Bombweed in Winter

Rosebay Willowherb is most conspicuous in the summer when its flowers of pink-purple often form a dense backdrop "wall" on railway embankments, etc. Although now classed as a common weed, back in the early 1800s it was, in fact, a scarce upland plant, which then started to spread rapidly onto cleared and burnt ground, disturbed ground and eventually alongside tracks, roads, railways and on waste ground. It also proved well adapted to colonising bomb sites in WW2, hence one of its alternative names of bombweed. This particular specimen is on a disused railway line, a stone's throw from Pilley Bridge which was bombed during WW2, so 'Bombweed' seems the most approriate title for this blip!