37.) FRANCOACEAE & LYTHRACEAE

FRANCOACEAE A. Juss. - Honey Flower family

MELIANTHUS L.

Melianthus major L. (Giant Honey Flower) General Very Rare A native of the Cape Provinces, South Africa; widely grown in gardens and discovered new to the region at the top of the Zigzag, Clifton Observatory, during a BNS New Year Plant Hunt in 2022 - where it was first spotted by D. Peters.

[I seem to remember hearing Rupert found it somewhere?]

LYTHRACEAE - Purple-loosestrife family

PUNICA L.

Punica granatum L. (Pomegranate) 1949 General Extinct Recorded for the first time in Britain by the River Avon at Bath in 1935 by T.H. Green of a bush 4-5 ft high (Bristol Botany in 1935).

[See also Bristol Botany in 1949.]

LYTHRUM L.

Lythrum salicaria L. (Purple-loosestrife) / Wetland Frequent Frequent along watercourses and other wet places such wet meadows and around ponds and lakes; especially plentiful around Chew Valley Lake and along the River Avon and Frome. Also widely grown in gardens and occasionally found in spots that are not the slightest bit marshy.
Lythrum junceum Banks & Sol. (False Grass-poly) 1979 General Extinct A native of the Mediterranean. One small clump (birdseed alien) was recorded at Failand in 2004 by P. Millman and determined by L. McDonnell but it did not persist. Historically recorded at St. Philip's Marsh in 1915 by C.I. Sandwith and T.H. Green; at Brislington in 1920 and Baptist Mills from 1925-31 by C.I. Sandwith; at Ashton Gate in 1932 by ? [BMAG specimen]; and lastly at ? in 1979 by ? [can't locate record].

[Sandwith (1932) says Baptist Mills 1925-30 but there is a record from 1931 on the DB. Does a photo exist of the 2004 record?]

Lythrum hyssopifolia L. (Grass-poly) 1971 General Extinct Historically recorded at St. Philip's Marsh in 1914 by C.I. Sandwith and T.H. Green; at Bedminster in 1930 and Ashley Hill in 1931 by C.I. Sandwith; and last encountered in 1971 by ?.

[Date given in FOTBR.]

Lythrum portula (L.) D.A. Webb ssp. portula (Water-purslane) Wetland Very Rare Very rare in muddy pools and swampy spots at Yate Common where it's been known for many years. Otherwise only recorded on the muddy margins of a pond at Nailsea in 1985 by P. Rooney; at Kenn Moor? in 2010s by ? [BSBI record]; and in a pond beside a woodland ride at Lower Woods in 2016 by ? [see BSBI also]. Historically occurred "In a muddy pool and some shallow ditches on the south side of Siston Common; and in a stony pit (old excavation) on the north side of the Common. First noticed in 1901 by Mr. D. Fry. Boggy spot on Rodway Hill near Mangotsfield. Recorded from Bitton Parish by Canon Ellacombe in his list, pub. 1870." (White, 1912). Also on the northern edge of the region at Huntingford, L.A.F.C.; Wickwar and Charfield, Browning; and Lyde Green in 1921 by I.M. Roper (Riddelsdell, 1948).

[Confirmed as still occurring at Yate Common in 2025 in at least two locations by C. & M.A.R. Kitchen - Nature in Avon 2025, p. 194.]

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