Urban nature: wild in the city

Apart from the often extremely stony en mostly built-over areas of town centres and large cities, the urban landscape provides numerous habitats as a result of human intervention. Some are famous amongst botanists, such as railway sidings, for their unique flora. Other habitats are more accidental and more often than not involve changes to the soil or drainage situation. Since the 1980s local authorities have been cutting back on maintenance, so now many lawn are cut less often creating a habitat for specific grassland species.

On a sand depot left to settle as a foundation for a new tramway many pioneer plants of sandy soils have found a favourable growing environment. On the left the Yellow Sweet-clover (Melilotus officinalis) is a sweetly scented biannual that likes well-drained open soils. The close relative, Bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), in the middle, is a common legume found mostly in sandy grassland vegetations. Many insects depend on this plant for food and nectar. The Biting stonecrop (Sedum acre) is mostly found on dry sandy soils and along roadsides as it can tolerate gritting salt. It is a low growing groundcover perennial that benefits from mowing in dry periods as every succulent leaf can root on bare soil and quickly establish a new plant.

Another plant that is often found along roads is Sheep's bit scabious (although I know it as Little blue bonnets). This plant (shown on the left) often found on seaside cliffs and open heathland, is generally short-lived, often is grows as an annual. This relative of the bellflowers is highly attractive for bees. Bellflowers have become increasingly rare in the wild due to changing practices in agriculture.  The Rampion bellflower (Campanula rapunculus) was once used as a foodplant and eaten like spinach. Now it is rarely seen in dry meadows and increasingly along roads and motorways, as shown in the middle. Speedwell (Veronica chamandrys) also grows in roadside verges and other grassland, as long as the soil is somewhat moist and not too rich in nutrients. It is often seen as a weed growing in lawns as it tolerates mowing. That does prevent it from flowering. Any park with suitable soil deserves sways of these lovely blue flowers...