Cold snap impacts number of wild or naturalised plant species in bloom at New Year 2023

Cold snap impacts number of wild or naturalised plant species in bloom at New Year 2023 - BSBI

The results are in for BSBI’s twelfth New Year Plant Hunt, when plant-lovers across Britain and Ireland head out to see what is flowering in their local patch. 1,691 people took part in the Hunt in a year which saw the hottest summer on record followed by severe frosts in the weeks before New Year. Plant Hunters were out recording wild and naturalised plants in bloom in their local area for up to three hours over the New Year period1 - here’s what they found:

Only 477 different plant species were recorded in bloom across Britain and Ireland compared to 669 last year and 710 in 2021.
A total of 10,199 records of plants in flower were submitted: less than half last year’s total of 20,612.
1,002 lists were submitted, a decrease of 20% compared to 1,256 last year.
1,691 people2 participated, either individually, as part of small family groups or by joining organised group Hunts, a decrease in 10% compared to last year’s total of 1,895.
Plant hunters joined in from Shetland to Guernsey, from Anglesey to Kent, and from Donegal to Wexford.

The 50.5% reduction in the number of records of plants in bloom cannot be explained only by the decreased numbers of participants (-10%) and lists submitted (-20%). Many seasoned recorders who follow the same route every year reported seeing only half as many species in flower as usual, and 37 recorders found no species at all in bloom. As in previous years, the milder south and the coastal areas of Britain and Ireland had the highest numbers of species in flower3 – but totals were lower than in previous years: 71 species in Swanage compared to 107 on the same route last year; 56 species in Bath by recorders who found 92 species there last year. This year’s longest list was of 77 species in Cornwall – last year, eight lists were submitted containing more than 77 species.