The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
A Mediterranean-Atlantic species, extant in Cornwall, East Kent and frequent in the
Channel Islands. Possibly native in Britain.
Regional Distribution
In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly it has been recorded in 20 1km squares, 10 since 1999. At Cornish ports, such as Par (SX05), it was probably introduced with ballast, but this does not explain recent finds, such as at Penlee Point (SX44). It has recently been refound in the Isles of Scilly (2004) and subsequently at a further site.
Habitat & Ecology
An annual of coastal, open gravelly and sandy places, tracks and bare marginal sites, often growing with Sand Spurrey Spergularia rubra .
Threats
The main threat is the loss of open gravelly or sandy habitats.
Conservation
Most sites are unprotected.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.