New Year Plant Hunt 2022 - Uckfield North

 Last year I started my post about the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt by saying "I was in two minds about doing the BSBI's New Year Plant Hunt this year. Covid-19 levels are running high and there is a new, more infectious strain around." I could have started this year's post with the same two sentences. However both Mum and I have had our vaccinations and boosters and we understand more about transmission so being amongst people outside is less worrying than a year ago. On the botanical side, I wondered what effect the relentless rain had had on the flowers I was hoping to find.

Winter Heliotrope, London Road side of Manor Park

I rushed to London Road (a bit South of the Ringles) to note the Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) that grows on the London Road side of Manor Park.  On the way, I saw many of the usual weeds such as Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), Daisy (Bellis perennis) etc. 

Pellitory-of-the-wall, corner of Regency Close

I headed directly down the High Street, recording species as I went. At the corner of Regency Close, I found Pellitory-of-the-wall (Parietaria judaica), a plant for which the word non-descript could have been invented.

Pellitory-of-the-wall closeup

I had to use a hand lens to reveal the tiny flowers. A quick nose round Holy Cross's churchyard gave me a Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea).

Bush Vetch, Belmont Road

Belmont Road is a lovely old lane leading from the Church to the Oast House and allotments. It was a real pleasure to see the Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium) blooming for the third time since I started doing the New Year Plant Hunt in 2015.

Dandelion, Uckfield Fire Station

I checked the hedge round the allotments but, in spite of the Hawthorn having buds, there wasn't a single flower. However there was a cheeky Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) near the Fire Station. 

Lesser Celandine

As I headed along the path towards the Meads, I spotted a Lesser Celandine, my first since 2018. 

Hazel, star-shaped female flower top left, male catkins just lengthening

At first, I thought that the Hazel (Corylus avellana) in the strip between path and bypass was going to let me down but I went and had a closer look.  Just a few of the male catkins were lengthening and one tiny female flower enabled me to add Hazel to my list. The fact I was knee-deep in brambles peering into a bush also attracted some friendly curiosity. We chatted about which flowers I had found and shared a smile when a Robin decided to check us out.

Gorse, Bellbrook Business Park

They say "When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season." and sure enough, I found Gorse (Ulex europaeus) blooming on Bellbrook Business Park. 

Annual Mercury, Bellbrook Business Park

Just round the corner, I found a number of Annual Mercury (Mercurialis annua) plants not far from when I found it in 2017.

Fools Parsley, Bellbrook Business Park,

A little further along, there were some Alder trees with lengthening, pollen-laden catkins. While I noted these down I noticed a miserable-looking plant at their feet. I couldn't make anything of it at the time and had to take a piece home for proper identification.  After much peering at books and keys, I ended up with Fools Parsley (Aethusa cynapium). Tim Rich of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society and Moira O'Donnell of the BSBI 2022 #NewYearPlantHunt team kindly confirmed this.  

At this point the clouds began to roll over and, conscious that my three hours was nearly up, I made for home and set about untangling my results.

2022 - 45 species of which 5 were naturalised garden plants that had 'jumped the fence'

2021 - 46 species of which 6 were naturalised 

2020 - 36 species of which 4 were naturalised

2019 - 45 species of which 4 were naturalised

2018 - 28 species of which 3 were naturalised

2017 - 23 species of which 2 were naturalised

2016 - 34 species of which 4 were naturalised

2015 - 21 species of which 2 were naturalised 

Species found in bloom - Wildflowers

Species found in bloom- naturalised

New Year Plant Hunt 2017 - Uckfield

For a number of years, the Botanical Society of the British and Ireland have been running a New Year Plant Hunt. I've taken part in 2015, 2016 and again this year.  I didn't expect much because we have had some proper winter weather in the run up to the plant hunt.  Some of our own garden regulars such as Gorse and Lesser Celandine were not showing any signs of flower.

This year, I started the hunt from the new seat in front of the shops in Browns Lane, which was installed by the Manor Park and Hempstead Fields Residents Association.

Start - Outside Browns Lane shops at 9:30, 2nd January.

If you wish to go straight to a full list of my New Year's flowers, scroll to the bottom of the page.  This year my list comprised 23 flowering plants, compared to 34 last year. I had a sense this year of normal service being resumed after last year's bumper list.  This time there were no proper spring flowers such as Wild Primroses or Cowslips and few summer stragglers.

As usual, I started by walking through twittens on Manor Park. I didn't find as many wild flowers as usual. Maybe this was because 2016's odd weather encouraged thick grass growth. This had two effects: First, the grass competed out the wild flowers that usually grow along the edges of paths, and second, people had cleared away the vegetation, which had become a nuisance. I did find the ever-reliable Groundsel and Petty Spurge. Groundsel was the 2nd most frequently recorded flower on the plant hunt's lists.

Groundsel - 2nd most recorded flower

I moved on to the sunny corner where Southview Drive meets Beeches Close and found Ivy still in flower as well as some Yarrow.

Ivy flowers

At the top of the town, I managed to find a little Wall Bellflower in bloom but nothing like the numbers of flowers I had seen in previous years. The church walls also yielded very little - just some clumps of Common Field Speedwell, with tiny blue flowers. However, I had better luck in the car park, with a neat clump of Sweet Violets.

Sweet Violets

I didn't find anything in Belmont Lane. In a change from last year's route, I walked along the path that runs parallel to the bypass. Although I didn't see any flowers I was delighted to spot a Tree Creeper in a splendid old oak. Once I had reached the Meads Doctors' Surgery, I crossed the road to the Bellbrook Industrial Estate. This is new to my route and yielded some wild flowers that I had never recorded before.  One was Annual Mercury.

Annual Mercury

Another, the Guernsey Fleabane, is one that I had seen in various places but had never previously got round to identifying.

Guernsey Fleabane

After exploring the industrial estate (and surprising three Pheasants) I hurried to the warmth of the Station Pub.  After a break and glass of wine, I hurried back home to catch a few final stragglers before I ran out of time.  These included a Daisy, just across the road from where I live and a bedraggled Dog Violet in my own garden.



Daisy - On more lists than any other flower.

The Science Bit

Location: Uckfield, East Sussex.  Start point: TQ478219

What was missing?

Flowers that I had seen in both 2015 and 2016 but were missing this year were:

• Wild Primroses
• Cowslips
• Yellow Corydalis (on the church walls)
• White Deadnettle
• Black Medick.

21 Wild Plants Flowering on 2nd January 2017

Achillea millefolium	Yarrow
Bellis perennis	Daisy
Capsella bursa-pastoris	Shepherd's Purse
Cardamine hirsuta	Hairy Bittercress
Centranthus ruber	Red Valerian
Conyza sumatrensis	Guernsey fleabane	New in 2017
Corylus avellana	Hazel
Euphorbia peplus	Petty Spurge
Hedera helix	Ivy
Lamium purpureum	Red Dead-nettle
Mercurialis annua	Annual Mercury	New in 2017
Poa annua	Annual Meadow Grass
Senecio vulgaris	Groundsel
Sonchus oleraceus	Smooth Sow-thistle
Stellaria media	Common Chickweed
Taraxacum officinale	Dandelion
Ulex europaeus	Gorse
Urtica dioica	Common nettle	New in 2017
Veronica persica	Common Field Speedwell	New in 2017
Viola odorata	Sweet Violet
Viola riviniana	Dog Violet

2 Naturalised Plants Flowering on 2nd January 2017

Bergenia cordifolia	Elephants ears	New in 2017
Campanula portenschlagiana	Wall Bellflower