Coastal flora

The main photo shows the interesting formation of the leaves of sea kale, Crambe maritima, which is is commonly found above high tide mark on shingle beaches. The shoots are served steamed, with either a béchamel sauce or melted butter, salt and pepper. Sounds delicious.

The first PIP is of sea pea, Lathyrus japonicus, and is a herbaceous perennial plant growing trailing stems to 50–80 cm long, typically on sand and gravel storm beaches. I have seen it growing in sand dunes in Norway too.

The second PiP is of the horned poppy, Glaucium flavum, which grows on the seashore and is never found inland. The golden-yellow flowers appear in June and are followed by the 'horns' - curling seedpods that can be up to 30cm long. These can be seen in the photo. All parts of the plant are poisonous!