Members of our group are mostly keen birdwatchers. However, some, during the quiet months of summer when the bird-song has faltered and finally ceased, turn to other interests of Natural History. Dragonflies and Damselflies sometimes hold their interests, and some turn to other insect life such as butterflies and moths. I wondered the other day why so few turn to truly wild plant life.

There is something fascinating about a truly wild plant. It is not fed or un-naturally watered, and the ground is not specially prepared. It arrives usually as a seed and either grows or lies dormant, sometimes for years. Look how the poppy seeds of Flanders were very much disturbed and how they covered the ground afterwards.

Botany is a huge and fully absorbing subject. It is not just the attractive look of the flower or its scent that excites! First, as with birds, there is the problem of identification with probably more difficulties than with ornithology. Just when you think you've mastered the simpler common species, one turns up that you think you ought to know but cannot quite place.

After finding out which species of plant you're looking at, there comes the question of why it should be there. As with the birds, the environment is important. Woodland, seashores, meadows, or Tophill lagoons are all different habitats and so are the plants that grow there. However, some plants seem to manage to live almost anywhere, but even they have preferences.

Think of the many foot-pathways in this country. There, being trampled by many feet, grows a plant which gives off a wonderful scent of Pineapples. Few other plants can survive for long where this plant grows successfully for years. In the winter the main roads around Hull have been de-iced with salt and the traffic has sprayed it onto the verges. Saltmarsh plants have been seen flowering in this new habitat. Alter the habitat and the plants growing there will change.

In this world of global warming the natural world is giving the first indications of forthcoming climatic upsets. Hence there is a need to record what we see. This is a task that can become ever more enjoyable by actually doing it. There are many aspects of plant life that are not very well recorded. For example, would anyone or a group feel competent to regularly make a list of all the mosses, and/or fungi of Tophill Low and the area around it? The East Yorkshire Botany Club made a list of the plants and trees some years ago. Besides the flowering plants the list included such difficult species as the grasses, sedges and rushes and we have endeavored to keep that record up to date every year.

I have also noted some changes to the Tophill site such as the slow disappearance of species in the "O" Reservoir wood and the remarkable increase in such species as the Nodding Bur Marigold and Water Violet. I have been delighted to find plants here that I have not seen elsewhere, probably because I visit this site more frequently than other places.

All living creatures could not exist without plants, hence my title. It is an obvious statement for such creatures as seed-eating birds, but they in turn are preyed upon by raptors. We eat some plants, others are eaten by cattle. It is all part of the worldly food cycle; without it we would not survive. So plants are important. They are very interesting too and humanity has used them for many purposes as well as for food. They have been used for fibres and dyes, for medicines (still being discovered in plants), for charms, and, dare I write it, for poisons. These latter named plants should not be up-rooted because they are harmful if eaten. Keep the children off them. They may be used in the future and possibly have some useful chemical in them waiting to be discovered. In Tophill Low East pond we have a rush that was the only sort that could be used  for making chair seats.

Hemp (not at Tophill) was used also for rope making and I found a Cannabis plant growing on the old Victoria Dock before it was built up with houses. Dr. Eva Crackles suggested it might have come from the rope works that was there. It is illegal to grow it anywhere now.

For years I made whistles for my children and eventually my grand-children too. These were from Cow Parsley stems. I did this without realising how similar it was to Hemlock, the poisonous plant used by ancient Greeks in judicial executions. It grows in great quantity at Tophill Low. In the same family, umbels, can be found even more deadly poisons but also plants like the Wild Carrot, the precursor of our modern carrot. Fennel and Wild Parsnip also belong to this family and have been cultivated over the years for culinary purposes. Another kitchen umbel is Chervill, a popular herb but beware of using the wild one, Rough Chervil. Its old scientific name gives the clue to what it can do if it is used in the kitchen. It was called Chaerophyllum temulentum, and the specific name indicated that it would "give you the shakes", affecting the nervous system if eaten.

There are many other uses that plants have been put to. Early insect repellants, for example, not only for human use but also for oxen at work in the fields. Another interesting facet to inquire into is how plant life has been used for charms and magic. We still retain some of the ancient rites at Christmas time with Holly and of course Mistletoe. Plants used to be hung round the byre to keep away evil spirits. St. John's Wort was used in the 16th Century to raise ghosts. Near the "O" reservoir is an unusual St. John's Wort. When it flowers in late June to September have a look under the petals and you will see lines and not the usual dark dots, but don't expect too much in the ghost-busting department!

So I hope that with me, bird watchers will look at plants with the same enthusiasm as concerning our feathered friends.

Alan Marshall