Flowers of the Brecks Part One: heath & Grassland

FLOWERS

OF THE BRECKS PART ONE: HEATH & GRASSLAND

By Mike Crewe

About the Brecks

As you travel across East Anglia and enter the area known as the Brecks, the look and feel of the landscape changes dramatically. Wide vistas, vast skies and sandy fields divided by rows of twisted pines all confirm a sense that this is a world apart. Also known as Breckland, it covers some 370 square miles of inland Norfolk and Suffolk, extending roughly north to south from Swaffham to Bury St Edmunds, and west to east from Lakenheath to East Harling. Characterised by generally sandy soils with layers of chalk and flint, and by a climate that is among the driest in Britain, the local landscapes have a distinctive quality. Native forest cover was largely cleared by the Neolithic period, some 4,500 years ago, giving way to a largely open steppe-type habitat of heathland and with swathes of inland sand dunes.

Away from the river valleys, the soil was light and nutrient-poor, with agriculture basic and often temporary. Sections of heath were periodically ploughed or broken (hence the term “brecks”) and then cropped for a few years before the land was exhausted and the fields allowed to revert to heathland. Sheep husbandry and the rearing of Rabbits in managed warrens proved to be more productive forms of land use, ensuring that the treeless open heaths of the area survived until the early years of the 20th century.

Only with the arrival of large-scale commercial timber production (the Forestry Commission began planting Thetford Forest in 1922) and intensive arable farming, made possible by artificial fertilisers and pesticides, did the traditional Brecks landscape begin to change.

Wildlife abounded on the open heaths, which became the last refuge of species driven to the brink of extinction elsewhere in Britain.

It was a world described lyrically by W G Clarke – a local amateur archaeologist and natural historian who coined the term “Breckland” – in his many articles and celebrated book, In Breckland Wilds (1925). Although the face of the Brecks has changed much since Clarke’s day, the area remains rich in wildlife. The forestry plantations have provided a range of new habitat opportunities, and recent heathland restoration schemes have helped improve the fortunes of many of the specialist birds and plants. A biodiversity audit published by the University of East Anglia in 2010 revealed that the area supports some 12,500 species, including 28 per cent of all those considered rare or under threat – more than in any other part of the UK. With several flagship reserves and many other accessible habitats, the Brecks offers some of the best wildlife watching anywhere in the country.

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Barnham Cross Common Cranwich Camp Foulden Common Grime’s Graves Knettishall Heath Maids Cross Hill Ramparts Field Cavenham Heath Thetford Warren Thompson Common

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Map: Artista-Design Š The Breckland Society

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Habitats: Heathland More than anything else, the Brecks are defined by their habitats which, in turn, are defined by the plantlife they support. This book covers the grass-dominated habitats which make up the very essence of the area’s famously open landscapes and which have been sculpted first by nature and later by mankind to create the patchwork we see today. Although much of Breckland’s grassy heathland has been lost to forestry or the plough, some valuable areas still exist and provide a welcome refuge for the area’s special wild flowers. You will find this book invaluable wherever you find grassy places in Breckland!

Heathland

Traditionally, we might think of heathland as being dominated by swathes of pink Heather and yellow Gorse and this is certainly the case in much of southern Britain where acidic, sandy soils are to be found. But Breckland has a different geological history. A once great plateau of chalk, exposed by falling sea levels, was scoured by subsequent glacial action some 400,000 years ago, followed by infilling from wind-blown, acidic sands. The result is a complex mix of acidic and alkaline soils, producing a very interesting and varied flora. While a few very sandy areas are covered in swathes of Heather, most of the Brecks support heaths dominated by various grasses that are tolerant of the cold winters, warm summers and overall dry weather of the region. These grasses have been kept short, first by the climate, then later by human action through grazing with rabbits and sheep, producing a short sward with areas of lightly dug or disturbed ground. Breckland heaths are at their best for wildflowers during the summer months, when carpets of white Field Mouse-ear, yellow Bird’s-foot Trefoil and Kidney-vetch cover the ground and the grassy swards are rich with many other species.

Mike Crewe

Where to visit (see map): Heather heaths are not always easy to access in Breckland, but those at Knettishall and Tuddenham in Suffolk and at Thetford Warren in Norfolk have areas of public access. Breckland grass heath can be enjoyed at a number of special reserves, such as Barnham Cross Common, Cranwich Camp, Grime’s Graves and Ramparts Field. Maids Cross Hill at Lakenheath is a wonderful place with a mix of grassy heath, rougher grasslands, scrub and arable margin.

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Habitats: Grassland Grassland

Aside from the grass-dominated heaths, other grassland habitats are plentiful in the area. Remnants of heath still exist as smaller patches along grassy rides in forestry plantations and even on roadside verges, where they are very vulnerable to disturbance and the possibility of unsympathetic management. Such places still hold some of the rarer Breckland plants and a number of such species are doing well on protected roadside nature reserves. Other grassy roadside verges that are mown, or shaded by tall hedges or woodland edge, provide a more general, yet still interesting, suite of grassland plants.

In the damper river valleys of the Little Ouse, Lark, Wissey and smaller watercourses, a lusher grassland community may be found, with buttercups often colouring the scene and species of damper grasslands forming a gradient with those more typical of true wetland habitats. Further out from Breckland’s heartland, less sandy soils hold plant communities typical of chalky landscapes, where ant mounds provide a home for many species tolerant of sheep grazing.

These are great places for the wildflower hunter to enjoy. Ancient commonland, sympathetically managed churchyards and similar places are still plentiful around Breckland’s margins – especially northwestward from Mundford and to the south around Bury St Edmunds – and are important habitats for many of our declining grassland species.

Mike Crewe

Where to visit (see map): Chalk grassland is best seen at Foulden and Thompson Commons, while species-rich grassy rides can be found throughout Thetford Forest. Wet grasslands that grade into true wetland habitats are especially interesting on the protected reserves at Thompson Common and at Hopton and Market Weston. The location of roadside nature reserves can be found via the county wildlife trusts or county council websites.

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Recording, monitoring and learning more Making your sightings count – why should I record wildlife?

Being out in the countryside and identifying the wildflowers that you find is always exciting, but the value of your enjoyment can be greatly enhanced when your sightings are shared with organisations that seek to understand our wildlife.

Knowing what wildflowers are present on a site that you visit is really important, and the building block to knowing how an area can be managed to conserve wildlife. Noting down or ‘recording’ your sightings of wildflowers as ‘biological records’ is not only vital for managing our best wildflower sites, but it also allows us to protect those sites from the impact of housing and other types of development.

What you should record?

A biological record is simply a note of a species observed by a person at a location on a given date. Records must contain four essential pieces of information: • What species was observed (either common name or scientific name).

• Where was it observed (ideally a six-figure grid reference or better).

• When was it observed (ideally the exact date).

• Who recorded it (full name of the person who made the sighting ).

Who should you send records to?

The Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS) and Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service (SBIS) are the Local Environmental Records Centres (LERC) covering the Brecks. These organisations are the central point for all records in their respective counties. You may submit your records by using their online systems or you can email the records directly. As you become more interested in recording wildflowers you may want to send your records direct to the relevant County Recorder, who verifies the records NBIS and SBIS receive. Information on who these people are can be found on the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society (NNNS) and the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society (SNS) websites. If you are recording in more than one part of the country you could record on one platform, the most popular of which is iRecord (website and app).

Getting involved in monitoring and surveys

If you are reasonably competent at recording wildflowers and/or wish to volunteer more regularly you can take part in many monitoring or survey projects.

A good place to start is the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI). The National Plant Monitoring Scheme is an annual habitat-based plant monitoring scheme showing changes in our wild plants and their habitats.

Learning more

If you are new to plant hunting, or would like to further your identification skills, the following are good ways to learn and get involved: • There are many local clubs and societies that will put you in touch with like-minded people, such as the NNNS or SNS (see above).

• The Identiplant programme is an online correspondence course run jointly

by BSBI and the Field Studies Council and has proven to be a wonderful way to learn plant identification.

• Ispot is a friendly and free community helping you to identify and share wildlife sightings and is a great place for beginners (www.ispotnature.org).

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Heathland Common Grape-hyacinth Muscari neglectum

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A If you take a trip around the quiet backroads J J of Breckland in April, keep an eye out for little blue spikes, 10–20cm in height, like bunches of grapes, poking from warm grassy banks on sandy soil. Common Grape-hyacinth has the botanists divided as to whether it is a true British native, or whether it was introduced to the Brecks (perhaps unintentionally as a garden escape), but it has been known from the region since the 18th century and is certainly well established here. The glossy, slightly succulent, grass-like leaves appear in autumn and are U-shaped in cross-section, with a rounded back. The flower spikes begin as a bundle of tight buds, with the flowers opening in turn, from the bottom up. When fully mature, the flowers darken to a deep purplish-blue in the lower part of the spike, each flower with a narrow white border to its lower opening. As a rare native, this is a Red Data Book species and is classed as vulnerable, due to its overall small population which continues to show a slow decline. As a British plant, Common Grape-hyacinth is found only in a small area of the Brecks, extending a short way westward into neighbouring Cambridgeshire. It is commonly grown as a garden plant and may occur elsewhere as an escape from cultivation.

Mike Crewe

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Similar Species: The very similar Garden Grape-hyacinth (M. armeniacum) is sometimes found growing along roadsides and in other grassy places. See page 45.

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Star species Spiked Speedwell

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A A very rare plant of species-rich, Rabbit-grazed J J grass heath, this is a perennial species that produces small rosettes of rounded leaves with toothed margins. The extremely showy elongated spikes of intense purple-blue flowers are at their best in late June or early July and differ from our other native speedwells in their relatively narrow petals and their very long stamens, which give the whole flowerhead a very spiky look. Numbers vary from year to year, with the plants subject to a variety of pressures, from grazing to being out-competed by taller grasses. Nature reserve managers therefore have to work at getting the balance just right to allow this plant to flourish.

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Veronica spicata

Mike Crewe

Once far more common than today, the local Breckland form is limited to perhaps just four sites (with a handful of introduced plants, too), making this one of the area’s – and the UK’s – most sought-after plants. As a rare and declining Red Data Book species, it is specially protected and populations are monitored each year.

Colonies of Spiked Speedwell in western Britain are sometimes recognised as a different subspecies, but current research suggests that perhaps they are all best recognised as a single, rather variable form. The sight of Spiked Speedwell in flower on a sunny Breckland heath is surely the highlight of any visit to the area.

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Heathland Perennial Knawel

Similar species: Compare this species with the less rare, though still uncommon, Annual Knawel, which is shown on page 27.

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A stiff, creeping plant that forms low mats of needle-like leaves. Flowers have green and white striped petals that are easily missed except when they appear in large clusters.

Although it might not be much to look at, the prostrate Perennial Knawel is one of Breckland’s most iconic plants. The subspecies prostratus is only found here and nowhere else on earth; extinct in Norfolk since 1961 and reduced to just three native locations in Suffolk, it is currently one of the UK’s rarest plants. However, a well-organised programme of cultivation and reintroduction over the past 20 years has been slowly successful and the species can now be found on several protected areas of Breckland heath. As reintroduction programmes by conservation organisations slowly produce more plants and more locations, it is certainly worth keeping an eye out for this plant along tracksides and on shallowly disturbed ground in areas of grassy heath. A protected Red Data Book species.

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Scleranthus perennis

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species Hare’s-foot Clover Trifolium arvense

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Rough Clover

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This tiny annual clover is quite common on the open sandy heaths of Breckland, but it is easily overlooked due to its very small size (hands and knees required!). Most commonly found in short turf, its creeping downy stems and trifoliate leaves carry small, very compact heads of whitish flowers during the summer months.

After flowering, the five sepals spread stiffly outward to form a ball of star-like clusters.

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Common in open heathy situations where the ground has been disturbed, both in grassy places and in arable and urban areas. The trifoliate leaves give this plant away as a clover, but the very tight heads of tiny whitish or pale pink flowers, covered in long dense hairs, give it a very different look and provide it with its English name. After the flowers have matured, the seedheads elongate slightly and dense stands of these hairy clusters can be very eyecatching.

Trifolium scabrum

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Knotted Clover Trifolium striatum

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A tiny annual species of clover, commonly found in open sunny areas of short grass, but easily overlooked due to its very small size.

The whole plant is covered in soft whitish hairs and the stems creep close to the ground. In summer, small heads of tiny pinkish flowers appear at the ends of the branchlets. After flowering, the pale downy seedheads form soft clusters, unlike the spiky heads of Rough Clover (above).

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Heathland Habitat Purple Milk-vetch Astragalus danicus

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Once common as a plant of chalky grassland heaths, this species has declined over the years and relies on the grazing regimes that are maintained at sympathetically managed reserves. Crowds of purple flowerheads of this species can be enjoyed during the summer in favoured places on grassy heaths and open rides. Leaves are pinnate with 6–13 pairs of leaflets.

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Bird’s-foot Trefoil

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Lotus corniculatus An abundant plant of all kinds of grassy places, but especially common in the short grass of Breckland heaths. Flowers may be yellow, orange or a mixture of red and yellow, this latter combination earning it the name of ‘Bacon-andeggs’. Leaves are distinctive, each bearing five leaflets. Seed pods are linear and spread out in small heads, in the manner of a bird’s foot.

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Horseshoe-vetch Favouring high quality undisturbed chalk grassland, this species is rare and declining but can still be found at a few well-managed locations, such as at Foulden Common. Differs from the much more common Bird’s-foot Trefoil in its clear yellow flowers, ladder-like pinnate leaves and in its seed pods, which resemble a short series of horseshoes joined together in a line.

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Hippocrepis comosa

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species Lesser Burdock Arctium minus

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Burdocks grow in all kinds of grassy places and catch the eye with their broad crinkled leaves, which may grow up to a metre long. Branching stems may extend to two metres in height and carry reddish-purple, thistle-like flowerheads with bristly bases. You can tell this species from Greater Burdock (below) by the hollow stems to the lower leaves and by the flowers all having stalks of similar length.

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Greater Burdock Arctium lappa

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Less common than Lesser Burdock (above) and most often confined to wetter, grassy places along the river valleys. The overall look of this plant resembles the previous species but the lower leaf stems are solid, not hollow. The lower flowerheads have longer stalks than the upper ones, such that the cluster of heads on a stem all tend to line up in profile to form a relatively flat head.

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Welted Thistle A tall thistle, to a metre and a half in height, found in a variety of grassy places but rather uncommon in Breckland. Look for spiny wings running up the stems, in combination with almost spherical flower clusters. The outer flower bracts are very spiny and tend to curve outward, rather than laying flat.

Similar Species: The much commoner Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre) of damp places has narrower flowerheads with bracts that lay flat.

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Carduus crispus

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Grassland Habitat Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare

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A very common thistle found in heavily grazed areas, as well as being a weed of waste and disturbed ground. Plants form stout rosettes of basal leaves before pushing up bushy, wellbranched stems to a metre and a half or more in height. Leaves generally have fewer but much longer spines than other thistles. Large flowers with spreading, spiny outer bracts.

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Similar species: Compare with other thistles of open habitats.

Cotton Thistle

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Onopordum acanthium A common plant of dry sandy soils. The leaves and stems are covered in a tight mesh of white, silky hairs that give the whole plant a silver-grey look. Leaves are large and spiny-edged, while stems may grow to two and a half metres in height and look very impressive. Pale pink flowerheads are solitary, not clustered, and the outer bracts are webbed with white down.

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Common Teasel A familiar plant of grassy field edges and lightly disturbed spots in both urban and rural areas.

The elongate, toothed and bristly leaves form clasping pairs around the spiny stems, their bases often filling with rainwater. The bristly flowerheads produce clusters of pinkish-purple flowers, with the seedheads hardening and lasting well through the winter to provide a favourite snack for Goldfinches.

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Dipsacus fullonum

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BRECKS GUIDE No. 2 Flowers of the Brecks: Heath & Grassland

By Mike Crewe The Brecks form a unique area of inland East Anglia, straddling the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Recognised as one of the most important parts of the United Kingdom in terms of biodiversity, they encompass tracts of forest, heathland and arable farmland, threaded by river corridors. These diverse habitats support a range of fascinating wildlife.

Climatic and soil conditions in the Brecks are such that a particularly notable assemblage of plants is found locally. Several species have their British headquarters here, while for others it is their only known location in the whole country. This handy guide will help you identify the special plants of the area, explaining how to distinguish them from more familiar species and directing you to the best places and times of year at which to find them.

The Brecks Guides provide an affordable and informative introduction to the wildlife of the area. Pocket-sized, they are the ideal companions for a day out in the countryside.

ISBN 978-1-908581-87-7

9 781908 581877 Published by the British Trust for Ornithology.

ÂŁ8.95