Nature puts on magnificent show in Cornwall where land meets the sea at West Pentire

One of the South West's rarest natural spectacles is blossoming as summer unfolds along the Cornwall coastline.
                                                     

Carefully managed for nature and people by the National Trust, the West Pentire arable fields near Newquay are exploding in a riot of red poppies and yellow corn marigolds – but also creating a haven for some of the most endangered wild flowers in the country.

The farmland is managed specifically as a nature reserve for plants and animals associated with arable cultivation, and is not commercially farmed - one of only a few such sites in Britain.

The area is visited by legions of people every year who are keen to see a real reminder of traditional non-intensive farming methods of the past, which worked in harmony with nature.
   Local botanist and National Trust volunteer Ian Bennallick knows West Pentire well, and has been helping survey the land since the late 1990s.

Ian grew up on a farm in Cornwall, where an early interest in wild flowers and ferns developed into a wide-ranging enthusiasm for the natural world.

He said: "West Pentire has it all. In one place you have a whole suite of rare and beautiful arable plants, found in numbers unheard of in other parts of the country.

"It's wonderful to see people coming from far and wide to appreciate not only the summer show of flowers but also their dramatic setting, where the land meets the sea."

Last year, Ian found small-flowered catchfly in large numbers. This little white campion has declined dramatically in recent decades due to modern agricultural practices and loss of habitat.

Ian is also co-ordinator of the Botanical Cornwall Group and leads field trips in the county.

The West Pentire site has been surveyed since the early 1990s, and as Mike Simmonds, National Trust Lead Ranger, said: "It's fantastic to be able to share this special place with visitors over the summer.

"As we celebrate 50 years of the National Trust's Neptune coastal campaign, it's vital that we continue to care for the coast for nature and people alike."

The arable fields on West Pentire are included in a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme (HLS) which provides the funding and guidance to help the Trust, and tenant farmer Bob Coad, continue to conserve and enhance the site for its amazing abundance and variety of arable flowers.

148 species of plants completely new to science discovered in India

The Modi government's responsibility to preserve biodiversity is likely to increase manifold as 148 new species of plants have been discovered by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).

                                                   

While these 148 species are altogether new to science, scientists at the BSI have also discovered 19 new varieties (sub-species) during 2014-15.
Besides, 101 species have been recorded for the first time in India.

While 114 novelties (new traits in a plant species) were described and published by scientists at the BSI, those from other institutes reported 164 novelties during 2014. Seed plants contributed the maximum with 42 per cent of the total discoveries followed by fungi at 19 per cent. Microbes contributed to 13 per cent of the new findings, while lichens had 12 per cent. Algae formed 9 per cent of the total new species while pteridophytes and bryophytes contributed to 2 and 3 per cent, respectively.
Region-wise, most of the new species were discovered in Western Ghats, which accounted for 22 per cent of the total discoveries made, followed by Eastern Himalaya at 15 per cent. The North-East India contributed to 15 per cent of the total discoveries while Andaman and Nicobar Islands shared 13 per cent of the new species found. About 11 per cent of the new findings were recorded from Peninsular India, followed by Western Himalaya with 9 per cent.

The Gangetic Plains, Eastern Plains and Central India, collectively, contributed to 10 per cent of the total new discoveries of 2014.