Small-flowered Catchfly Silene gallica

Snettisham, Norfolk, 11 August

Introduced sometime before 1600 (and thus an 'archaeophyte' ) this species has declined greatly in the last century or so. It favours light, sandy, often acidic soils, but is not confined to arable fields; the two best-known Norfolk colonies are in old railway cuttings. It was a surprise, therefore, to find good numbers in a field at Snettisham.