Winter blooming is on the increase
Like us, you may be noticing the gradual drawing out of the days, with the emergence of catkins, snowdrops and crocuses leading us slowly towards spring, but these things are happening earlier and earlier. We largely know this because of citizen science projects like the New Year Plant Hunt (NYPH). This initiative invites everyone, wildflower enthusiasts and those just walking off Christmas, to record the plants in flower on their patch. It’s a brilliant way to connect with nature, and a meaningful exercise to help scientists discover what these blooms reveal about our changing climate. The NYPH began fifteen years ago by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, (BSBI). It has flourished since, with thousands of records submitted annually from parks, verges, churchyards, and open spaces. This year, nearly 26 thousand unique plant records were logged with nearly 700 different plant species.
Nine plucky souls braved the wintery weather, walking round the Crankles and No Man’s Meadow, up through the Churchyard and round the Charnel house. They continued on to St Mary’s church and all the way to the railings on Crown St. It was a maiden walk for this kind of survey, and the consensus was that we will repeat it next January, encouraged by a decent performance; coming about 368 out of nearly 2000 surveys logged on the BSBI website.
As this was our inaugural plant hunt, we can only use it as a baseline for future years but a clear trend is emerging over the UK; participants are spotting more and more plants in bloom during winter. While some variation is always expected because of weather conditions, regional differences and locations surveyed, the trend suggests a genuine shift in flowering patterns across the UK.
A leading factor accounting for this increase is climate change. Britain’s winters are, on average, becoming milder and wetter, with fewer frosts. This enables more plants to extend their flowering season or begin flowering earlier. The ‘urban heat island’ effect, where towns and cities are warmer than the surrounding rural areas, can further accelerate these changes. Flowering is triggered by temperature and daylength, so milder winters can upset these signals, such as being caught by late frosts or being out of sync with their usual lifecycle; not to mention the effect it has on our pollinators and birdlife. More on that another time.
The three most commonly found plants are daisies, dandelions and groundsel. We ticked off all three, identifying 21 flowering species in total. Most of the flowers we found appeared in the second half of the morning, as we moved closer to the urban areas, demonstrating, quite clearly, the urban heat effect. So next year we will check the town’s verges, pavements and walls for signs of blooms; no doubt smashing our record of 21 species!
While 70 to 80% of flowers recorded are common or widespread species, each year still brings surprises.
A winter flowering violet in Scotland or a butterfly orchid in Cornwall highlights the unpredictable nature of Britain’s flora in a changing climate. Our most unusual find was probably hedge cranesbill, a geranium, as it’s rarely recorded on the NYPHs. It was flowering on one of the gravestones near St Mary’s church.
The project is a hopeful example of community action and engagement with nature, helping scientists track and respond to environmental change. Why not join in next year and see what’s flowering round you by checking our website www.burywatermeadowsgroup.org.uk.
BSBI New Year plant hunt results https://nyph.bsbi.org/results.php
Jillian Macready: BWMG Trustee
