In praise of old walls


Old walls.... built of red brick, constructed of yellow brick, it doesn't matter. The smaller the bricks the better and if there are embellishments involved in their construction, even better still. Apart from running my eye along them to take in the aesthetically pleasing lines and warm colours, such walls can also be home to plants. And so it came to pass that this afternoon, a Victorian railway bridge situated on Banstead Downs played host to both Wall-rue and Maidenhair Spleenwort (image above). The latter is also one of my favourite ferns and a species that I haven't seen on this particular wall before. My search for the Black Spleenwort that I can usually find here drew a blank. As for the mosses in the picture, over to you Seth...

Comments

dmcjournal said…
There's always something special about old walls and dry-stone walls, even more so when they also host interesting finds.
5 January 2018 at 16:04
Simon Douglas Thompson said…
You see some very photogenic lichens and mosses
5 January 2018 at 16:37
Gibster said…
I'd go with small green and weeny green with a tuft of bright green top right corner. Moderately confident with that...'ish
5 January 2018 at 16:46
Derek Faulkner said…
You're doing wonders for local botany, keep it up.
5 January 2018 at 16:58
Steve Gale said…
Thanks for all your comments, they are much appreciated. The winter is not plant free, quite the opposite!
5 January 2018 at 17:55
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