A slightly different blog this week with a surprising local discovery and, happily, a tale of success.
Back in 2022 I visited Silverlink Park in North Tynside and was suprised to discover a small population of ‘curious’ violets growing on a former rail embankment amid a tangle of bramble scrub. A little paler in colour, they had the look of Early Dog-violet (Viola reichenbachiana), and after the record was submitted, were prompty confirmed as such confirming the rather odd occurence of this species in the heart of urban Tyneside.
For context, while common in parts of the south, Early Dog-violet is a rare plant in Northumberland. Known from just a handful of ancient oak woodlands in the south of the county, it features on the Rare Plant Register for South Northumberland and historically, isn’t one to crop up outside of its core range. With this in mind, the discovery of a small colony growing atop an unassuming patch of brownfield in the city gave much cause for excitement. Had they escaped a local garden? Had they been imported with soil when the site was restored? Who knows, but this unassuming green space does have a habit of throwing up curiosities from time to time.
Fast forward to early 2024 and I am pleased to say that this small colony is expanding rapidly. On Saturday, I counted approximately 50 plants scattered over an area of around about 20m. More suprising still, however, was a report of an even larger colony discovered a few days prior by local naturalist, Joe Dobinson, at Rising Sun Country Park – just a few miles down the road from Silverlink. Again, these plants were observed growing in woodlands and scrub close to a busy footpath, but unlike the former population, there were hundreds, perhaps suggesting that they have gone unreported for some years or at the very least, the smaller Silverlink population was in fact an offshoot.
The occurence of this typically rural plant in the city – and the area covered by my current urban flora project – is definitely intriguing and if these sightings are anything to go by, it may expand further still. It would pay for local botanists to be on the look out in scrubby areas nearby, and perhaps the various urban woodlands that dot the area. What do you look for exactly?
Early Dog-violet is seperated from the very similar Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana) by its spur shape and colour. In Common Dog-violet, the spur is curved upward and paler than the petals, in Early Dog-violet the spur is straight and noticably darker than the petals. The petals of Early Dog-violet are usually more erect but really, all you need to look at is that pesky spur.
If you spot this plant anywhere across Newcastle and North Tyneside, I’d love to hear from you.
