Recently the weather has been very wet, turning many little weedy plants that were hanging on from the summer to mush. So when I did the 2024 BSBI New Year Plant Hunt, I was expecting another low result, much the same as last year. For my Uckfield (Sussex) hunt, I got an unexpectedly high result - 36 species - comparable to the few years prior to 2023. I think the difference was that we didn't get the hard frost and snow that we experienced last year.
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| Number of species vs year |
Before I even got off Manor Park housing estate, I found nine species - the sort of unregarded weeds like Daisies, Dandelions etc. The flowers looked pretty miserable after all the rain but these adaptable little plants had battled through to count day.
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| Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) - London Road |
One of my favourites is the patch of Winter Heliotrope (
Petasites fragrans) just south of Ringles Cross. These flowers are both reliable and give a cheerful touch of pink on a dull day. As I worked my way down the London Road to the town, there were more battered little weeds.
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| Water Bent (Polypogon viridis) in the High Street |
One plant that is thriving after all the wet weather is an alien grass - and the clue as to why is in the name - Water Bent (Polypogon viridis).
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| Gorse (Ulex europaeus) in Church Street. |
As I made my way along the High Street and into Church Street I found more plants in bloom including a Gorse (Ulex europaeus) opposite Holy Cross Church. In a nearby flower bed, I found the glamorous purple of Sweet Violet (Viola odorata) flowers. I was particularly pleased because it has been lost from a couple of nearby sites due to a clean up in one case and invasive Three Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum) in another.
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| Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea) at Holy Cross Church |
Sheltered nooks around Holy Cross Church have enabled plants such as Yellow Corydalis (
Corydalis lutea) and Mexican Fleabane (
Mexican Fleabane) to keep flowering.
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| Ivy (Hedera helix) at Holy Cross Church |
A flowering Ivy (Hedera helix) is just one of the plants in the hedge at Holy Cross that will be keeping Bees, Hoverflies and even butterflies going through the winter.
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| Holly (Ilex aquifolium) in Bellmont Road |
I spent some time examining a Holly (
Ilex aquifolium) in Bellmont Road and was delighted to find some tiny flowers so I could include it in my count.
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| Hazel (Corylus avellana) catkins. |
One of the Hazels (
Corylus avellana) near the bypass always seems to be flowering at this time of year even when those by the river bridge have let me down. By the time I had got to it, the wind was whipping the catkins around like lambs tails.
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| Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) |
Before the hunt started a member of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society had asked for advice about where to look for wild plants in flower. The group provided suggestions like "urban", "building sites" and, in my case, "industrial estates". At Bellbrooke, I was able to add another handful to my score including the tiny Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) shown. You will have to forgive the quality of the photo - I had to hold my phone against the bottom of a fence to get it and couldn't really see what I was doing. After this, I headed home, pausing to note a couple more species from the front of the fire station.
Species in Bloom - wild flowers
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| Wild plants in bloom - 2024 hunt |
Species found in bloom - naturalised
These are species that have "jumped the garden fence".
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| Naturalised plants in bloom - 2024 hunt |
