The Scarce Plants of Essex. Part 2.
165
population occurs in N. Essex, Vcl9, where it faithfully follows exposures of the pre-Anglian
glaciation Kesgrave gravels of the once mighty pre-glacial Thames; - when it rose in the Welsh
mountains and flowed north eastwards across our count}' into Suffolk. Isolated populations also
occur on superficial sandy/loamy deposits on top of the chalky boulder clay and chalk, and on the
Thanet sands (in the south of county). It is also a plant of calcareous walls and brick tombs. It likes
open, warm, usually south facing habitats and is sensitive to heavy frosts. It produces copious seeds,
however, that readily regenerate it in situ, but they are not easily dispersed. At the present day it is
largely confined to churchyard walls, graves, roadside verges, banks and disused railway lines. In
days gone by, however, it was a common plant of lightly grazed calcareous pastures. It is suffering
from flail mowing in churchyards and on verges and is slowly disappearing from these habitats,
mainly because, not being allowed to set seed in late autumn, its seed bank becomes depleted. It
seems to be a truly native plant that probably colonised the vast sand and gravel wastes laid bare by
the reheat of the Anglian glaciers as soon as it became warm enough to do so, and has remained in
the same area ever since. Its probably our most special "Essex plant'. As it survives predominantly
in churchyards, we chose it as our emblem for the Essex Churchyards Conservation Group project,
and it is featured on the best kept churchyard certificate. We are in the process of mapping every
patch i n the county as a base line for monitoring its decline and to promote its conservation. Recorded
from 93 monads. [Several sites recorded in Jermyn (1974), have still to be investigated].
Crambe maritima L. Sea-kale
Status in Essex; Native, somewhat sporadic.
Sea-kale is only found on shingle beaches or sand capped shingle ridges close by the sea. Although a
perennial, and capable of forming large clumps elsewhere along our coasts, it seldom reaches any size
on the Essex shingle banks before it is destroyed by violent storms. In Essex it probably reestablishes
largely from seed, but the latter is only said to germinate in the presence of some humus in the shingle
e.g. from rotting seaweed (Pearman & Stirling, in Stewart et al 1994). Gibson (1862) stated that it 'had
not been seen recently' and only quoted earlier records, but this may have been due to his not having
looked for it in the right places, or perhaps due to its collection by the local population as a vegetable.
In recent decades it has persisted more or less continuously, though seldom in any quantity, on Bradwell
Cockle Spit, at East Mersea beach, around the coast from the Colne Point shingle spit to Holland,
Walton shingle spit, from Peewit Island to Dovercourt and round Harwich point to Bath Side Bay. It
appears to be increasing on the north east Essex coast. According to Tarpey & Heath (1990), a large
colony at Languard Point, Felixstowe could be providing the seed source aided by changes in the
currents resulting from the deep water dredging associated with the post-1960 development of the
Felixstowe docks. The record from 'near Shoebury circa 1987', (Wake 1987) has not been traced.
Recorded from 24 monads. See map.
Pre: 1930 records:
TM(62)01/11 19 Many places nr Colchester. John Gerard c.1597 & John Parkinson,
c.l640.
19 Sandy shore between the town of Harwich and the cliff, c.1789. Richard
Gough.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)