Flowers of the Suffolk Coast

In the time available we cannot do justice to the complete range of habitats.  We shall focus especially on the plants that grow on the shingle beaches and in the salt marshes of the estuaries.  These plants are subjected to enormously stressful conditions.  Only those that are highly specialised can cope with regular submergence in saline water in the enriched mudflats, or with the drought conditions of the free-draining, infertile shingly ‘soils’.  For them, exposure to the life-giving, yet unrelenting, summer sunshine simply exacerbates the problem.  These severe limitations mean that most of Suffolk’s coastal plants are to be found in similar habitats all round Britain, though each region will have, in addition, its own local specialities.

The course is designed to help you identify the characteristic species.  We shall spend time considering the key identification features of the major families and the species that we shall find.  This will require close examination of the flowers which provide the major big clues to the identity of any plant, but other features are also very useful to determine precise identification.  Beginners should acquire a basic knowledge of how to identify a good range of our native coastal plants and the confidence to pursue the subject further.

The daily excursions will involve some ‘difficult’ walking over loose shingle and glutinous (but safe) mud.  We will need to negotiate pools and drainage dykes that are often concealed by the vegetation.  But the pace will seldom be strenuous.