Railway Flora, or Nature's Revenge on Man documents the unexpected botanical resurgence along the margins of Chiasso's international marshalling yard between 1969 and 1978 — a record of wild plants reclaiming ground stripped bare by mid-century rail infrastructure.
About This Book
When a vast rail complex was built at Chiasso in the 1950s and '60s, it effectively erased the local plant life. What Ernesto Schick catalogued over the following decade was nature's systematic return. Part botanical field guide, part travel diary, Railway Flora sits at an unusual intersection of scientific observation and humanist wonder — the kind of book that makes you look differently at the weeds pushing through gravel. Originally published in 1980, it became a cult text in botanical and landscape circles. This centenary reissue includes a poem by Fabio Pusterla written in honour of Schick's so-called "pilot plants," adding a literary dimension to an already singular work of environmental documentation.
Key Features
- 180 pages of botanical observations, field notes, and documentary records spanning a decade of study
- Poem by Fabio Pusterla included in this edition, written in honour of Schick's "pilot plants"
- Published by Humboldt Books, 1980 (this centenary reissue)
What You'll Discover
- How wild plant species colonised and reclaimed industrial railway land stripped of vegetation by large-scale construction
- The interplay between scientific botanical manual and personal travel diary as a mode of environmental documentation
- The concept of "pilot plants" — Schick's term for the advance species that led nature's return to disturbed ground
- How literary response, through Pusterla's poem, can extend and reframe scientific observation across time
About the Author
Ernesto Schick (1925–1991) conducted his botanical observations around the international marshalling yard of Chiasso between 1969 and 1978, producing a work that combined scientific rigour with the sensibility of a diarist. Railway Flora was first published in 1980 and has since acquired cult status among readers drawn to the intersection of ecology, landscape, and documentary writing.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 180
- Dimensions: 11 x 17 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9791280336347
- Publisher: Humboldt Books
- Publication Date: 1980
Perfect For: Landscape architects, ecologists, and readers drawn to the intersection of natural history, infrastructure, and documentary writing — as well as collectors of cult botanical literature.