I'm always doubtful about putting in garden escapes which is what this introduced casual plant really is but this particular plant was growing out of a crack in concrete on a river bank far away from any gardens. Stace says it is found on tips and as a casual in the South of the UK and I have certainly never seen it growing away from the immediate vicinity of gardens except on this occasion. A decade or so we used to see the occasional Lunaria annua in the wild and at first it wasn't in Kent's list of vascular plants. Now L. annua is quite common, is listed and I wonder whether more delicate plants like Petunia x hybrida will appear more frequently in the countryside as our winters get milder.

Banks of River Itchen Southampton, 2nd October 2004

Added on January 9th 2005, updated 7th March 2011