here only in the whole county. Twenty-four years ago Lobelia urens was accidentally discovered between Polperro and Fowey, the find bringing Cornwall into touch with Devon. To the remoteness from the track of the average plant grabber of the two damp places where it grows must be attributed the power of the plant to hold its own and even to increase its numbers. Hayle at one time shared with St. Blazey Bay the honour of being the only bits of Cornish soil where Linaria supina grew. While disappearing from the western town many years ago, it is busy extending its borders in the district now under notice. Around Par village it is the commonest weed, and along the roadsides two or three miles away dozens of wanderers may be found every autumn. Like most ' colonists ' with a predilection for sandy soil, it is taking advantage of the railway as a means of transit, and has already migrated to such distant parts as Fowey and Menheniot. From near Fowey Romulea Columns and Juncus tenuis have been recorded to the present writer and voucher specimens submitted. A very recent addition to the flora of Cornwall and indeed to the flora of Great Britain is Bromus rigidus, found in 1901 at Par by Mr. A. O. Hume. Whatever may be the means whereby it reached that locality, or how long since, it has established itself beyond fear of early disappearance. This district marks the most western occurrence of Meconopsis cambrica, Stellaria umbrosa and Atriplex portulacoides. East of it Apium inundatum, a very common plant in many parts of mid and west Cornwall, and Epipactis palustris have not been found. It furnishes three of the five British Lycopods, but is unaccountably barren in Charas. On the elevated moors Carex dioica, C. curia, C. rostrata, Eriapborum vaginatum and E. latifoltum may be sought for. Carex diluta has a home on the cliffs near Charlestown, and C. acutiformis is associated with other riparian subjects at the head of the West Looe river. The visitor to Par on botanical intent will be struck by the number of aliens which there find shelter. Perhaps the most interesting among them are Lepidium virginicum, Coronilla variay Aster Novi-Belgii, Matricaria discoidea, and Cannabis sativa. In the East Looe valley, above Sandplace, Impatient Roylei has become naturalized to a degree. No finer sight can be conceived than the thousands of luxuriant full-flowered plants standing 7 feet and more out of the streams and damp ground. Near Lostwithiel Mimulus Langsdorffii has filled a ditch along one side of a meadow, and affords a splendid picture when in bloom. SPECIES AND VARIETIES WORTH NOTING IN THE FOWEY DISTRICT Ranunculus trichophyllus, Cha'tx Baudotii, Godr., var. confusus (Godr.) tripartitus, DC. Lingua, Linn. Helleborus viridis, Linn, foetidus, Linn. Delphinium Ajacis, Reichb. Fumaria muralis, Sunder Nasturtium sylvestre, R. Br. Barbarea intermedia, Bureau Alyssum incanum, Linn. maritimum, Linn. Sisymbrium Thalianum, J. Gay Brassica oleracea. Linn. Diplotaxis tenuifolia, DC. muralis, DC. Lepidium ruderale, Linn. campestre, R. Br. Draba, Linn. Iberis amara, Linn. Teesdalia nudicaulis, R. Br. Reseda lutea, Linn. Viola hirta, Linn. lactea, SOT. Dianthus Armeria, Linn. Cerastium quaternellum, Fenzl. Stellaria umbrosa, Ofiz. Hypericum dubium, Leers undulatum, Schousb. 60 Malva parviflora, Linn. Geranium striatum, Linn. phccum, Linn. pratense, Linn. rotundifolium, Linn. Erodium moschatum, L'Herit. maritimum, VHerit. Oxalis corniculata, Linn. Medicago denticulata, Willd. Melilotus alba, Desr. arvensis, Wallr. Trifolium subterraneum, Linn. scabrum, Linn. glomeratum, Linn. Lotus angustissimus, Linn.