Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis)

Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) rises through our post-industrial landscapes like small blue galaxies hovering above the transformed earth. Through my macro lens, each flower head reveals itself as a community of tiny florets, working together to create something greater than its parts - much like the mining communities that once populated these lands. Its common name comes from its stubby, black root system that looks as if the devil bit it off in spite, yet from this 'wounded' root system emerges one of our most important plants for wildlife. Its late-season blooms provide crucial nectar for butterflies and bees when other flowers have faded, while its leaves nurture the caterpillars of the threatened Marsh Fritillary butterfly. In these former colliery sites, its presence marks a particular triumph of recovery - for this is a plant that speaks of ecological continuity, typically found in ancient meadows that have never been ploughed or industrially disturbed. Like the persistence of local memory in post-industrial spaces, its appearance suggests how pockets of ancient life survived in the margins of industrial development, waiting for the moment to reclaim and restore.