Floral glory on verge of extinction

The wild floral displays lining the thousands of miles of roads that criss-cross North Yorkshire are precious natural habitats, but they are often overlooked by nature lovers who focus on the more widely recognised woodlands and hay meadows.

Yet the huge array of wild flowers which have flourished on roadside verges are now facing an uncertain future from the threat of climate change – as well as over-zealous gardeners.

Horticulturists obsessed with pristine lawns have gone into overdrive on powerful ride-on mowers, transforming the verges brimming with wild flowers like Lady’s mantle and agrimony into anonymous swathes of grass which are of little interest to wildlife.

Two of the most knowledgeable experts on wild flowers in North Yorkshire, Margaret Atherden and Nan Sykes, are warning there is a real risk of losing some of the most prized floral species in the county.

Dr Atherden, 65, a retired university lecturer who lives in York, and Mrs Sykes, 89, a widow from Thornton le Dale, near Pickering, have written a new book, Wild Flowers on the Edge, which has been published by the conservation charity, PLACE (People, Landscape and Cultural Environment Education and Research Centre).

Dr Atherden, who is the chief executive of PLACE based at York St John University, said: “For many car drivers roadside verges are just a passing blur, but for nature they are sanctuaries, a green corridor linking grassland, woods and wetlands. That makes them hugely important.

“The use of ride-on mowers has led some gardeners to dramatically extend their grass cutting and more than once we have seen rich verges ruined by people who probably think they are improving the environment.”

Dr Atherden and Mrs Sykes have stressed that roadside verges should be treated like a huge national nature reserve, and at their most vibrant the habitats can support an astonishing array of plant and animal life including insects, small mammals and birds.

But a warming climate is likely to see some species such as cloudberry, chickweed wintergreen and globeflower die out in Yorkshire and move further north while more “southerly” varieties continue to thrive, including white bryony, bee orchid and pepper saxifrage.

Mrs Sykes, a great-grandmother who worked as a journalist and ran a wildlife centre at Ravenscar before she retired, said: “The roadside verges are often a forgotten and abused habitat, despite the fact that they are often the last reserve for a lot of wild flowers.

“These species have often been eradicated elsewhere by cultivation and farming. It is vital that they are given a chance to thrive otherwise we will lose the species and a habitat which is such a valuable part of the eco-system.”

North Yorkshire has 6,000 miles of roads, most fringed by verges, and common plants include the tall and aromatic mugwort, while among the rarities are bird’s-eye primrose and baneberry.

The book written by Dr Atherden and Mrs Sykes is the distilled knowledge of their efforts stretching nearly 30 years to record plant life, complete with an overview of what nature lovers can find living on the roadside verges.

It also includes culinary and medicinal uses for some of the plants and how people can get involved in recording and protecting vulnerable habitats.

Dr Atherden said: “The importance of verges for biodiversity is being more widely understood, which is timely, because so much has already been lost.

“Culprits include chemical-based farming, together with the liberal use of insecticides and the obsession with garden tidiness. We wanted to write this book to pass on our love and appreciation of wild flowers to the next generation.

“In the 1960s American conservationist Rachel Carson warned of the prospect of a silent spring without bird song. It is now time to highlight the equalling appalling prospect of a countryside devoid of wildflowers.”