Surrounding part of Ninewells wood is a very substantial wall, Some say it was built by Napoleonic Prisoners of war, others that it is more recent and was built by Italian POWs. Whatever its origin it is now home to a good selection of plants.
Plants that grow on other plants are called Epiphytes, however I do not think there is a name for plants that grow on walls. There should be so I will propose Muriphytes, the Latin for wall is murus.
I was having a look at this wall because a lady called Jane had informed me that the plant Climbing Corydalis was growing on this wall. I had recently written an article about Climbing Corydalis in my Woodland Wildflower blog and I said that I was fairly sure I had seen it growing throughout the winter, whereas in some wildflower books it is described as an annual. I know it grows in our patch of Ninewells wood but could not locate any this winter to prove my point. There are several people who comment on my Woodland wildflower blog and Jane is one of them… Many thanks.
Click Climbing Corydalis to read the original article.
It was a grey wet day and this meant that the plants were looking quite lovely,often covered with drops of water. I saw several types of Lichens and mosses. There was a lot of the fern called Polypody, also ivy brambles and honeysuckle.
In terms of flowering plants, there were several grass species, the fine leaved one which I think is a Fescue species was particularly good at holding the drops of water. There was a lot of sorrel and various other species but no Climbing Corydalis.
Then near to where there is a broken down watch tower I spotted some, only 4 plants but growing well and even with flowers on.
So I think this proves the point, that at least it overwinters as a fully grown plant and not as seeds. How long it lives for I do not know, but I will keep my eye on these plants and maybe get a better idea. I suspect they are short lived but maybe survive for several years.
Very little else about today, hardly any birds, perhaps it was just too grey and damp for them. I did see my neighbor’s Peacocks having a mooch about.
Ninewells Wood 