SOUTH NORFOLK: Sharp-leaved Fluellen

In addition to the plants on my '30 things to see' list, there are quite a few other interesting ones that I want to see at some point. These include things like the parasitic Yellow Bird's Nest, the carnivorous Greater Bladderwort, unusual Moonwort fern, the scarcer poppies and arable weeds the fluellens. Last week I saw that Rob Yaxley had found some Sharp-leaved Fluellen on a footpath south of Norwich, and resolved to try and have a look.

After a very hot walk taking in part of the Boudicca Way and some sun-baked fields I arrived at the section of footpath. I searched amongst the larger plants but still couldn't see the Fluellen. I texted Andy, who had also seen the plant, and he offered the useful observation that it was smaller than he had expected. Re-tracing my steps and searching the bare ground carefully I finally saw the Sharp-leaved Fluellen. The leaves were flattened against the ground, and the purple-and-yellow flowers were tiny. Close by were another couple of new plants for me, Stone Parsley and Pepper-saxifrage. My thanks to Rob and Andy, without whom I wouldn't have seen the plant. There is another rarer Fluellen in Norfolk (Round-leaved Fluellen) - now I know the scale I'm working at maybe I'll find that one day!