BOTANICAL SURVEY by Joshua Styles ACIEEM AMRSB
This survey of the North Wirral Foreshore at Hoylake started in February 2020. Further seasonal surveys will be undertaken each year.
The survey will record species that occur across the full extent of Hoylake beach and will compare and contrast year-on-year species diversity and the number of notable species and should help inform future management and conservation designations for the site.
Some rare species recorded at Hoylake this year, such as Yellow Glasswort (Salicornia fragilis), have not been seen for many years.
Indeed, not only is Whorl-grass (Catabrosa aquatica) Red-list Vulnerable in England, it was last seen on Hoylake beach in 1895, over 120 years ago!
As the beach continues to change, ongoing surveillance could reveal a recovery in these and many other rare species’ populations.
As a further observation, many of the plant species now growing on the Hoylake beach are intolerant of brackish conditions. Marsh Arrowgrass (Triglochin palustre) and Whorl-grass (Catabrosa aquatica) are very intolerant of saline conditions, indicated by very low Ellenberg values for salinity (S=2 and S=1, respectively).
This is in complete contradiction to the existing SSSI citation as it stands, and is a clear indicator of dune development following significant accretion.
North Wirral Foreshore [Hoylake] Botanical Survey
The DAFOR scale represents the relative abundance of each species found:
D = Dominant; A = Abundant, LF = Locally Frequent, F = Frequent, O = Occasional, R = Rare
ELLENBERG salt values are an indicator of whether or not grasses favour fresh, brackish or saltwater environments:
9 = Very salt tolerant; 0 = Salt intolerant
By monitoring these two values together we can calculate relative changes in overall salt levels across the site over time; a useful indicator of habitat change as a consequence of sand accretion or erosion.
| English name | Scientific name | 16.02.20 | 02.07.20 | 27.09.20 | Ellenberg value (salt) | Notable species | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a Dandelion | Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia | R | R | 1 | |||
| Annual Meadow-grass | Poa annua | O | R | R | 1 | ||
| Annual Sea Blite | Suaeda maritima | R | R | 7 | |||
| Babbington's Orache | Atriplex glabriuscula | R | |||||
| Buck's-horn Plantain | Plantago coronopus | F | LF | LF | 2 | ||
| Buttonweed | Cotula coronopifolia | LF | LF | 4 | |||
| Celery-leaved Buttercup | Ranunculus sceleratus | R | R | R | 2 | ||
| Common Cord-grass | Spartina anglica | R | R | R | 7 | ||
| Common Duckweed | Lemna minor | R | 0 | ||||
| Common Glasswort | Salicornia europaea | R | 9 | ||||
| Common Groundsel | Senecio vulgaris ssp. vulgaris | R | R | 0 | |||
| Common Knotgrass | Polygonum aviculare agg. | R | |||||
| Common Orache | Atriplex patula | R | R | 2 | |||
| Common Poppy | Papaver rhoeas | R | R | 0 | |||
| Common Saltmarsh-grass | Puccinellia maritima | F | A | A | 5 | ||
| Curled Dock | Rumex crispus | O | O | 2 | |||
| Danish Scurvygrass | Cochlearia danica | LF | LF | LF | 4 | ||
| Floating Sweet-grass | Glyceria fluitans | LF | O | O | 0 | ||
| Fool's Watercress | Apium nodiflorum | R | 0 | ||||
| Frog Rush | Juncus ranarius | LF | YES | Species of Conservation Importance for NW England. Listed within the NW Biodiversity Audit (1999) (SCI) | |||
| Glasswort sp. | Salicornia sp. | R | R | R | 9 | YES | Both Purple and Long-spiked Glassworts are rare on Wirral peninsula |
| Grass-leaved Orache | Atriplex littoralis | R | R | 4 | |||
| Greater Sea Spurrey | Spergularia media | O | O | 5 | |||
| Hard-grass | Parapholis strigosa | LF | LF | 5 | |||
| Hemlock Water-dropwort | Oenanthe crocata | R | 1 | ||||
| Hybrid Orache | A. x hulmeana | R | |||||
| Hybrid Orache | Atriplex x gustafssoniana | O | |||||
| Jointed Rush | Juncus articulatus | R | |||||
| Lesser Chickweed | Stellaria pallida | R | 0 | YES | Rare in Cheshire Vice County | ||
| Long-bracted Sedge | Carex extensa | R | R | ||||
| Long-stalked Orache | Atriplex longipes | R | YES | New to both Wirral and the Vice County. Very rare in the region and nationally scarce. | |||
| Lyme-grass | Leymus arenarius | R | |||||
| Marram | Ammophila arenaria | R | |||||
| Marsh Arrowgrass | Triglochin palustre | LF | LF | 2 | YES | Near-Threatened in England | |
| Narrow-fruited Watercress | Nasturtium cf. microphyllum | O | 0 | ||||
| Pellitory-of-the-wall | Parietaria judaica | R | R | R | 1 | ||
| Perennial Rye-grass | Lolium perenne | O | O | 0 | |||
| Pineappleweed | Matricaria discoidea | R | R | 0 | |||
| Prickly Saltwort | Salsola kali | R | YES | Red-list Vulnerable in Great Britain. Rare in Cheshire Vice County (SCI) | |||
| Prickly Sow-thistle | Sonchus asper | R | R | R | 0 | ||
| Procumbent Pearlwort | Sagina procumbens | R | R | R | 1 | ||
| Purple Glasswort | Salicornia ramosissima | R | YES | Both Purple and Long-spiked Glassworts are rare on Wirral peninsula | |||
| Ray's Knotgrass | Polygonum oxyspermum ssp. raii | R | R | 3 | YES | Nationally Scarce | |
| Red Fescue | Festuca rubra | R | R | 2 | |||
| Reed Canary-grass | Phalaris arundinacea | R | R | 1 | |||
| Reflexed Saltmarsh-grass | Puccinellia distans | O | O | 4 | |||
| Rock Samphire | Crithmum maritimum | R | |||||
| Sand Couch | Elymus junceiformis | R | R | R | 0 | ||
| Sea / Lesser Mouse-ear | Cerastium diffusum / semidecandrum | R | R | R | 1 | ||
| Sea Arrowgrass | Triglochin maritima | F | F | 4 | |||
| Sea Aster | Aster tripolium | LF | LF | LF | 5 | ||
| Sea Beet | Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima | R | R | R | 3 | ||
| Sea Clubrush | Bolboschoenus maritimus | O | O | 4 | |||
| Sea Couch | Elymus athericus | R | R | 4 | |||
| Sea Fern-grass | Catapodium marinum | R | |||||
| Sea Mayweed | Tripleurospermum maritimum | O | O | 1 | |||
| Sea Milkwort | Lysimachia maritima | LF | LF | 4 | |||
| Sea Pearlwort | Sagina maritima | R | |||||
| Sea Plantain | Plantago maritima | O | O | O | 3 | ||
| Sea Purslane | Atriplex portulacoides | R | R | 6 | |||
| Sea Raddish | Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. maritimus | R | R | 0 | YES | Species of Conservation Importance for NW England. Listed within the NW Biodiversity Audit (1999) (SCI) | |
| Sea Rocket | Cakile maritima | R | R | 3 | |||
| Smooth Sow-thistle | Sonchus oleraceus | R | R | R | 0 | ||
| Spear-leaved Orache | Atriplex prostrata | R | R | 2 | |||
| Toad Rush | Juncus bufonius | O | O | 1 | |||
| Tufted Forget-me-not | Myosotis cf. laxa | R | 0 | ||||
| Wall Barley | Hordeum murinum | R | R | 0 | |||
| Water Bent | Polypogon viridis | R | R | ||||
| Watercress agg. | Nasturtium officinale agg. | O | R | R | 0 | ||
| Whorl-grass | Catabrosa aquatica | F | F | 1 | YES | Red-list Vulnerable in England. Rare in Cheshire Vice County SCI. 2nd record for Wirral. Last recorded for Hoylake in 1895. | |
| Willowherb sp. | Epilobium sp. | R | R | R | 0 | ||
| Yellow Glasswort | Salicornia fragilis | R | 9 | YES | Nationally scarce. Last recorded for Hoylake pre-2000 |
