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Rail travel

The Oxford ragwort's life in the UK began, reputedly, with a single specimen gathered from Mount Etna. It was then carefully replanted in Oxford University's hallowed gardens. But Oxford ragwort did not stay confined for long. It soon made its way over the wall. By 1830 it had reached the railway station and the Great Western Railway helped it from there. The slipstream of the trains carried its lightweight seeds far and wide. It colonised the railway lines and beyond. It is doing very nicely nowadays - strictly urban in its tastes and still spreading - it is now spread over most of the country.

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