In Damp Metro Tunnels, Prehistoric Plants Thrive

I wonder if the newly announced[1] federal takeover of WMATA will do anything to address this, or the water leaks in general?

While the fact that this happens is interesting from a botanical perspective, it's pretty indicative of a larger problem with the infrastructure that allows it to happen, IMO.

[1] http://wpo.st/cB5g0

This isn't a totally new phenomenon either. I used to ride this stretch of the Metro to work every day back in 2009-2012, and I remember seeing these plants back then too. At the time they hadn't really taken hold at Cleveland Park, but Woodley Park was overrun with them.

These stations also had a tendency to flood during particularly heavy rains, so it's no surprise that questionable drainage is the culprit.

It's interesting to note that these stations get no natural light where the ferns are growing. It's all manmade light.

Context: Washington, DC area Metro. Van Ness-UDC is a subway stop for the University of the District of Columbia (UDC).

The most surprising detail to me was how much water they have to drain out of the metro each day:

"As a result, he said, they “discharge approximately 2-million gallons of water a day.” In other words: about three Olympic sized swimming pools worth."

TL;DR a fern found almost everywhere is growing somewhere http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=adca