When the eminent Cambridge botanist, John Ray, recorded 'Juniper or Firre-leaved heath [Erica vagans], with many flowers. By the way-side going from Helston to Lezard-point in Cornwall, plentifully' in 1667, he contributed the first botanical record for the Lizard Peninsula. On reaching Lizard Point, he added Autumn Squill, Scilla autumnalis, Fringed Rupturewort, Herniaria ciliolata, and Wild Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis spp. prostratus, all growing abundantly, and the last two new to the British flora (Ray 1670).