This naturalised European introduction has been known at this site for a long time and seems to have found the conditions exactly right because it was an enormous patch of this one species. It is a fast growing plant and the dense tangled cover it provides excludes other species to the extent that in the United States it is now classified as a pest. It contains nitroglycosides as well which means that if consumed in sufficient quantities it would be poisonous to horses.

Securigera varia is found dotted all over England with far fewer records in Scotland or Wales. There are very few records from Ireland.

Near A40 Monmouth, 6th September 2005

Added on September 17th 2005, updated 2nd february 2012