Wild Flowers Between the Tracks

Standing on the platform at York station waiting for the train back to Fife, after a brief visit to Yorkshire, I was surprised by the profusion of wild flowers between the rail tracks. I could identify Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) and think that the yellow daisies might be the flowers of Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus).

Oxford ragwort, a non-native species, is thought to be a hybrid between two ragwort species, that occur in Sicily. This plant was brought from Mount Etna to Oxford Botanic Gardens, in England, in the 1700s, and from there it escaped into the surrounding countryside. With the expansion of the railway network in the mid 19th Century, Oxford ragwort, an attractive but rather invasive plant, soon spread along railway lines and can now be found throughout the UK. The clinker of the tracks provided a similar habitat to that found on the slopes of Mount Etna and trains helped to carry its parachuted seeds.