Bee on Rosebay willowherb flower
A striking wild plant with tall spires of large pink flowers and leaves that grow like a staircase around the stem. Rosebay willowherb is a fine example of a 'pioneer species' - the first plants to colonise a barren area with very little competition (such as the sites of forest fires). For this reason it was a familiar sight following the London Blitz Common throughout England, Wales and south-east Scotland. As a pioneer plant, rosebay willowherb thrives on waste flowers in late summer July-September. London has indelible memories of the drifts of purple willowherb in the bomb sites of the second world war. Today it mingles with buddleias and Michaelmas daisies on railway banks, old walls and waste ground. Common Ragwort is probably the most common poisonous plant growing on riverbanks,roadsides, waste ground, pasture and agricultural land in Britain. It is one of the five species listed as a noxious weed in theWeeds Act 1959, which requires landowners to prevent Ragwort from spreading on their land, or land under their control, when served notice upon so to do. Ragwort poisoning of cattle in England and Wales causes greater economic losses than all other poisonous plants combined.
Size: 5018px × 3343px
Location: Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Ernie Janes / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: banks, bees, buzz, colonize, common, crops, display, drifts, ecosystem, flowers, food, garden, ground, hive, honey, insects, july-september, landscape, large, pink, pioneer, plant, pollinate, purple, railway, rosebay, show, spires, striking, summer, sweet, tall, traditional, waste, wild, willowherb
