New Year Plant Hunt 2025 - Uckfield North

I introduced last year's account of the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt by saying "Recently the weather has been very wet, turning many little weedy plants that were hanging on from the summer to mush." It has been exactly the same this year and the results were quite similar - I got 35 species compared to 36 last year.

Sometimes the number of species found doesn't tell the whole story. For some species that I usually expect to find easily, I had to search really hard to find one or two blooms. For example: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Ivy (Hedera helix) and Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum).

A battered Herb Bennet (Geum Urbanum)

My first find, on the public path just outside our hedge was a very miserable Herb Bennet (Geum Urbanum). Then the usual "weeds" - a lot of Daisies (Bellis perennis) and the odd Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) etc. A quick visit to the Winter Heliotropes (Petasites fragrans) near Ringles Cross showed that there were far fewer of the pink fluffy flowers than last year.

Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea) at Holy Cross

I meandered through the town to the church and found a lovely group of Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea) on the Holy Cross Church wall.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

The Holly (Ilex aquifolium) in Belmont road had a lovely scattering of dainty white flowers. The Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) was a little trickier - there were quite a few flowerheads with buds but the one open flower took a lot of finding.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) at the Fire Station

Another usually reliable New Year flower that was hard to find was Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). I found a rather scrappy specimen outside the fire station.

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) on Bellbrook Industrial Estate

The Bellbrook Industrial Estate gave me Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and some battered little weeds. 

White Melilot (Melitotus Albus)

Back in November, I found a White Melilot (Melitotus Albus) flowering in the Station car park. It seemed impossible to believe that it's delicate white pea flowers would still be blooming but they were.

White Deadnettle (Lamium album) at the Mill

On the other side of the road, I found some White Deadnettle (Lamium album) while a friendly German Shepherd investigated my bags.

The last Ivy (Hedera helix) flowers in town

Down to my last half-hour, I scurried home, conscious that I had not seen any Ivy (Hedera helix) flowers - there had been plenty of fruit on the plants round the town but not a single flower. I examined the Ivy at the top of the Dene, while discussing the plant hunt with a neighbour. I checked about three quarters of the heads when I found one that was still blooming. After this, I headed home for a much needed hot coffee.

At the time of writing:

• the Uckfield results are available from Uckfield
• all results are available from Results.

New Year Plant Hunt 2023 - Uckfield North

2022 weather was a real rollercoaster with a drought, then incessant rain and, just before Christmas, hard frosts and snow and the Met Office has concluded it was the hottest year on record. So when I did the 2023 BSBI New Year Plant hunt I expected to find very few species in flower compared to previous years. Sure enough, this year, I found 22 species in bloom, much fewer than the 36 to 46 I found in each of the previous 3 years. 

Number of species vs Year.

For most of the species that I did find, there were far fewer plants in flower - for example, I usually expect to see Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in flower in several places during my hunt, whereas this time I found just one.

Daisy (Bellis perennis) - Manor Park

My first find was at the front of next door-but-one's garden - a Daisy (Bellis perennis) battered, but enough to get me going.

Ivy (Hedera helix) - Manor Park

As I made my way through the estate, I found a variety of little weeds in bloom as well as Ivy (Hedera helix). 

Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) - London Road

The Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) on London Road had obligingly come into bloom in time for the hunt.

Wendy Tagg with Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea) - High Street

The old walls at the top of the town are usually quite productive. However there were no flowers on the usually reliable Trailing Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana) and there were just two little flowers on the Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea).

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) - Bellbrook industrial estate

On the Bellbrook industrial estate the Gorse (Ulex europaeus) near the river Uck gave a nice splash of yellow.  

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) - Bellbrook industrial estate

Once again, I found red Alder (Alnus glutinosa) catkins lengthened and showing pollen. Trying to get a photo of them was a challenge as they danced in the breeze way above my head.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria Muralis) - Bellbrook industrial estate

There very few herbaceous plants in bloom but I found a Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus Repens) in the sheltered spot behind the Barny's Playbarn sign and an Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria Muralis) tucked behind a wall.

Hazel (Corylus avellana) dancing over the River Uck

I meandered down to the river, where it is bridged by the High Street and found fully lengthened catkins catching the sunlight over the river. 

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) - Southview Drive

After noting the Hazel (Corylus avellana), I headed home via Lime Tree Avenue, where I found some Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) with sorry-looking flowers. A quick inspection of the base of a South-facing wall in Southview drive yielded a Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and some Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

Species found in bloom - wildflowers

Species found in Bloom - Naturalised

These are the garden plants that have 'jumped the garden fence'.