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Rare Plants of the Inland Dunes near Sandhausen



Sandhausen is situated a few kilometers south of Heidelberg in the Upper Rhine Valley in a region of inland dunes. The inland dunes consist of sand deposited by strong winds at the end of the last ice age, blown on from the gravel banks of river Rhine which then changed its course permanently. In the southern part of Sandhausen you can find nature reserve 'Dune Pferdstrieb' divided into two parts which are separated by the road 'Am Forst'. The photo above shows the high open inland dune, which is surrounded by a fence. The relative steep slope and the flat area in front of it are originated by the former taking of sand. Some of the specific plants of this biotope, as Mountain Alison Alyssum montanum subsp. gmelinii, Seguier's Spurge Euphorbia seguieriana, Sand Campion Silene conica, Spanish Catchfly Silene otites, Sand Bassia Bassia laniflora, Yellow Bartsia Odontites luteus, Russian Thistle Salsola kali subsp. ruthenica, and specialized grasses are not only growing behind the fence. They can be seen directly at the verge of the road 'Am Forst', where they partly have better conditions than behind the fence, because the encrustation of the sand surface caused by mosses and lichens is occasionally broken here by entering. On the other hand, the eutrophication of this verge is promoted by the fact that dogs have free access. In the southern part of the nature reserve the open dune goes over into pine wood. Here in winter 2020 the open parts were enclosed with martial fences, so that dogs are kept away, but also interested people have no longer the possibility to get a closer look on the plants. Obviously the responsible authorities at Karlsruhe are accepting that the knowledge of the population about rare plants decreases in the long term, so, should such plants still appear somewhere outside of nature reserves, these are then hardly recognized and therefore no longer preserved or reported to nature protection authorities. The superficial encrustation of the free sand areas by moss and lichens, especially the neophytic Heath Star Moss Campylopus introflexus, is no longer broken open by occasional stepping on, as in the fenced part north of the road, too, so that the seeds of the rare plants no longer reach the soil, and the plants will disappear, unless elaborate and expensive maintenance measures are carried out every year. Between the northwestern part of Sandhausen and the highway resting area 'Hardtwald' there is nature reserve 'Pflege Schoenau - Galgenbuckel', which partly contains the same rare plants as nature reserve 'Dune Pferdstrieb'.
Alyssum montanum subsp. gmelinii / Mountain Alison, Mountain Madwort Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Euphorbia seguieriana / Seguier's Spurge Euphorbiaceae / Spurge Fam.	Fumana procumbens / Heath Rose Cistaceae / Rockrose Fam.
Silene otites / Spanish Catchfly Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Silene conica / Sand Campion Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Cerastium arvense / Field Mouse-Ear Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.
Gypsophila paniculata / Chalk Plant, Baby's Breath Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Gypsophila paniculata / Chalk Plant, Baby's Breath Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.
Scabiosa canescens / Fragrant Scabious Dipsacaceae / Teasel Fam.	Jurinea cyanoides / Sand Jurinea Asteraceae / Composite Fam.	Jurinea cyanoides / Sand Jurinea Asteraceae / Composite Fam.
Helichrysum arenarium / Yellow Everlasting Daisy Asteraceae / Composite Fam.	Artemisia repens / Creeping Wormwood Asteraceae / Composite Fam.	Helianthemum nummularium / Common Rock-Rose Cistaceae / Rockrose Fam.
Thymus serpyllum / Breckland Thyme Lamiaceae / Mint Fam.	Orobanche alba / Thyme Broomrape Orobanchaceae / Broomrape Fam.	Plantago arenaria / Branched Plantain Plantaginaceae / Plantain Fam.
Seseli libanotis / Moon Carrot Apiaceae / Umbellifers	Allium sphaerocephalon / Round-Headed Leek Liliaceae / Lily Fam.	Stachys recta / Yellow Woundwort Lamiaceae / Mint Fam.
Odontites luteus / Yellow Bartsia Scrophulariaceae / Figwort Fam.	Odontites luteus / Yellow Bartsia Scrophulariaceae / Figwort Fam.	Bassia laniflora / Sand Bassia, Wooly Smotherweed Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.
Corispermum leptopterum / Bugseed Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Corispermum marschallii / Marschall Bugseed Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Salsola kali subsp. ruthenica / Russian Thistle, Glasswort Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.
The plant lists of the nature reserve mention more rare plants, which I haven't seen myself at Sandhausen. Some of these I can show from other sites:	Crepis tectorum / Narrow-Leaved Hawk's-Beard Asteraceae / Composite Fam. Hirschberg (Bergstraße)	Vicia lutea / Yellow Vetch Fabaceae / Legumes Southern France
The biotopes of the open sand dunes contain specially adapted grasses, too:
Corynephorus canescens / Grey Hair-Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Bromus tectorum / Drooping Brome Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Bromus tectorum / Drooping Brome Poaceae / Grass Fam. fruiting
Koeleria glauca / Blue Hair Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Koeleria glauca / Blue Hair Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Koeleria glauca / Blue Hair Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.
Not only on inland dunes specialized are the following plants which are in flower early in the year:
Draba verna agg. / Common Whitlowgrass Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cardamine hirsuta / Hairy Bitter-Cress Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cerastium semidecandrum / Little Mouse-Ear Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.
Gagea pratensis / Meadow Gagea Liliaceae / Lily Fam.	Saxifraga tridactylites / Rue-Leaved Saxifrage Saxifragaceae / Saxifrage Fam.	Senecio vernalis / Eastern Groundsel Asteraceae / Composite Fam.
Lamium purpureum / Red Dead-Nettle Lamiaceae / Mint Fam.	Veronica praecox / Breckland Speedwell Scrophulariaceae / Figwort Fam.	Erodium cicutarium / Common Crane's-Bill, Philary Geraniaceae / Crane's-Bill Fam.
Sedum acre / Biting Stonecrop Crassulaceae / Stonecrop Fam.	Sedum album / White Stonecrop Crassulaceae / Stonecrop Fam.	Viola arvensis / Field Pansy Violaceae / Violet Fam.
The Heath Star Moss Campylopus introflexus, an invasive neophyte from the southern hemisphere of the earth, forms often so dense stands on inland dunes that the seeds of many flowering plants can no longer reach the soil or seedlings can no longer come up. This causes a drastic impoverishment of the biodiversity of locations covered by the Heath Star Moss which can only be countered by intensive maintenance measures.	Campylopus introflexus / Heath Star Moss Musci / Mosses	Campylopus introflexus / Heath Star Moss Musci / Mosses


In the southern part of nature reserve 'Duene Pferdstrieb' the open dune changes to pine wood, in which a neophyte from East Asia, the climbing plant Staff Vine Celastrus orbiculatus, can directly be accessed at a path. It is a relative of Spindle Euonymus europaeus.
Pinus sylvestris / Scot's Pine Pinaceae / Pine Fam.	Celastrus orbiculatus / Staff Vine Celastraceae / Spindle Fam.	Celastrus orbiculatus / Staff Vine Celastraceae / Spindle Fam.
Parthenocissus inserta / False Virginia Creeper Vitaceae / Grape-Vine Fam.	Rubus laciniatus / Cutleaf Blackberry, Evergreen Blackberry Rosaceae / Rose Fam.	Geranium robertianum / Herb Robert Geraniaceae / Crane's-Bill Fam. (Color variant)


Naturally this list of plants isn't complete. It will be continued on occasion. There are similar biotopes in the inland dunes between Mannheim and Schwetzingen, on which pages with spring flowering plants and summer flowering plants are available. Also on the inland dune biotope Viernheimer Heide a web site is existing here.