Wild Things 1 of 6 - Midlands

This fantastic new programme looks at the past 50 years of change in our countryside. With previously common plants disappearing and new plants becoming common place.

We are quickly introduced to Chris Myers (@DigChrisMyers), and his excellent Yorkshire accent; a garden designer with a passion for nature. Using maps from the BSBI, he’ll show us what’s growing and where it’s growing today along with investigating why.

This episode is based in the Midlands and sees us understand how the road verges have become a haven for plants. We see Danish Scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica) growing en mass along the verges of the M6. A plant that is known as a resident of our coasts has made a move inland. Chris mentions that it is currently the fastest moving plant in Britain. Thriving under the crash barriers, Chris wonders how a fragile plant can survive in such a location. We learn that the scurvygrass is named for its use in fending off the dreaded scurvy – thanks to high levels of vitamin C. The vitamin C also helps the scurvygrass cope with high levels of salt from the sea and the soil on the coast. We find out that scurvygrass is now a resident of our roadside verge due to the high levels of salt used every winter since the 1960s to keep our roads safe – as a byproduct making an idea environment for this lovely little plant. There’san article about this from the telegraph. Using a car, a slow motion camera, and some polystyrene balls (acting in place of seeds) to see how the spinning column of air created by the car moving at motorway speeds allows the uber-quick spread of scurvygrass.

Lichenologist Sally Eaton (@eaton_sally) is spending some time in urban places. Using maps of lichen surveys, Sally notes that Lecanora conizaeoides was widespread 50 years ago’ but has now started to disappear. This is good news because it was common in polluted towns and cities. This species produces a layer of crystals made from fumarprotocetreric acid that keeps water and therefore pollution from this water, out. Whereas other species would absorb the polluted water to their detriment, a drop of water on Lecanora conizaeoides remains as a drop and is not soaked up. This feature allowed it to thrive and to take advantage of a lack of competition from other lichen – but now with lower pollution in the rain water other lichen are thriving and outcompeting the Lecanora conizaeoides. This makes our actions very visible; within such as short period of time this species has gone from being rare, to common, but is now returning to its former status.

Botanist Dr. Trevor Dines (@DrTrevorDines) looking at how the coverage of our bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) has changed over the past 50 years. One of the most complex scents in nature, as a country we adore our British bluebell, but the introduction of the Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica) has upskittled things somewhat. 35 chemicals make up the scent of the British bluebell and act to bring bees into the woodland to pollinate them. The Spanish bluebell was introduced to our gardens, but is lacking the wonderous scent of our native bluebell – but can create a hybrid with our native bluebell. The map shows the rapid and wide spread of the hybrid bluebells (Hyacinthoides x massartiana), out competing our lovely native bluebell with the effect of us losing the scent of our bluebell.

Finally the team stop at a roadside truck stop and while the lads head off for a brew and food; Sally is on the hunt for a lichen; Xanthoria. Using this lichen, Sally explains the mini ecosystem created by other wild things that live on them. Specifically water bears, or Tardigrade; one of the hardiest creatures in the world (even surviving a spell in an oven at 100 degrees centigrade during the programme). By washing the water bears off the lichen, they use a microscope to see the water bears. Sally explains that their resilience is the ability to expel all of the water from within it during times of extreme heat or cold and then entering a dormant state, 'waking up' when favourable conditions return.

In conclusion, what an excellent first programme. The team are all great characters that know their stuff. I can’t wait for next week and the exploding of the poppys!