Photo credit – Anne Haden
Each year, the Botany Section participates in the national ‘New Year Plant Hunt’ run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Over three days, several thousand groups around the country record as many wild plants in flower as they can find during a three hour period. Around 18 Societe members gathered on a grey 29th December, and surveyed a range of habitats in the vicinity of Devil’s Hole and Mourier Valley, followed by a fine pub lunch.
During the three hours, we recorded 49 species of wild plant in flower – a reasonable result, but we have certainly had better years.
This annual event makes for a fun outing, but also yields important phenological data nationally about how flowering times for our native flora are changing over time. We are noticing a change in Jersey – which can have important consequences for insects and other wildlife whose lifecycles have evolved in synchrony with the flowering times of certain plants.
Dr Tim Wright – Botany Chair
