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An illuminating account of urban botany in the British Isles – its ecology, history and cultural significance.
The walls, pavements, lawns, parks, playing fields, verges and waste ground that make up the built environment of Britain and Ireland are home to an extraordinary array of plant species. Native and non-native species together find ways to endure in often harsh and uncompromising habitats. In Urban Plants, leading botanist Trevor Dines tells the stories of our urban flowers, ferns and conifers: how they arrived, how they survive, and how a select few seize the opportunity to become masters of the streets, thriving in the face of constant upheaval and change.
We learn how our villages, towns and cities have changed over time – from Roman Britain to reconstruction after World War II – and the resulting geographical variation that exists in our flora today, such as London Rocket at the Tower of London or the newly evolved York Groundsel recently discovered in a railway station carpark. Trevor also looks to the future and the potential impacts of invasive species, herbicides and climate change, as well as the concept of urban rewilding.
Illustrated with around 350 colour photographs, maps and diagrams, as well as text boxes exploring key species and habitats, this is a fascinating deep dive into the biology, ecology and cultural impact of the plants that set up home alongside us.
Preface
Part 1: Setting the urban scene
1. Introduction
2. A brief history of our urban plants
3. Urban botany today
Part 2: The roots of urban botany
4. Origin of urban plants
5. The physical urban environment
6. Creation of the urban flora
Part 3: A walk through the streets
7. Pavements
8. Walls
9. Urban fallow (waste ground and derelict land)
10. The grassy bits
11. Street trees
Part 4: Final thoughts
12. The future of urban plants
Further study
References
Glossary
Illustration credits
Acknowledgments
Index
Trevor Dines, a farmer's son from Hampshire, co-authored the New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora, mapping every native and naturalised plant in these islands. A campaigner for better management of road verges and lawns and the creation of wildflower meadows, he appears regularly on the Radio 4 Today programme, BBC Breakfast and Countryfile. Trevor also presented Channel 4's Wild Things and wrote the accompanying book The Wild Things: Guide to the Changing Plant Life of the British Isles.
