As many of you may be aware, since 2022, I’ve devoted a significant portion of my spare time to documenting what I affectionately terming an ‘Urban Flora’ for Newcastle and the adjacent areas of North Tyneside. With spring fast approaching and activities set to pick up, I wanted to provide an update on progress so far. To give you a sneak peek: this winter has proven unexpectedly eventful, with numerous exciting discoveries and some intriguing trends starting to emerge.
Supposedly ‘Rare Plants’
One of the most interesting aspects of undertaking a survey such as this is the trends beginning to take shape for specific plants. Some, for example, are revealing themselves to be far rarer than expected while others are unexpectedly common. So far, several species featured on the Rare Plant Register for South Northumberland have fallen into the latter camp. Green Field-speedwell (Veronica agrestis) is a good example, listed as a regional rarity yet occurring in 23 (13%) of all squares surveyed so far, usually in flowerbeds, pavements or on the edge of lawns. The story is similar for Cut-leaved Dead-nettle (Lamium hybridum) at 15 (8.8%) squares and Great Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) at 17 (10%).
Several other plants, while not covered by the Registar, have also proven more abundant than anticipated. Among these, Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) has now been recorded from 17 (10%) of squares and interestingly, Glabrous Whitlowgrass (Erophila glabrescens) which while only found in 7 (4%) squares so far, is turning up wherever purposely searched for. I suspect most of this is down to the historic neglect of our urban spaces when it comes to botanical recording, but it is nice to see my recording efforts beginning to make a difference.
The Spring Bulb Conundrum
Spring bulbs pose an interesting challenge when recording the urban flora. Commonly introduced in great drifts along roadsides, hurled over garden fences and left to run wild in churchyards, it can be quite difficult to determine what exactly to record. For the purposes of this flora, a subjective judgement has been made wherein relic or seemingly naturalised populations have been recorded and newer introductions not. This has yielded some interesting results so far.
Snowdrops have been a real flavour of 2024 so far and it has been interesting to note both Greater Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) and Green Snowdrop (Galanthus woronowii) at several sites. Equally crocuses, easily the most abundant spring bulb, have recieved quite a bit of attention. Spring Crocus (Crocus neapolitanus) genuinely seems the most abundant in all habitats, whether as a relic or escape, but it has been nice to note Snow Crocus (Crocus x hybridus) and Yellow Crocus (Crocus x luteus) among others.
Add to these a suite other species in Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica), Alpine Squill (Scilla bifolia), Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and most recently, Broad-leaved Grape-hyacinth (Muscari latifolium) and the late winter months have been most enjoyable. A nice warm-up for things to come in summer!
The Perks of New-Build Developments
Not something I thought I would write any time soon but I am quickly becoming enamoured with new-build developments. Particularly those under construction or only very recently completed. These estates with their copious areas of disturbed ground routinely yield some of the most diverse annual assemblaages in the city and so far this year, I have visited six. Parsley-piert (Aphanes arvensis), would appear rather rare in the city upon a glance at the distribution maps, but can be incredibly plentiful within these estates. Indeed, out of the five squares from which I have recorded it so far, four have been new-builds.
Other examples of plants strongly associated with these developments include Common Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria muralis), Bristly Oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides), Field Pansy (Viola arvensis) and Great Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) while to a lesser extent, the same also applies to commoner plants like Charlock (Sinapis arvensis), Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and Weld (Reseda luteola). I suspect some of these estates will yield further discoveries as the survey goes on and sadly for plants not reliant on disturbance, more land is dug up.
A few Suprising Finds
One of the true delights of surveying urban plants is stumbling across something unexpected. Since my last update, there have been plenty of exciting discoveries some of which are summarised here.
Back in Autumn, two county firsts were recorded from the West of the city in Rescue Brome (Ceratochloa cathartica), over-taking a small area of verge and nearby gardens, and Henry’s Honeysuckle (Lonicera henryi), bird-sown in a patch of relic scrub. Both are neophytes. Succulents too have proven interesting this winter with a county-second record of Tasteless Stonecrop (Sedum sexangulare) growing beneath a hedge in Gosforth and several records of Rock Stonecrop (Petrosedum forsterianum) from atop graves in local cemeteries. Speaking of cemeteries, a local botanist also brought my attention to a self-sown specimen of Noble-fir (Abies procera) in Jesmond – not one I was necessarily expecting.
Many of the more recent ‘new’ plants have been neophytes and more precisely, garden or amenity escapes. In Woolsington, Argentine Needle-grass (Nassella tenuissima) was noted sowing itself away from planted amenity beds, and recent walks have yielded records of other oddities in Virginia Stock (Malcolmia maritima), Western Red-cedar (Thuja plicata) and a plausible patch of Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) which will need revisiting later in the season.
Non-natives aside, however, there have been some interesting finds on the native front too. On Sunday, I was pleased to encounter what appears to be the areas only patch of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) growing on a bank at Willington and chasing a record from five years back, finally noted Whorled Water-milfoil (Myriophyllum verticillatum) at Havannah Nature Reserve. Also worthy of note are the Early Dog-violets (Viola reichenbachiana) discussed in this blog post.
Neophytes vs Natives
Spurred on by a conversation with botanist, Trevor Dines, I have been looking a little closer at the split between natives and neophytes (and archaeophytes too for that matter) in Newcastle and neighboring areas. Interestingly, of the plants recorded so far, 470 are native species vs 322 introductions. Just 52 are archaeophytes, meaning an almost equal split between natives and ‘aliens’ in the city.
This would appear to be substantially higher than several of the similar studies I’ve read and the reason for this remains unclear. Perhaps Newcastle genuinely is home to more alien plants or more likely, I am yet to record a great many of the native species lurking out there. Having excluded all dubious trees and shrubs, as well as mass plantings of bulbs and any species even suspected of having been recently planted, I’d like to think I haven’t over-estimated the neophytes too much.
Challenges this year
With most of the 169 squares included in the survey now surveyed at least once, 2024 looks set to be a year of gap-filling. Specifically, relating to plants appearing scant in the dataset so far. Grasses need a concerted effort during peak flowering season, specifically to map the common species that are most visible at this time, and aquatics need dedicated surveying at key wetland sites. Some willowherbs too are oddly lacking, though this is largely because they flower for but a short period and surveying them comprehensively is proving a pain!
Furthermore, there are a fleet of ‘missing plants’ still to find, or not. Looking at records post-2011, there are still a great many species lacking from the present dataset – Good-King-Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus), Small Melilot (Melilotus indicus), Small Teasel (Dipsacus pilosus) and Hungarian Brome (Bromopsis inermis) to name but a few. Whether these plants are still out there or not remains to be determined but I am certainly not above a spot of twitching to find out.
Beyond that, though I dread to think it, it am going to have to start learning my hybrid flora. Beyond the 10-15 recorded so far, there are many more that *should* be out there in the city. Broad-leaved x American Willowherb (Epilobium x interjectum), Oxford Ragwort x Common Groundsel (Senecio x baxteri), Field Horsetail x Water Horsetail (Equisetum x litorale), etc. There are even several historic records of interesting hybrid Oraches (Atriplex spp.) by the Tyne which may still pop up during the survey. All of this considered, 2024 looks set to be a fun year!
A few Thank yous
Surveying an area of this magnitude by ones self is a rather daunting task. For this reason, I am incredibly grateful to the various local botanists, and more general naturalists, sharing records too. It is wonderful to see more people looking closer at our urban plants and, in no particular order, thanks are offered to John Durkin, Chris Barlow, Philip Griffiths, Lydia Koelmans, Pru Hamed, Philip Shorrock and Joe Dobinson for their contributions so far. They really have been a big help.
