Shingle is one of
the harshest environments on earth. Shingle in Suffolk might be a storm beach ridge like that at Thorpeness, or
semi-permanent beaches such as those at Kessingland. In Suffolk there are 859 hectares of vegetated shingle. KessinglandBeach is a bit like Winterton Dunes, ThorpenessBeach and Landguard Point, but it is not
protected by conservation measures.
On Sunday 29th August 2004, five Great Yarmouth naturalists, two Lowestoft Field Club members and four Norfolk naturalists including myself, spent the day exploring the southern tetrad TM5284 at KessinglandBeach. We were lucky enough to have some eminent botanists with us who added many records to my 76 from here already.
On the semi-permanent shingle, we found specialists
like Yellow Horned-poppy Glaucium flavum, Sea-kale Crambe maritima,Sea Pea Lathyrus japonicus and a few scattered Sea-holly plants, Eryngium
maritimum. Jo Parmenter found two good clumps of Rock Samphire Crithmum maritimum,
and David Lester found Lesser Hawkbit Leontodon saxatilis. On the drier
parts of the shingle there were great stands of Rosebay willowherb Chemerion
angustifolium and Biting Stonecrop Sedum acre. As we walked
southwards towards the River Hundred for lunch a Painted Lady butterfly and a
couple of Red Admirals arrived in from the sea. 
We found several interesting plants as we crossed to the dunes, including plenty of Sheep’s-bit Jasione montana,a good stand of Polypody fern Polypodium vulgare and Narrow-leaved Hawkweed Hieracium agg. Along the River Hundred we found Rough Clover Trifolium scabrum, andBladderwort Utricularia australis, whichwas pulled from the centre of the river. Also along this bank were False Fox-sedge Carex otrubae,Water Dock Rumex hydrolapathum,Water Cress Rorippa agg , Marsh Woundwort Stachys palustris, and Brooklime Veronica beccabunga.
At a patch of recently disturbed soil by the sluice we recorded several interesting plants including Musk-mallow Malva moschata, Milk Thistle Silybum marianum,Coastal Fiddleneck Amsinckia micrantha, Green Nightshade Solanum physalifolium, and a single specimen of the Apple-of-Peru Nicandra physalodes. On the way back we passed a strip of sandy verge where there was Red Fescue Festuca rubra; we made a probable identification of subs-species litoralis. Finally along a bank below the caravan park we found Long-headed Poppy Papaver dubium and Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant Lycium barbarum that was particularly abundant.
The total of species recorded was 112.This area has been my patch since I was ten years of age and it was an honour to play host to both societies and produce such a good list. This tetrad creeps into Benacre NNR so I expect the list will increase a lot more.
The day after our visit I went to photograph the Rock Samphire and was passed by a Clouded Yellow Butterfly as it arrived in from the sea!
Colin A Jacobs
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society
used by kind permision.