WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

This diminutive plant from the Mediterranean is a recent addition to the Bristol area, being first discovered on Gloucester Road in 2019 by Rupert Higgins. It appears to be on the increase and it probably gets introduced with aggregates. I discovered it myself for the first time on the first day of the new year at the bottom of a lane next to my home off Maple Road, Bishopston at ST59217628 and found it a month later on the 11th Feb at the base of a wall on Trym Rd, Westbury-on-Trym at ST57437744 which I walk past twice a week on my way to BRERC. It is astonishing to still be able to find new plants in areas you've explored to death! It can't just have appeared out of nowhere, it must have been lingering in disguise but perhaps this wet winter has brought it out of the shadows. On account of its small size and pretty nondescript appearance it is surely overlooked. It looks like a very tiny, non-bristly, matt-growing Cleavers (Galium aparine) so do keep an eye out for it and if you do come across it, make sure to send your records into BRERC.