Flora of Derbyshire - the White Peak grasslands - part 1

The plant is important as the host plant of the Cistus Forester moth.

Deep Dale NR

This species is described in more detail in the Flora of northern England section of the site.

It is easily recognised by the distinctive glaucous green divided foliage.  The flowers are rather disappointing for such an elegant meadow plant, with small white petals and long, drooping yellow stamens.


Cave Dale

Cressbrook Dale NNR

The only other white-flowered Silene in the dales is White Campion, but Nottingham Catchfly is easily distinguished by its drooping flowers with thin, divided petals.

It is described in more detail in the Flora of Tentsmuir Point NNR section of the site.

Thanks to Fred Rumsey for the identification.

Rose End Meadows NR

It can be recognised by its five-petalled white flowers, typical of the genus, and the tiny pointed leaves, which are covered with short hairs.

Knotted Pearlwort is described in more detail in the Flora of northern England section of the site.

Musk Mallow is a widespread species in Britain, especially in England, where it is a plant of unmodified grassland.

The plant is important as the host plant of the Cistus Forester moth.

Deep Dale NR

Plants in Derbyshire tend to have yellow flowers, although some purple-flowered colonies are occasionally found.

The plant is important flor insects, not just for nectar, but also as the larval foodplant of the Orange-tip butterfly. 

This perennial crucifer is easily recognised by its tall stature, damp habitat and narrow pinnate stem leaves.

It grows in drier habitats than Wavy Bitter-cress, but both species are widespread and abundant.

Hairy Rock-cress is widely distributed in calcareous habitats throughout  Britain.

It resembles other small rosette-forming crucifers, such as Arabis or Draba species, but can be recognised by its broad, lanceolate leaves and deeply-notched petals, which give the flowers an 8-petalled appearance.

It can be distinguished by hairless upper stems and leaves, as well as by its curved fruits.

The Peak District is one of the strongholds of this species nationally, and it has a scattered distribution over the rest of Britain, where it can also occur as an introduced species in base-rich habitats. 

Draba muralis can be distinguished from other grassland crucifers by its broad, strongly-toothed stem leaves.


Bonsall Moor

In Britain as a whole, the plant is classified as Nationally Scarce.  It is most common in the northern Pennines, with other more scattered sites being found in the central Highlands of Scotland and north Wales.

seed pods, Bradford Dale

Cowslip is common throughout Britain in alkaline grassland habitats.


Coombs Dale SSSI

Like all Sedums, it has succulent leaves which give the plant a high resistance to drought, and Biting Stonecrop often colonises rock crevices which are too dry for other species to survive in.  It is a common species throughout lowland Britain.

I've described the species more fully in the Flora of Ben Lawers NNR section of the site.

It can be recognised by its distinctively-shaped foliage, which is often tinged with red, as are the flower calyces.  The individual flowers are very small (less than a centimetre in diameter).

A Nationally Scarce species, Rock Whitebeam can be found at scattered sites throughout Wales and northern Britain.

It is an easy plant to recognise when the stems are examined.  Unlike 'normal' Bramble, Stone Bramble's stems are spineless.  Its fruits are red and rather small, bearing few segments.

stem detail

It can easily be recognised by the prominent green sepals, which are visible in the gaps between the white petals.

Distinguishing features of this early-flowering species are its five petals, terminal flowers (some other Potentilla species have flowers arising from leaf axils) and mat-forming habit. 

Spring Cinquefoil favours shallow soils on sunny limestone outcrops and can be seen in many of the dales in central portion of the White Peak.




 

There are many microspecies within A.vulgaris, but an expert eye is required to distinguish them.  Cultivars of the species are popular as cottage-garden plants.

Thanks to Tom Blockeel for the identification.

The only other Filipendula species in Britain is Dropwort (F.vulgaris), which is much rarer in the limestone dales (see below), and is a much smaller plant of dry grasslands.

It is a more delicate, elegant plant than Meadowsweet and grows in a totally different habitat, so the two species should not be confused.

Dropwort is described in more detail in the Flora of Hampshire section of the site.

leaf detail

It can be found throughout Britain wherever there is calcareous grassland or scrubby habitat.

It is a common plant nationally, and can be recognised by its narrow lanceolate leaflets, lack of tendrils (it is an upright plant, rather than a twining one, like its relatives) and stalked raceme with just a few bright pink flowers, which fade to blue. 

Thanks to Fred Rumsey for the identification.

It is similar to other Lotus species, two of which are found in Derbyshire: Narrow-leaved Bird's-foot Trefoil (L.glaber), as its name suggests, has much narrower and longer leaflets, and is known from only a few sites in the county; Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil (L.pedunculatus) is very widespread in the county, and is a larger, hairy plant of marshes and fens, although the most reliable way to distinguish the two species is to look at the calyx teeth in the buds - L.corniculatus has erect teeth, L.pedunculatus has reflexed teeth.

Individual flowers are rather small compared to the size of the plant, and are borne in woolly clusters.  The flowers are a rich source of nectar for butterflies, bees and hoverflies.

It is the only native flax found in Derbyshire (Pale Flax and Perennial Flax are probably extinct in the county), although Flax (L.usitatissimum) is present as a naturalised escape from cultivation. 

I apologise for the terrible photo - a better one will be taken in future!

The only other species in Derbyshire is Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia), which, as its name suggests, is found in acidic heathland habitats, unlike P.vulgaris.


Rose End Meadows NR

Butterwort is described more fully in the Flora of Corrie Fee NNR, Scotland section of the site.


Conies Dale

Dove's-foot Cranesbill (G.molle) is very similar and occurs in the same grassland habitats, but has pink petals and hairless fruits.

Three subspecies are recognised in Britain - the nominate form, which is the most widespread, ssp.septentrionalis, which has creamy white flowers and is found in northern Britain, and ssp.hibernica, which has larger flowers and is only found in Ireland.

It is easily recognised by its dense heads of pink flowers, mat-forming habit and flower stalks which are very hairy on two opposite faces only - the similar Large Thyme (T.pulegioides) has long hairs on the four stem angles, rather than 2 opposite faces, but is not found in the Peak District.  It also has strongly thyme-scented leaves, unlike Wild Thyme, which only has faintly-scented leaves.

It can be recognised its sage-like leaves (hence the common name) and pale greenish-yellow yellow flowers with conspicuous red stamens.

In mid-summer these beautiful plants host the impressive multicoloured caterpillars of the Mullein moth.

You can see photos of the alpine subspecies of Thyme-leaved Speedwell here.

Although very common in the White Peak, the plant is rare elsewhere in Derbyshire due to its preference for calcareous soils.


Monks Dale NNR

leaf detail

In Coombs Dale, where this photo was taken, the flowers of Field Scabious are like magnets to the resident population of Dark Green Fritillaries. 

Field Scabious is easily distinguished from the other two British Scabious species - it is a much larger, coarsely-hairy plant than Small Scabious (and much more common), and has larger, paler flowers than Devil's-bit Scabious with florets that are distinctly larger on the outside of the flowerhead.  Devil's-bit Scabious also has entire leaves, rather than the pinnatifid leaves of the other two species.

Recognising Devil's-bit Scabious is fairly easy: it has undivided, lanceolate leaves unlike the other two Scabious species and the flowerheads have each floret a uniform size - the outer ones are not larger than the inner ones - Field Scabious and Small Scabious have larger outer florets.  The flowers are also a darker shade of violet when you're used to seeing all three species! 

The curious common name of the plant derives from the rhizomes, which are abruptly terminated, looking like they have been bitten off.

Resembling a miniature version of Field Scabious, this plant is less robust and perhaps more 'refined' than its larger cousin (see above). 

Small Scabious has downy hairs on its stems, rather than the coarse hairs which cover Field Scabious.  A more definite way to distinguish the two species, if one is still uncertain, is to look at the calyx teeth - Small Scabious has five, whereas Field Scabious has eight.