relaunching into the wild of Britain's almost extinct plant has excited
conservationists
everywhere.
C. Originally, Philip Smith didn’t know that he had the very unusual grass at his
own home. When he
heard about the grass becoming extinct, he wanted to do
something surprising. He attended a meeting of the
British Botanical Society in
Manchester in 1979, and seized His opportunity. He said that it was so
disappointing to hear about the demise of the interrupted brome. "What a
pity we didn’t research it further!”
he added. Then. all of a sudden he displayed
his pots with so called "extinct grass" lot all to see.
D. Smith had kept the seeds from the last stronghold of the grass, Pamisford in
1963. It was then
when the grass stalled to disappear from the wild. Smith
cultivated the grass, year after year. Ultimately, it
was his curiosity in the plant
that saved it. not scientific or technological projects
. E .
For now, the bromes future is guaranteed. The seeds front Smith's plants have
beet, securely stored
in the cutting edge facilities of Millennium Seed Bank at
Wakehurst Place in Sussex. And living plants
thrive at the botanic gardens at
Kew, Edinburgh and Cambridge. This year, seeds are also saved at sites all
across the country and the grass now nourishes at several public gardens too.
F . The grass will now be reintroduced to the British countryside. As a part of the Species Recovery
Project, the organisation English Nature will re-introduce interrupted brome into the agricultural landscape,
provided willing farmers are found. Alas, the grass is neither beautiful not practical. it is undoubtedly a
weed, a weed that nobody cares for these days. The brome wax probably never widespread enough to annoy
farmers and today, no one would appreciate its productivity or nutritious qualities. As a grass, it leaves a lot
to be desited by agriculturalists.
G. Smith’s research has attempted to answer the question of where the grass came from. His research
points to mutations from other weedy grasses as the most likely source. So close is the relationship that
interrupted brome was originally deemed to be a mere variety of soil brome by the great Victorian