Gnaphalium luteoalbum
Observation - Gnaphalium luteoalbum - UK and Ireland. Description: I found a large patch of mostly small but several mature and flowering cudweeds at the foot of a rid
I found a large patch of mostly small but several mature and flowering cudweeds at the foot of a ride, where there appears to have been disturbance of the soil earlier in the year. The wood is on the chalk but is overcapped with Thanet sands and Woolwich & Blackheath beds, meaning that the soil throughout is mostly - as in this particular spot - mildly acidic and clay or sandy with pebbles.
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The wood has both Common Cudweed and Marsh Cudweed and I saw those two species on an earlier visit in September. However, these cudweeds look different and I wonder if they are Heath Cudweed, Gnaphalium sylvaticum. Unfortunately, it was very wet after earlier heavy rain and my photographs leave something to be desired (even leaving aside my normal limitations with a camera) - the flowerheads are covered in water. I'm familiar with Gnaphalium luteoalbum, Jersey Cudweed, which grows in profusion around the old Surrey Commercial Docks near my home in SE London. It may be that the unfamiliar setting has confused me, but I don't think these are luteoalbum - or at least, they don't display the feral vigour and robustness of the urban Jersey Cudweed. Maybe it is just a youthful form of Marsh Cudweed, Gnaphalium uliginosum? However, Heath Cudweed has been recorded in this tetrad (i.e. most likely in this wood) according to the BSBI map:
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https://bsbi.org/maps?taxonid=2cd4p9h.yns
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I would really welcome any help and comments please. Thank you!
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EDITED, 28 Oct 2020: title changed to Jersey Cudweed's (former) scientific name, following specific ID below.
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The wood has both Common Cudweed and Marsh Cudweed and I saw those two species on an earlier visit in September. However, these cudweeds look different and I wonder if they are Heath Cudweed, Gnaphalium sylvaticum. Unfortunately, it was very wet after earlier heavy rain and my photographs leave something to be desired (even leaving aside my normal limitations with a camera) - the flowerheads are covered in water. I'm familiar with Gnaphalium luteoalbum, Jersey Cudweed, which grows in profusion around the old Surrey Commercial Docks near my home in SE London. It may be that the unfamiliar setting has confused me, but I don't think these are luteoalbum - or at least, they don't display the feral vigour and robustness of the urban Jersey Cudweed. Maybe it is just a youthful form of Marsh Cudweed, Gnaphalium uliginosum? However, Heath Cudweed has been recorded in this tetrad (i.e. most likely in this wood) according to the BSBI map:
.
https://bsbi.org/maps?taxonid=2cd4p9h.yns
.
I would really welcome any help and comments please. Thank you!
.
EDITED, 28 Oct 2020: title changed to Jersey Cudweed's (former) scientific name, following specific ID below.