Bradford Plant List SE13 1990 -2020: New Plants 2020 by B.A. 'Jesse' Tregale

SE13 is the 10km square taken from the Ordnance Survey Map which covers most of Bradford (Bingley- Apperley Bridge – Tong Street - Queensbury).

A terrific year in Bradford with sixty new plants (listed in full below). Due to COVID-19 I was almost entirely restricted to walking Max the dog in my home monad and the adjacent one. Michael Wilcox was restricted to Bradford as his parents were considered vulnerable but he was able to inform me of his finds elsewhere in Bradford which I later went to see. Most are garden escapes found on pavements, verges and brownfield sites, but even so it was nice to find so many new plants after thirty years of botanising in Bradford. Michael’s Pilosella x stoloniflora, the hybrid between native Mouse-ear Hawkweed and the garden escape Fox and Cubs, is interesting as the parents appear to have hybridised in situ on the Fairweather Green brownfield site, where both parents have been known for many years but the hybrid was only noticed this year.

I was pleased with the Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus) with saplings found in scrub off Bolton Lane near planted trees. It is possible they could grow into trees in the scrub but unfortunately the same cannot be said of the Himalayan Birch (Betula utilis var jacquemontii), the young seedlings found between a wall and a pavement on Hamm Strasse where they cannot survive. The other side of the wall where the trees are planted is a mown lawn, again where they are not likely to survive, but the railway embankment, which would be ideal, is nearby so you never know.

The native Meadow Barley (Hordeum secalinum) was a nice surprise, found on the verge on King’s Road where I have often walked Max. The grass there is usually mown short, so it is likely to have been there for many years but I had to wait until this year for the mowing to be delayed for it to show itself.

The Slender Thistle (Carduus tenuiflorus), which is mainly coastal, was found on disturbed ground by Poplar’s Farm School with lots of arable weeds including Field Pansy (Viola arvensis), Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor) and their hybrid Viola x contempta. Michael noticed a disturbed bank on Canal Road by Tesco supermarket which also had some interesting weeds including Purple Viper’s-bugloss (Echium plantagineum), but it was strimmed away during a council tidy-up a few days after I took my picture.

Another brownfield site was the waste ground at Barkerend Mill where Prickly Sedge (Carex muricata), Grey Sedge (Carex divulsa) and their hybrid Carex muricata ssp. pairae x Carex divulsa were found. Unfortunately it seems the area is now being developed so we will probably lose this very rare hybrid sedge.

Finally, a rare garden escape was Mizuna (Brassica rapa var. niposinica) now being grown as a salad green. Several plants were found on Cornwall Road but were not identified until I sent photos to David Broughton who named it, as he has grown it himself.

All records are mine except as follows:

¹ Michael Wilcox; ² Jesse Tregale & Michael Wilcox; ³Jesse Tregale & Brian Byrne

My total plants seen and recorded for Bradford SE13– 10km square 1990-2020 = 1811

My full Bradford SE13 list is available on request and please contact me if you find any interesting plants in Bradford SE13.

Email: rachtregale@blueyonder.co.uk