Günther's Site - Photos of European PlantsRare Plants of the Inland Dunes near Sandhausen

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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, 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 Moss, Mountain Madwort Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Euphorbia seguieriana / Seguier's Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Fumana procumbens / Heath Rose Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Silene otites / Spanish Catchfly Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Silene conica / Sand Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cerastium arvense / Field Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Gypsophila paniculata / Chalk Plant, Baby's Breath Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Gypsophila paniculata / Chalk Plant, Baby's Breath Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Scabiosa canescens / Fragrant Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Jurinea cyanoides / Sand Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Jurinea cyanoides / Sand Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Helichrysum arenarium / Yellow Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Artemisia repens / Creeping Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Helianthemum nummularium / Common Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Thymus serpyllum / Breckland Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Orobanche alba / Thyme Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Plantago arenaria / Branched Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Seseli libanotis / Moon Carrot Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Allium sphaerocephalon / Round-Headed Leek Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Stachys recta / Yellow Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Odontites luteus / Yellow Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Odontites luteus / Yellow Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Bassia laniflora / Sand Bassia, Wooly Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Corispermum leptopterum / Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Corispermum marschallii / Marschall Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Salsola tragus / Russian Thistle, Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
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 Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers Hirschberg (Bergstraße)	Vicia lutea / Yellow Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers Southern France
The biotopes of the open sand dunes contain specially adapted grasses, too:
Corynephorus canescens / Grey Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Bromus tectorum / Drooping Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Bromus tectorum / Drooping Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers fruiting
Koeleria glauca / Blue Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Koeleria glauca / Blue Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Koeleria glauca / Blue Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Not only on inland dunes specialized are the following plants which are in flower early in the year:
Draba verna agg. / Common Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cardamine hirsuta / Hairy Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cerastium semidecandrum / Little Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Gagea pratensis / Meadow Gagea Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Saxifraga tridactylites / Rue-Leaved Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Senecio vernalis / Eastern Groundsel Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Lamium purpureum / Red Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Veronica praecox / Breckland Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Erodium cicutarium / Common Crane's-Bill, Philary Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Sedum acre / Biting Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Sedum album / White Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Viola arvensis / Field Pansy Brassicaceae / Crucifers
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 Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Campylopus introflexus / Heath Star Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers


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 Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Celastrus orbiculatus / Staff Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Celastrus orbiculatus / Staff Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Parthenocissus inserta / False Virginia Moss Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Rubus laciniatus / Cutleaf Blackberry, Evergreen Blackberry Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Geranium robertianum / Herb Robert Brassicaceae / Crucifers (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.