Car Park Clovers et al.

The car park is often the first place a botanist looks at when arriving at a site.  This is not without good reason as there is usually a good selection of plants, some possibly brought in by car tyres.
The centre of the car park of the Visitor Centre at Holme Dunes initially looks to be just sandy gravel.  However, get on your knees to take a closer look and you will find a good number of small plants of several species.  Among these are two small clovers.  Bird's-foot Clover (Fenugreek) Trifolium ornithopodioides was recorded on site as early as 1969 by E.L.Swann.  It has dark green leaves and pale pink flowers.  The other small clover is Suffocated Clover Trifolium suffocatum and this was first spotted and recorded by Philip Amies in 2015, although from the number of plants present (200+) it must have been around for a few years.  The Suffocated Clover has white petals but these are tiny and are hidden in the longer calyx tubes.

Suffocated Clover     and     Bird's-foot Clover

Suffocated Clover Trifolium suffocatum

Bird's-foot Clover Trifoilium ornithopodioides

Among other plants to be found in the car park at the VC are Mossy Stonecrop Crassula tillaea, Buck's-horn Plantain Plantago coronopus and Flattened Meadow-grass Poa compressa.
(If you go searching for these plants please be careful of moving cars!)