The seaside 'scurvy' that's a land lover now

A salt-loving seaside plant has been found more than 100 miles from the coast thanks to the amount of grit spread on the roads during the snow this winter.

The large volume of road salt has led to a proliferation of the weed Danish scurvy grass.

The saltmarsh plant, which has white or pale pink flowers, has spread explosively and can now be seen along motorways.

The Danish Scurvy Grass which usually grows on the coast has been found 100 miles inland on the A1 slip road in Cambridgeshire after gritters created suitable conditions

The weed, which has tiny flowers, is usually found along the coast of Britain, but it started spreading inland in the 1980s.

Experts believe it has spread even more rapidly this spring as a result of the warm sunny weather and the high levels of salt put on the road by gritters over the winter.

The plant was pictured growing alongside the A1 slip road in Cambridgeshire.

'It is amazing, there is no other species of wild flower that has spread so quickly,' said Dominic Price, of charity Plantlife.

'It is a very good Spring for plants and the recent warm weather means the scurvy grass is even more visible this year.

'Just 20 years ago it was largely confined to coastal areas and only seen by a few people, now it has become a very common sight on Britain's motorways.'

Pitchcare showed a copy of the article to Dr Ruth Mann, Head of Turfgrass Protection at the STRI, who said: 'This is not something I have really come across in golf at all. It belongs to the cabbage family and so should easily be killed by any selective herbicide. Perhaps that's the reason it has not really been a problem'

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