Helianthemum nummularium Common Rock-rose

A low-growing, more or less prostrate sub-shrub which is a strong calcicole and a good indicator of calcareous soils. It grows in dry calcareous grasslands and on calcareous rock throughout Britain and is confined to areas of limestone grasslands, cliffs and outcrops in Wales. The narrow leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, green on the upper surface and white-hairy below. The leaf stalks are very short and unlike Hoary Rockrose (Helianthemum oleandicum) each leaf has a stipule at its base. The bright yellow, 5-petalled flowers are about 2cm in diameter and usually appear a bit later than those of Hoary Rockrose, in early summer. It is a common species on limestone in Gower where it can produce brilliant displays on the south Gower cliffs. It is rarely recorded outside Gower in West Glamorgan. Several basidiomycete fungi (e.g. some boletes) have ectomycorrhizal associations with Common Rockrose

Native