45
Yellow Loosestrife (L. vulgaris) (spotted
by Jane) rounded off an interesting day.
TED BENTON
BOTANY MEETING TO FOBBING MARSHES
4TH AUGUST, 1985
Leader Ken Adams
The day was notable for the heavy rain and
a number of interesting botanical finds.
We walked along a circular route round the
sea walls with most of the botanizing being
carried out in the drier hours of the
morning. The Umbellifers were well
represented by the uncommon Corn Caraway
smelling of parsley when crushed (Petro-
selinum segetum), the Knotted Hedge Parsley
(Torilis nodosa) easily recognised by its
dense, subsessile, leaf-opposed umbels, the
easily overlooked Slender Hare's-ear (Bup-
leurum tenuissimum) with simple linear
leaves and yellow flowers earlier in the
season, and the wild carrot (Daucus carota)
with its pinnatisect bracts. The composites
also attracted our attention. We found the
very rare Least Lettuce (Lactuca saligna)
in its only remaining site in Essex and the
much commoner Prickly Lettuce or Compass
Plant (Lactuca serriola) with its leaves
orientated N-S. The pleasantly scented
Sea Wormwood (Artemisia maritima) was also
present. The locality was a good one to
differentiate between the three species of
wild barley. The long fat spike belongs
to the Wall Barley (Hordeum murinum), the
long thin spike belongs to the Meadow