Page:VCH Sussex 1.djvu/91

 BOTANY We will now direct our attention to the habitats of the more interesting species which are to be met with in Sussex. If we consider our county latitudinally, we have three divisions which differ greatly as to the character of their flora — the Coast, the Downs, and the Weald. Let us take a brief survey of each. I. Plants of the Coast. — As preliminary it should be noted that starting from the western extremity of the county we have the London Clay extending from Hampshire along the coast south of Chichester to Worthing, and that this includes the Manhood, one of the most fertile districts in England. Beyond Worthing we come to the remarkable shingle beach at Shoreham, on which some interesting species occur. Thence we have the chalk, which in some places abuts close upon the shore, as far as Eastbourne. Beyond this, to Pevensey, the beach is composed almost entirely of rolled flints derived from the erosion of the chalk cliffs to the westward, and is known to be in some parts from 25 to 30 feet in thickness. The flora here is of considerable interest, as is that of Pevensey Marsh. Proceeding further eastwards we have the sand. The estuaries which include the Sussex half of Emsworth Harbour, Bosham Creek and Chichester Harbour will repay examination. Some of the species, although not showy, from the peculiarities of their structure deserve notice, such as the greater ruppia (R. spiralis), uncoil- ing its stalk above the water, the horned pondweed [Zaunichellia pedi- cellata), the fennel-leaved pondweed {Fotamogeton pectiiiatus), and the curious little spathes of the grass wrack [Zostera nana), while the sides of these inlets of the Channel are everywhere clothed with the glasswort [Salicornia herbacea), at first of a bright green, then changing to yellow, fawn and reddish brown, and finally to deep mauve. At Thorney Island we have the horned poppy {Glaucium luteum) and the wild English clary {Salvia verbenaca), the foetid iris or roast-beef plant (/. fcetidissima), and among the littoral graminece the scarce nit grass {Gastridium lendi- geruni), the very rare annual beard grass [Polypogon monspeliensis), the sea barley {Hordeum maritimum), and the sea hard grass {Lepturus Jili- formis). We next meet with the pretty pink sea heath {Frankenia Icevis), which occurs along our shore in marshy flats. At Hermitage too we have the golden samphire {Itiula crithmoides) in its vicinity. A little further on may be found the Danish scurvy grass {Cochlearia Danica) and the English scurvy grass (C. Anglica). The sea kale [Cratnbe maritima) still occurs occasionally, and among the crucifers to be sought for is the purple sea rocket (Cakik maritima), to be found at Brighton, Newhaven, Beachy Head and Eastbourne. One of our rarest flowers is the proliferous pink {Dianthus prolifer), as yet met with in Sussex only near Selsey, but which I have seen abundantly at Hayling Island, where it is extremely stunted. Amongst pebbles we have some- times patches of the curious sea purslane {Honkeneya peploides). Our coast, too, well repays search for the various trefoils, as the soft-knotted trefoil (^rifolium striatum), the rough rigid trefoil {T. scabriim), the 45