Minuartia verna
Leadwort or Spring sandwort
Minuartia verna , also known as Leadwort or Spring Sandwort, grows here on Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor, on calaminarian grassland containing historic lead mining waste. It is regarded as a metallophyte. Leadwort was said to be an indicator of below surface lead veins, apparently useful in locating the ore, galena.
Photograph detail
Slide 1: Minuartia verna, Leadwort or Spring Sandwort. Side view of flowers. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. May.
Slide 2: Calaminarian grassland and lead mining spoil of Cobscar Rake, colonised by grasses, mosses and Minuartia verna, Leadwort. May.
Slide 3: Minuartia verna, Leadwort, in flower on Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. May.
Slide 4: Minuartia verna, Leadwort, in flower on Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. May.
Slide 5: Minuartia verna, Leadwort, in flower on Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. May.
Slide 6: Minuartia verna, Leadwort, growing with the moss Bryum capillare on Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. May.