Road verges 'last refuge' for plantspublished at 10:01 British Summer Time 24 April 2017
Roadside verges are becoming the last refuge for some of the rarest wild flowers and plants in the UK, according to a conservation charity.
Plantlife is calling for better management of grassy verges to preserve a wealth of different flowering plants - some of which have been found in Cambridgeshire.
It says road margins are a haven for wild plants that have been lost from the countryside.
The fen ragwort is now confined in the wild to a single ditch beside the A142 near Ely, while the crested cow-wheat is found mainly on road verges in the county.
Image source, Tim PankhurtThe charity says such plants can be brought back from near extinction, with conservation management.
But it says even endangered plants on verges deemed nature reserves have been mown or cleared.
For too long road verges have been thought of as "dull, inconsequential places that flash by in the wing mirror," said Dr Trevor Dines of Plantlife.
"Sadly, road verges have been woefully disregarded for decades and are increasingly poorly managed for nature," he added.
"Some exceptionally rare plants including fen ragwort are only hanging on thanks to the existence of some remaining well-managed verges.
"But we must not get complacent - only genuine management for nature will safeguard these and other plants from extinction."
