field bindweed and slender thistle - I must be at the seaside
another slender thistle at the shore
This page is all about seaside plants, both on the beach and in the seaside garden, some plants are in both areas. Some, such as wild carrot, I've seen elsewhere but they seem so at home in the shingle I'm including them here. The saltmarsh plants are so unique, they have their own page.
| Curry Plant | Helichrysum italicum |
| Delosperma | not sure which species/cultivar |
| Seaside Daisy | Erigeron glaucus |
| Evening Primrose | Oenothera biennis |
| Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree / Goji Berry | Lycium barbarum |
| Gazania | not sure which species/cultivar |
| Frosted Orache | Atriplex laciniata |
| Grass-leaved Orache | Atriplex littoralis |
| Hedge Bindweed | Calystegia sepium |
| Hoary Stock | Matthiola incana |
| Hottentot-Fig | Carpobrotus edulis |
| Lesser Sea-Spurrey | Spergularia marina |
| Pelargonium ? | |
| Perennial Sow Thistle | Sonchus arvensis |
| Pink | Dianthus plumarius ? |
| Red valerian | Centhranthus ruber |
| Rock Samphire | Crithmum maritimum |
| Beach Rose | Rosa rugosa |
| Sea Beet | Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima |
| Sea Campion | Silene uniflora |
| Sea Holly | Eryngium maritimum |
| Sea Kale | Crambe maritima |
| Sea Mayweed | Tripleurospermum maritimum |
| Sea Radish | Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. maritimus |
| Sea Stock | Matthiola sinuata |
| Slender Thistle | Carduus tenuiflorus |
| Spear-leaved Orache | Atriplex prostrata |
| Sweet Alyssum | Lobularia maritima |
| Thistle | Cirsium vulgare |
| Thrift | Armeria maritima |
| Tree Mallow | Malva arborea |
| Viper's Bugloss | Echium vulgare |
| White Melilot | Melilotus albus |
| Wild Carrot | Daucus carota |
| Wild lettuce | Lactuca virosa |
| Yellow Horned Poppy | Glaucium flavum |
| Unknown seaside plants |
I wasn't sure what this was back in 2014 but looking at it again, I think it's beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria)
on the left I think is a dandelion and on the right possibly another beaked hawk's-beard but not sure the photo is good enough to say for sure
Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum)
close-up of the flower
Thank you to reader Ruth who's helped with an ID for this.
Seaside Daisy (Erigeron glaucus)
a popular Hayling Island plant (seen amongst the Hawk's-beard below)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree / Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)
this is in the seaside garden on Hayling Island (July 2017) but I have seen it growing in London as well
only a few flowers left on this plant and the fruits are developing, although still green
Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium)
in the dunes back from the seafront
Gazania, not sure which cultivar specifically, will research, in a seaside garden on Hayling Island
June 2021
previously seen August 2019
close-up of the gazania flower
Grass-leaved Orache (Atriplex littoralis)
I saw this on Hayling Island on the south coast, July 2018
grass-leaved orache flower close-up
entire grass-leaved orache plant
grass-leaved orache close-up of the stems
Perennial, in flower May to August, long bare stems rising above base rosette of toothed leaves, multiple branching flower stems from the top part of the stems. These yellow-flowered "weeds" can be quite difficult to differentiate - I had misidentified it before but I think perennial sow thistle is the correct ID.
I saw this a few days ago (July 9th) on Hayling Island, 2016.
close-up of the leaves
close-up of the flowers, not a great pic, out of focus, but it's too far away to go back easily to take another photo
the next July, 2017, row of flowers in exactly the same place so definitely perennial
couple years later (2019) in the same place
close-up of some of the flowers
close-up of the leaves
this was nearby in the garden but I wasn't sure what it was, I think now it's a self-seeded perennial sow thistle, probably from those above
Hoary Stock (Matthiola incana)
This was taken in May, some flowers have finished.
3 years later, another example after the flowers have finished in July.
Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) (also see Horseweed on the Weed Identification page)
I do have this weed at home but this one is much larger than any I see at home. It was on the patio on Hayling Island so it's been getting a lot of heat and sun so it has lots of flower buds.
Hottentot-Fig (Carpobrotus edulis)
Thank you to reader Ruth who's helped with an ID for this.
June 2021 pleased to see bees in the flowers
Lesser Sea-Spurrey (Spergularia marina)
Frosted Orache (Atriplex laciniata)
seafront Hayling Island, July 2018
Pelargonium? a seaside variety?
"Pink" (Dianthus plumarius) ??
not sure anything more specific
Red Valerian (Centhranthus ruber)
seaside garden Hayling Island
Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum)
in the seaside garden on Hayling Island, August 2019
close-up of the flowers
rock samphire and frosted orache in the shingle along the seafront, July 2018
seaside garden Hayling Island, but I also have this in my front garden in London
the rose hips on this rose are enormous, like fruit
Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)
a very sprawling example I saw at Eastcoke Corner on Hayling Island
sea beet close-up
Sandy Point, Hayling Island, 11-8-2019
wider view of the entire clump of sea campion on the seafront shingle
Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum)
July 2017 This is at the nature reserve at Sandy Point on Hayling Island. I don't recall seeing any before so I wonder if they planted some wildflowers there.
June 2021 sea holly in bud at the nature reserve
this sea holly was in the seaside garden of the flat where I stay
June 2021
July 2018 after flowering
when I saw this sea kale (July 2018) the flowers were finished leaving lots and lots of seed pods
Sea Mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum)
sea mayweed on the left, a bit of frosted orache bottom right, 11-8-2019
July 2018
Sea Radish (Raphanus maritimus)
June 2021
sea radish seed pods
sea radish flowers
this plant has the remnants of some yellow flowers at the end of the stems in the centre on the right, seed pods on the left, August is the end of the season for this, I saw quite a few plants but this was the only one (or one of the very few) that still had flowers on it to help with identification (I didn't know it before), Hayling Island 11-8-2019
close-up of the leaves and stem (which is hairy) and some seed pods
close-ups of the seed pods
more seed pods
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Slender Thistle / Seaside Thistle (Carduus tenuiflorus)
I'm not sure what thistle this is (researching it) but it's definitely comfortable in a salty situation, growing in the shingle on the seafront, yellow horned poppy on the left
in this view the water is visible in the distance on the right
close-up of a flower
this was in the seaside garden on Hayling Island August 2019, obviously at the end of the season for this, just a couple flowers left
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare)
this was in the dunes, further back from the beach July 2018
these were some spent flowers nearby
This is growing happily in seaside gardens and seafront shingle on Hayling Island, July 2017.
July 2018
in the seafront shingle, July 2018
I think this was on the dunes further back from the beach, 2018
June 2021
(low weed at the bottom is pellitory-of-the-wall) This is in the driveway of the flat where I stay on Hayling Island, the first place I'd ever seen it (August 2015). Recently I'm seeing it in London, a lot.
close-up of the wild lettuce flowers
close-up of the wild lettuce leaves
White Melilot (Melilotus albus)
June 2021
Yellow Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum)
close-up of the flower
the seed pods can be enormous, still green in this photo
those enormous seed pods, now brown
back in 2017, there weren't any yellow horned poppies to see or I wasn't looking in the right place so wasn't sure what this was
I didn't see any in bloom last year (2018) either
a succulent behind, buck's-horn plantain in front, buds but I won't see the flowers as I won't be back this year
a sedum / succulent I saw in the seaside garden on Hayling Island where I stay but I guess I missed the flowers this year
