Butcher's Broom in suburbia
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Butcher's Broom in suburbia by John Rostron as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Butcher's Broom in suburbia
Image: © John Rostron Taken: 31 Oct 2009
Butcher's broom is a member of the lily family despite its appearance. The spiky-looking leaves are actually flattened stems (cladodes). It is a characteristic species of ancient woodlands (rather than suburban gardens), so I was rather surprised to find it growing in the rather stony soil between our house and next door. I would like to think that it was there as a hangover from the days when south-east Essex was covered in ancient wildwood. However, it probably was bird-sown, the birds being fond of those juicy-looking berries. There are ancient woodlands within a few hundred metres of our garden.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.567259
Longitude
0.563558