Plantwatch: Why fig trees are an emblem of Sheffield's industrial past

Born from seeds that came to the city in biscuits and passed into sewage, the fig is now the UK's only protected alien plant speciesOn the banks of the River Don in Sheffield, within sight of the vast Meadowhall shopping centre, grow some highly exotic specimens - wild Mediterranean fig trees.In the days of heavy industry, fig biscuits were a favourite local delicacy. After they were eaten, the fig seeds passed through people's digestive systems and ended up discharged as sewage into streams and rivers. When Sheffield was the centre of a great steel-making industry on the banks of the Don, the factories used its water to cool the hot metal and then dumped the waste warm water back into the river. Continue reading...