Boxing Day and the sun was shining so we decided a walk along a nearby shoreline might help to dispel some of the excesses of Christmas Day. The sun was reasonably warm although a breeze off the sea struck a little chill. This particular shoreline is not popular with visitors as it has no sandy beach, being all pebbles. Even more amazing to find that several species of plants have managed to find a toehold in this inhospitable terrain despite being roasted in summer, doused by salty waves in winter and blasted by the wind (hot in summer, cold in winter).
The first 2 photos show a clump of what I'm fairly sure is Suaeda vera that is approx 2 x 3m and is the only green thing along that particular stretch of shoreline for hundreds of metres.
The third pic is of a Limonium sinuatum. In ideal circumstances these grow to between 20 - 40 cms, this one is struggling to reach 4 cms.
The last pic is I believe Alkanna lehmannii but I'm prepared to be corrected on that.
All are growing on what appears to consist entirely of stones and pebbles, of various sizes, with no apparent sign of any soil.
