Flora of Derbyshire - the White Peak grasslands - part 2

In this section

Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata)

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Biggin Dale NNR
This beautiful late summer perennial is very rare in Derbyshire.  It is almost entirely restricted to the White Peak, where it grows in grassland and scrub.

The clustered flowerheads make it easy to recognise, as does the dark purple colour of its flowers.

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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

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Coombs Dale SSSI
This very common grassland plant is easily recognised by its white umbel-like inflorescences and highly divided (hence the Latin name) leaves.

 

 

Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea)

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Monks Dale NNR
Text coming soon.

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Woolly Thistle (Cirsium eriophorum)

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Coombs Dale SSSI
The common name of this robust thistle gives an excellent clue to its identification - the spherical flowerheads are covered in fine woolly hairs, as are the stems.

Woolly Thistle is a plant of calcereous lowland grasslands, primarily in southern England, with scattered populatons (including the Derbyshire plants) occurring north as far as Northumberland, with older records from eastern Scotland. 

The plant also occurs in Europe, and you can see plants from the Cordillera Cantabrica in Spain here.
 

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Dwarf Thistle (Cirsium acaule)

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Biggin Dale NNR
Dwarf Thistle is one of the White Peak's southern specialities, with the sites in Cressbrook Dale marking the northern limit of this species in Britain.  It is only found on sloping, south-facing sites this far north but can be abundant.

The species is described in more detail in the Flora of other areas of southern England section of the site.

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Cressbrook Dale NNR

 

 

Carduus nutans (Nodding Thistle)

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Monsal Dale
This handsome thistle is a common plant in many parts of the White Peak, especially where the ground is a less strongly calcareous.  The vernacular name of Nodding Thistle refers to the large solitary, drooping flowerheads, which are a reliable characteristic for identifying this species.

Nationally, Musk Thistle is common throughout most of England and Wales, but is much less common in Scotland, being largely restricted to the south-east, near the coast.


 

Melancholy Thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum)

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Monsal Dale
image coming soon!
Cunning Dale
The Peak District populations of this lovely species represent its southern limit in Britain and it is rare here.  Favoured sites are those that remain slightly damp throughout the year, such as the north-facing slopes of Monsal Dale, where these were photographed.

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Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

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Cressbrook Dale NNR
A very common plant of rough, unimproved grassland across much of Britain, Common Knapweed is easy to recognise in flower, thanks to its dense, almost spherical flower buds, which open to produce fairly small, bright pink inflorescences.  These inflorescences are a favourite nectar source for many insects in late summer.

Common Knapweed is a smaller plant than Greater Knapweed, with much smaller individual flowers, all of which are the same size (rather than the outer ones being longer).  The bracts on the flower heads are also triangular; those on Greater Knapweed are oval, with horseshoe-shaped tips.


 

Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa)

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Tideswell Dale
One of the White Peak's most elegant late summer wildflowers, Greater Knapweed is always a lovely plant to see.  It is fairly common in calcareous grassland, where it often grows alongside its more frequent cousin, Common Knapweed.

This species is described in more detail above, and in the Flora of Hampshire section of the site.

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Saw-wort (Serratula tinctoria)

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Tideswell Dale
A rare plant of the White Peak, Saw-wort is restricted to a few localities, the best-known of which is probably the colony in Tideswell Dale, where it grows with many other special plants in an exceptionally rich grassland bank.

Although superficially resembling a knapweed, once seen Saw-wort is very distinctive in its tall, slender appearance and small pink flowers arising from elongated buds.  The leaves, which give rise to its common name, are also conspicuously edged with bristle-like teeth, and do indeed resemble saw-blades.

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Carline Thistle (Carlina acaulis)

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Bonsall Leys SSSI
This fiercely-spiny plant is always a welcome sight in the White Peak.  It is most abundant in southern parts of the area, where it can be locally common in south-facing, dry, short turf.

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Monks Dale NNR


 

Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula)

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Cressbrook Dale NNR

Early Purple Orchid is the first of Derbyshire's orchids to flower, and can form large drifts of bright purple in some of our best grassland.  It occurs widely in the White Peak, mainly in open turf but also in woodland (a common habitat for the species in southern England).

Early Purple Orchid is very easy to recognise by the combination of flower colour and flowering season.

omin habitat, Cressbrook Dale NNR

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in habitat, Coombs Dale SSSI

 

 

Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

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Monks Dale NNR
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Cressbrook Dale NNR
Derbyshire's commonest orchid can be encountered almost anywhere in the White Peak, from ancient grassland to road verges and open woodland.

Common Spotted-orchid can be distinguished from other Dactylorhiza species by the lip (the lower section of the flower) being deeply divided into three pointed, widely separated lobes, the middle of which is longer than the adjacent ones.

Flowers are usually pale pink with dark streaks and spots, although pure white flower and even pure purple flowers are occasionally seen.

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very pale form, Abney Clough


 

Common Twayblade (Listera ovata)

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Common Twayblade is a widespread species in the White Peak, where it grows in a variety of habitats, from sheltered grassland to scrub and old quarry sites.

The species is described in more detail in the Flora of East Anglia section of the site.


 

Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)

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This lovely orchid is fairly widespread in the White Peak, and one of commonest three grassland species.  It tends to grow in damper conditions than the Common Spotted-orchid.

Fragrant Orchid is easy to recognise by its unspotted flowers which have very long spurs.  Despite its common name, it is not a strongly fragrant species.

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Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

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In Derbyshire, this beautiful orchid is unmistakable - the only other similar species are restricted to southern England.  It is not especially common in Derbyshire and tends not to occur in abundance at any one site.  As a coloniser of disturbed soil, it can have a somewhat fleeting existence.

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Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

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A rare species in Derbyshire, Pyramidal Orchid can nonetheless be quite common where it does occur.  The pyramidal shape is only obvious at the start of the flowering period - once all flowers have emerged, the inflorescence appears more globular.


 

Dark Red Helleborine (Epipactis atrorubens)

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drkCoombs Dale SSSI

This beautiful orchid is a speciality of northern limestone.  In the Pennines, it is a classic species of limestone pavement, while in Derbyshire, it is associated with scrubby grassland and woodland edges on limestone slopes.

Sadly, some populations appear to be declining, especially in Coombs Dale, where grazing regimes have changed and orchid thefts have been a problem.

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Cressbrook Dale NNR

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Coombs Dale

 

 

Frog Orchid (Coeloglossum viride)

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Frog Orchid is an easily-overlooked species, growing in limestone scree amongst scrub.  It is fairly widespread in the White Peak and also grows rarely in the Dark Peak on slightly base-enriched ground, much like its occurrences in the Scottish mountains.

 

 

Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera)

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Hopton Quarry NR

Fly Orchid is a very rare species in Derbyshire, where it grows in scrub-colonised scree and old quarry sites.

The species is described in more detail in the Flora of Hampshire section of the site.

 

 

Neotinea ustulata (Burnt Orchid)

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One of the most beautiful plants in Derbyshire, Burtn Orchid is extremely rare here and its known sites are kept a closely-guarded secret.  The White Peak is the northern stronghold for this elegant orchid, although it has declined historically here, as with many other sites across its range.

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Allium vineale (Wild Onion)

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Tideswell Dale

There are two grassland Allium species in the White Peak: this species and A. oleraceum (Field Garlic).  Both are fairly similar and have inflorescences which bear long-stalked flowers and bulbils.

A. vineale is slightly more widespread and can be recognised by its single, short papery bract (A. oleraceum has two, very long, slender ones) and flowers which have protruding stamens.

 

 

 

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