Rainham Marshes and Swanscombe Marshes

Two marshy areas along the Thames, Swanscombe I went to in May 2022 and Rainham in September 2022. (The Swanscombe photos are after the Rainham photos.)

End of September 2022, we went to look at birds but it was too windy. The walk along the sea wall was great. Swanscombe Marshes is across the Thames (to the right).

Dartford Crossing in the distance

closer view of that sea mayweed

closer view of the leaves

it's late in the season, the flowers are spent (sea aster, I think)

another sea aster, I think

lots of sea beet

although it's not red in the centre as those above, I'm pretty sure this is sea beet as well

and lots of perennial wall rocket

mallow

field bindweed

bristly oxtongue

chicory

dandelion rosette

hoary ragwort, not something I see very often and this is well past its best

a magnificent rosette, I'm thinking Eastern rocket but I hope to go back and see how it develops

quite fuzzy in the centre like other eastern rockets I've seen

verbascum

hoary mustard rosette

verbena, flowers just coming to an end

masses of narrow-leaved ragwort

mugwort

creeping cinquefoil

Swanscombe Marshes mid-May 2022

Crosswort, not seen this before (excuse the poor photos, the bright sun did not help)

I usually see Crepis vesicaria starting as a basal rosette close to the ground but at Swanscombe there were lots of small plants with those lobed leaves upright rather than low to the ground.

there were also some fasciated Crepis vesicaria

hoary cress

young hoary cress plant

I saw lots of sea beet, both near the shore and inland where it seemed very dry so at first I wasn't sure what it was.

this one was closer to the shore

annual wall rocket

second trip to Rainham Marshes end of October 2022

lots of possibly shepherd's purse rosettes, hope to go back and check them and confirm identification

and these two which may be shepherds purse but I'm not as sure as those above

there were also rosettes that looked rather Crepis vesicaria-like although I've not seen them at this time of year, again, hoping to go back and see how they've developed

close-up of the centre of the rosette above

then some rosettes that looked like hedge mustard

and this one I have marked as "unknown", I'm really not sure

centre detail close-up of the rosette above

I think this must be a dandelion [

a return trip to Rainham Marshes 29-11-2022

I wanted to see if some plants were any more identifiable. I took this photo to pinpoint where some of them were as I had difficulty finding them again.

uncertain rosettes

the next two are a bit different from those above

lots of bristly oxtongue at Rainham Marshes

white campion

wondering if this is stonecrop

dry skeleton stems of hoary mustard

hawkweed oxtongue

hoary mustard rosettes

ribwort plantain

narrow-leaved ragwort

creeping thistle

I think this is charlock (Sinapis arvensis)

 

There were a number of rosettes I suspected were shepherd's purse, first saw in September, then October, then November. It seems too cold for them to bloom and maybe they'll be dormant until spring?