Stansore Point, Hampshire, Saturday, 13th September 2014


A meeting to explore another area of costal shingle, here east the Leap Country Park on the Solent NNR. We meet in the main lower car park of Lepe Counrty Park at 10.30am SZ455985. Attending were Nichola Bacciu, Andy Cross, Brian Gale, John Norton, Mathew Prince, Les and Sheila Street, with Neil Sanderson leading. We had warm sunny weather in what turned out to be the last weekend of summer.

SZ4598
We briefly looked at beach in the Country Park, while walking to the National Nature Reserve (NNR), recording Caloplaca maritima on wooden bollards.  This is proving to be the most widespread truly maritime lichen on the Hampshire coast.

SZ4698
We entered the NNR at the southern end, into a horse grazed marsh around a lagoon contained by a shingle beech. We noted some vascular plant interest with Crassula tillaea on a path and Carex divisa in the grazed saltmarsh. 

The first lichen interest was found in small patches of shingle in the edge of the saltmarsh at waymark SP01 (SZ46302 98694). With a small group of ponies looking on, we recorded the Nationally Rare coastal species Lecanora salina, which is emerging as a specialist species of Hampshire coastal shingle. (See the account of this species in the 2013 Gravelly Marsh meeting). I also collected a second coastal lichen, which occurs rarely in Hampshire shingle, Amandinea lecideina (the name is changing to Amandinea pelidna apparently).

SP01 (SZ46302 98694). Flints in a small patch of shingle in salt marsh:
Amandinea lecideina
Caloplaca flavocitrina, on slipper limpet & flint 
Candelariella vitellina f. vitellina 
Catillaria chalybeia var. chalybeia 
Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD)
Rinodina oleae
Verrucaria nigrescens

Grassland:
Cladonia furcata
Cladonia rangiformis 

Waymark SP01, Lecanora salina site

To the north, further interest was found on shingle on edge of lagoon at Waymark SP02 (SZ46429 98756). Here at the tideline, pebbles supported Verrucaria halizoa Nb (NS) and were parasitised by Stigmidium marinum Nb (NR). The former is part of the small number of maritime Verrucaria species that occur on soft coasts as well as hard coasts and has recently been found in the Solent (see). The parasite had not previously been found on the south coast at all until it was discovered recently on Verrucaria halizoa in Langstone Harbour, and this was the second Solent record. Shingle above the lagoon tideline supported more Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD).

Shingle on edge of lagoon

Flints at Tideline:
Verrucaria halizoa Nb (NS)
Stigmidium marinum [NR]

Flints Above Tideline:
Buellia aethalea
Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD)
Porpidia tuberculosa 
Rhizocarpon reductum

Waymark SP02, Verrucaria halizoa & Stigmidium marinum site

Carry on north east a few more records were added (SZ464 988):

Concrete:
Collema auriforme

Oyster shell:
Caloplaca flavocitrina
Caloplaca oasis 
Lecanora albescens
Verrucaria nigrescens 
Xanthoria parietina

North east was area of dry Parched Acid Grassland (U1), this was lichen poor, however, it did add a few species, including the rarely recorded Placynthiella oligotropha Nb (NS) at Waymark SP03 (SZ46447 98870). This has a distinctive greenish – yellow verrucose thallus when damp, but tends to become nearly invisible when dry.

Additional species from acid grassland:
Cladonia humilis 
Placynthiella oligotropha Nb (NS)
Placynthiella uliginosa

Placynthiella oligotropha Nb (NS)

At the edge of the grazed marsh a little Cladonia foliacea was recorded in grassland.

The ungrazed marsh and beach north east of this is shown as open in a 1945 aerial photograph in Google Earth, but with a small area of trees on the shingle. It has long been ungrazed and now much of it is impenetrable scrub, but there is still some accessible rabbit grazed marsh along the coastal edge.

Open areas had areas short rabbit grazed Maritime Therophyte Grassland (MC5) with the local coastal moss Tortella flavovirens along with some pans. The epiphytes on the trees along the edge were recorded (SZ465 989).

Oak:
Amandinea punctata
Lecanora chlarotera
Lecanora confusa
Lecanora hagenii
Parmelia sulcata
Physcia adscendens
Ramalina farinacea
Xanthoria parietina

Blackthorn:
Evernia prunastri
Flavoparmelia caperata
Melanelixia glabratula
Parmotrema perlatum
Physcia tenella
Ramalina fastigiata
Xanthoria parietina

SZ4699
We then crossed into to SZ4699, so started recording again. The Oak supported Physcia stellaris, a local, mainly costal species in Hampshire

Blackthorn:
Evernia prunastri
Flavoparmelia caperata
Fuscidea lightfootii
Homostegia piggotii
Hypogymnia physodes, parasitising Parmelia saxatilis
Lecanora chlarotera
Lecanora confusa
Melanelixia subaurifera
Parmelia saxatilis
Physcia tenella
Ramalina farinacea
Ramalina fastigiata
Xanthoria parietina

Oak:
Amandinea punctata
Anisomeridium biforme
Cliostomum griffithii
Evernia prunastri
Flavoparmelia caperata
Hypogymnia physodes
Illosporiopsis christiansenii, on Melanelixia glabratula and Parmelia sulcata [NS]
Lecanora expallens 
Lecidella elaeochroma f. elaeochroma
Melanelixia glabratula
Opegrapha varia
Parmelia sulcata
Parmotrema perlatum
Physcia stellaris
Pyrrhospora quernea
Ramalina canariensis
Ramalina farinacea
Ramalina farinacea
Usnea cornuta

Some concrete building bases from WWII added some common species

Concrete:
Buellia aethalea
Caloplaca oasis
Catillaria chalybeia var. chalybeia
Collema crispum
Lecanora albescens
Rhizocarpon reductum
Sarcogyne regularis
Verrucaria nigrescens
Xanthoria parietina

A drier area of rabbit grazed Maritime Therophyte Grassland (MC5) had abundant Cladonia rangiformis, with Cladonia furcata, while flint in lower lying area had more Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD) on flint (SZ466 991).

MC5 Grassland:
Cladonia rangiformis 
Cladonia furcata

Fints:
Lecanora salina
Porpidia tuberculosa
Rinodina oleae 

Usnea wasmuthii Nb (NS) was added on Blackthorn and at Waymark SP04 the vascular plant Heath Pearlwort Sagina subulata was spotted in parched grassland, a rare species in Hampshire outside of the New Forest heathlands.

The rabbit grazed marsh and scrub

We then fought through the scrub and walked along a track in the older shelter belt of Tannycroft Row. The trees were Ivy covered but a few lichens were recorded, including Lecanactis subabietina Nb (IR), a typical species of old trees inland, but much more mobile near the sea.
 
Tannycroft Row Oak:
Enterographa crassa
Lecanactis subabietina Nb (IR)
Lepraria lobificans
Phlyctis argena
Schismatomma decolorans

Tannycroft Row Holly:
Stenocybe septata Nb (IR)

We then went back on to the shingle beech, around the area with trees shown on the 1945 aerial photographs. Here there were some amazing sprawling Oaks set in glades of long undisturbed shingle. Neither the Oaks or the shingle were lichen rich, but the shingle community was unusual. The usual combination of Rhizocarpon reductum and Porpidia tuberculosa dominated, but the latter was unusually abundant and was frequently fertile. As this lichen nearly always sterile this was unexpected, but it did seem to be Porpidia tuberculosa. Some cinders on the edge of a glade had colonising Cladonia portentosa with the granular primary thallus visible.

Oak on shingle:
Cladonia coniocraea
Lecanora chlarotera
Lecanora confusa
Lecidella elaeochroma f. elaeochroma
Opegrapha atra
Pertusaria hymenea
Pertusaria leioplaca
Pyrrhospora quernea

Aspen twigs
Arthopyrenia analepta

Shingle
Rhizocarpon reductum
Porpidia tuberculosa fertile and abundant.

Cinders
Cladonia coniocraea
Cladonia portentosa

Old sprawling Oaks on Shingle

We then walked further up Tannycroft Row and then down to the shingle beach beyond the public access area. At the southern end there were patches of a very unusual and possibly unique type of Maritime Therophyte Grassland (MC5) with an abundance of Sea Campion Silene uniflora and Golden Rod Solidago virgaurea. The latter was flowering strongly and colouring the beach yellow. The shingle grassland had a high cover of the Reindeer Moss Cladonia portentosa along with the usual Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata. There was a lack of any other Reindeer Moss species; possibly this is a feature of older ridges further inland, here lost to tree colonisation. The flints had a high cover of lichens, as usual with Rhizocarpon reductum and Porpidia tuberculosa dominant, but with some associated species, including the common species Buellia aethalea, Buellia ocellata, Catillaria chalybeia var. chalybeia and Lecanora polytropa. More interesting were Catillaria atomarioides Nb (NS) and the a small amount of Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD), the latter in a lower damper area of shingle.

Terricolous
Cladonia furcata
Cladonia humilis
Cladonia portentosa
Cladonia subulata

Flint
Buellia aethalea
Buellia ocellata
Catillaria atomarioides Nb (NS)
Catillaria chalybeia var. chalybeia
Flavoparmelia caperata
Lecanora polytropa
Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD)
Parmotrema perlatum
Porpidia tuberculosa
Rhizocarpon reductum
Xanthoparmelia mougeotii
Xanthoria parietina

Old Shells
Caloplaca marmorata

Old Sleeper
Lecanora conizaeoides f. conizaeoides

Stem of Solanum dulcamara
Lecidella elaeochroma f. elaeochroma
Physcia adscendens
Xanthoria parietina

Walking back to the Country Park we spotted a colony of the rare shingle form of Little Robin Geranium purpureum subsp. forsteri about Waypoint SP05 (SZ 46755 99411) just before public access area. We counted 28 plants Geranium.

Shingle beach beyond public access area

Into public access area there was quite a change, the shingle was bare of lichens and the grassland was extremely trampled. Only on the edges of bushes did any lichens survive. Some more Cladonia foliacea was found and Cladonia cervicornis s. str. added to the days list but otherwise little had survived. A couple of vascular pants were noted in less trampled areas: Waypoint SP06 (SZ46681 99215) with Heath Pearlwort Sagina subulata and Waypoint SP07 (SZ 46473 98745) with Rays Knotweed Polygonum oxyspermum.

Polygonum oxyspermum on shingle

To see the route taken click on the text below.


We recorded a total of 74 species (Species List), and although not as spectacular as the Gravelly Marsh (link), we did record some good Hampshire coastal specialist lichens, including Amandinea lecideina, Caloplaca maritima, Catillaria atomarioides Nb (NS), Lecanora salina Nb (NR/DD), Stigmidium marinum [NR] and Verrucaria halizoa Nb (NS). The open vegetation more inland coastal shingle was less well developed, but we did recorded Placynthiella oligotropha Nb (NS), a species rarely seen in Hampshire. The loss of much of the more inland shingle by Tannycroft Row since 1945 to scrub colonisation has greatly reduced the latter habitat and the recent woodland and scrub is of little obvious nature conservation value yet. The poverty the trampled coastal habitat in the public assess areas within the country park were also quite a contrast to the diversity of the NNR.