Valley Naturalist: Pontypool's pavement plants

Sunday 14 June 2020

Pontypool's pavement plants

Urban Ferns

Not weeds but spontaneous urban plants. These plants show incredible resilience in the face of societies constant effort to eradicate. A walk around any urban setting will reveal a diversity forgotten by many championed by few. I am one of those champions. It's impossible to visit a town centre without casting my eye over those neglected corners looking for nature that softens the cold, sterile and bland grey built environment.

Pontypool Town Centre is a useful case study, and during lockdown it can be examined more closely without the prying eyes of curious shoppers. Ferns are widespread. At the base of the entrance pillars to HSBC are at least three species including hart's tongue fern, wall rue and maidenhair spleenwort. Elsewhere, the rambling nature of hairy tare is a constant of unmanaged fragments of planting beds. These bits of neglected horticulture can be rich pickings for urban naturalists. One such area sported common bistort, hedge woundwort and wall lettuce. A redundant public realm planter in front of the Civic Centre contained a mass of smooth tare. Across the road from the Council offices is the Italian Gardens complete with a moss covered water soaked ornamental fountain. Between the stonework I could see the ever present hart's tongue fern, but adjacent to this bog standard specimen was the variant undulatum with the wavy outer edge to its fronds. Was this purposefully planted or has it colonised naturally?

The attractive yellow of the wall-flower has taken hold around some of the buildings at the Clarence end of Pontypool as well as the former Lloyds bank and its adjoining building. Here too red valerian is is becoming increasingly plentiful. Where the road side verges have escaped the actions of grass cutting Oxford ragwort can be found along with an odd patch of kidney vetch. A patch of biting stonecrop completed a most enjoyable botanical ramble around Pontypool Town Centre.