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Thursday 14 June 2018

Secrets of a Norfolk beach...

As I was photographing the beautiful early Summer flora on the North Coast, it occurred to me that some of  these tough salt-tolerant plants are not given the recognition they deserve by casual passers-by.
  • Sea Beet is pretty abundant in East Anglia and is the ancestor of Sugar Beet, Chard and Beetroot
  • Sea Kale was formerly widely eaten, being prepared either like collards or asparagus
  • Horned Poppy is a beautiful but toxic plant: it was an important treatment for stomach ailments in the past
  • Wild Celery grows beside the paths on the Cley and Titchwell reserves: I often nibble a stalk! 
  • Tree Lupins are very much a feature of the walk out to Blakeney Point: they are a non-native species, but play a role in fixing atmospheric nitrogen into poor soils.
This time of year can be pretty unproductive for birding, but there's always plenty of plants and insects to look out for!





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