New Year Plant Hunt Archives

Wildflowers in Winter: The New Year Plant Hunt 2025

As is customary at year’s end, much of my time over the last week was spent darting about the local area plant hunting as part of the BSBI’s New Year Plant Hunt. Now in its fourteenth year, this fantastic citizen science project not only provides valuable data about how our flora is coping in the face of changing weather patterns but also provides the perfect excuse to head out botanising at time when most people simply wouldn’t.

With one solo hunt under my belt and two fantastic group events led for BSBI and Natural History Society of Northumbria members, now seemed like a good time to recap what has been an incredibly productive couple of days.

North Shields

Saving the routine NYPH routes for the upcoming group walks, on 29 December I thought I would head somewhere different, opting for a short metro journey to North Shields for a poke about the various industrial plots fringing the Tyne in its final stages. I’m glad I did with no less than 55 species recorded in flower – a high total for the chilly North East in late December.

Many of the plants seen were those you would expect in winter, among these ubiquitous species such as Daisy (Bellis perennis), Dandelion (Taraxacum agg), Ivy (Hedera helix) and Gorse (Ulex europeaus). The commonplace aliens put on a good show too with Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus) blooming in pavement cracks, Canadian Fleabane (Erigeron canadensis) about neglected gardens and Water Bent (Polypogon viridis) along the margins of several main roads. There were, however, more unexpected finds to be had too. For example, a south-facing bank in the centre of town produced an unusual double act of Viper’s-bugloss (Echium vulgare) and White Campion (Silene latifolia), the former typically a plant of mid-summer, and the grassland abutting Meadow Well metro station a very early example of Cowslip (Primula veris).

The ponds in North Shield’s ‘Linear Park’ also proved worth a gander with both Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) and Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata) hanging on and later in the survey, Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa subsp. sylvestris) was encountered on an area of derelict land at Royal Quays. A good start I’d say…

St. Peter’s Basin

On 30 December, the time came for the first of this year’s group hunts and meeting with NHSN members in the east of Newcastle, we set about exploring a wide range of habitats including cycleways, ballast hills, marina pavements and even the unceremonious outskirts of the local tip. All proved fruitful with 59 species noted in bloom.

The common and familiar plants once again dominated proceedings but here too there were plenty of interesting discoveries. Around the industrial units, Narrow-leaved Ragwort (Senecio inaequidens) and Guernsey Fleabane (Erigeron sumatrensis) proved plentiful and a stretch of verge outside the tip held blooming Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis), Medium-flowered Winter-cress (Barbarea intermedia) and Green Field-speedwell (Veronica agrestis). Nearby, the margins of Hadrian’s Cycleway held Balkan Spurge (Euphorbia oblongata) and Atlantic Ivy (Hedera hibernica) and around nearby residences, Pale Pink-sorrel (Oxalis incarnata) and Eastern Rocket (Sisymbrium orientale) were still going strong.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of the day came in the form of a solitary example of Broad-leaved Willowherb (Epilobium montanum) blooming in a sheltered spot at the base of a garden wall. This is a species typically encountered in flower during July and August, and a very queer sight during the winter months.

Wild Parsnip (*Pastinaca sativa subsp. sylvestris*)

Heaton

On 1 January, the time came for a re-run of a NYPH route surveyed in most of the last five years. Taking to the streets of Heaton with a wonderful group in toe (including the fab Charlotte Rankin), pickings were somewhat slimmer with 43 species observed. Here, a mosey around a nearby park provided Hazel (Corylus avellana) and some delightfully neglected gardens a suite of more unusual species in Barren Brome (Anisantha sterilis), Mind-your-own-business (Soleirolia soleirolii) and Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus).

In Heaton Park, both Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and Early Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) put in an appearance, the former almost a month earlier than in 2024, and Wavy Bitter-cress (Cardamine flexuosa) was a nice find from a member of the group nestled amid flowering patches of the far commoner (at least in urban settings) Hairy Bitter-cress (Cardamine hirsuta).

New Year Plant Hunt: What’s flowering this winter?

I love the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt. Each year, this nifty citizen science project provides the perfect reason to head outside, brave the winter air, and find some interesting plants – not something I would have considered just a few years ago! Better still, the project is providing some valuable data about how our wild and naturalised plants are responding to a changing climate. A win win, really!

With only a few days of the holiday left, I confess I have gone a little crackers this year when it comes to the New Year Plant Hunt, with fourwalks in different corners of the local area. A nice way to burn off those Christmas calories perhaps?

Tynemouth

On Saturday morning, the first session of my new ‘Botanist’s Year’ course provided the perfect excuse for some group plant hunting. Meeting attendees at Tynemouth, we set about recording flowering plants growing in sea defences, coastal grassland, priory walls and nearby streets. Cutting a long story short, there wasn’t overly much to see with just 21 species noted in bloom. That said, some of these were rather nice with a good showing of Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), ample Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) and even a solitary example of Fool’s-parsley (Aethusa cynapium) – I am not sure I have ever seen that one flowering in winter.

Of course, the reliable winter-blooms featured in our total too: Daisy (Bellis perennis), Annual Meadow-grass (Poa annua), Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) and Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) to name but a few. The group also encountered a stray Garden Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana) in a pavement crack – a surprisingly common occurence.

No visit to Tynemouth would be complete without a moment of appreciation for the copious amount of Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) which grows on site as a relict of cultivation by local monks. They weren’t in flower on this occasion, mind you.

Heaton

For the last four years Matt and I have carried out an annual New Year Plant Hunt on the streets of Heaton, close to home. While being awful good fun, this has also allowed us to gain a good idea of localised changes in the flowering times of several species. Suffice to say, 2023 seems to be a bit of a poor year and in three hours, we recorded just 31 species compared to the 50+ of 2022. Perhaps it was was a touch of frost, or even over-zealous weeders?

The usual supects mentioned previous all featured in our Heaton hunt and by large, most of the plants found were ones you would expect to see in winter. Neophytes (human introductions) in Trailing Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana), Adria Bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) and Yellow Corydalis (Pseudofumaria lutea) that seem to flower year-round and typical winter wildflowers in Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) and White Dead-nettle (Lamium album). It was, however, interesting to note several grasses still in flower with sightings of Water Bent (Polypogon viridis), False Oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius) and Wall Barley (Hordeum murinum). I wonder what next year will bring?

Scotswood

The most botanically interesting hunt of the week now and a new route for Matt and I at Scotswood. Scotswood Road and its associated grassland, scrub and industrial plots is usually rather interesting and in total, we chalked up 31 flowering plants during our yomp. The ‘common ones’ featured heavily again with examples in Gorse (Ulex europeaus) and Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) but there were surprises also. On a particularly nice stretch of verge, we found both Field (Knautia arvensis) and Small Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria) in flower alongside Musk-mallow (Malva moschata). Quite a nice display for winter! Elsewhere, we noted Narrow-leaved Ragwort (Senecio inaequidens) and Smooth Hawk’s-beard (Crepis capillaris) while Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) featured surprisingly frequently.

For once, it was actually the non-flowering plants that proved most interesting at Scotswood. Having sadly lost many of them to the mower in spring, it was fabulous to note well over 200 Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) rosettes on nearby areas of amenity grassland and some recent roadworks provided a sighting of Parsley-piert (Aphanes arvensis), an entirely new one for the urban flora!

Ouseburn

New Year’s Day now and the last New Year Plant Hunt organised through the Natural History Society of Northumbria. Setting off to explore the streets of Heaton and later, taking a detour to the Ouseburn Valley, we were thrilled to find 35 species of wild and naturalised plant in flower. Better still, the sun was shining – a rare thing of late!

Once again, the usual suspects were out in force but what was more interesting was the abundance of typically ruderal/arable plants blooming in forgotten corners and neglected planters. As a group, we were particularly excited to find Small Nettle (Urtica urens) and Green-field Speedwell (Veronica agrestis), followed closely by Ribbed Melilot (Melilotus officinalis), Cut-leaved Dead-nettle (Lamium hybridum) and Small-flowered Crane’s-bill (Geranium pusillum). Down by the Ouseburn, the first Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) of the year had emerged too. Always nice to see…

All in all, a lovely way to spend New Year’s Day and a great way to round off a busy week jampacked with plants!

Creeping Buttercup (*Ranunculus repens*)

A Tale of Two Plant Hunts

The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland’s (BSBI) New Year Plant Hunt is an annual event in which botanists, experts and amateurs alike, head out to record the plant species bucking the time-honoured trend and blooming in the depths of winter. Now in its ninth year, the four-day survey is both great fun and an important means by which to assess how changing weather patterns are altering the behaviour of our wildflowers. If you would like to take part, tomorrow is your last chance, at least until 2021.

Having enjoyed my attempt in 2019, I was keen to once again take part in the NYPH this year. What I had not anticipated, however, was that I would end up leading a group walk as part of a friendly competition here in the North-East between botanically-minded members of the Natural History Society of Northumbria. A challenge that would see an expert group, led by a former BSBI President, no less, traversing the picturesque dune slacks of Lindisfarne; while a slightly less practised group, led by myself, would take on the parks, roadsides, and front weed-strewn front gardens of Newcastle.

Setting out on New Years Day, it immediately became apparent that non-native species would form a cornerstone of our collective, botanical haul. Indeed, the streets of Heaton, my own district of Newcastle, revealed a kaleidoscopic mix of aliens, each having breached the confines of their garden prisons long ago. Red Valarian, tall and lusciously pink, bright yellow Oxford Ragwort and the star-shaped blue heads of Trailing Bellflower conspicuous against the greys and browns of concrete and brick. Looking closer, other colonists became apparent also: Canadian and Mexican Fleabane, Yellow Corydalis and Snapdragon. Later in the walk, Pru, a member of our group, also pointed out a new species for me, Mock Strawberry, a yellow flowering native of South Asia. Newcastle, it seems, like a great many of our cities represents somewhat of a botanical United Nations, boasting species from almost all corners of the globe.

Of course, native species also featured as part of our foray. Mainly the tenacious ‘weeds’ that are widely known to persevere throughout the winter months: Shepard’s Purse, Groundsel, Hogweed, Feverfew and the omnipresent Annual Meadow Grass. That said, it was surprising to find the delicate white blooms of Wild Strawberry clinging on in the relative shelter of Jesmond Dene, a local woodland, and the minute, octopus-like female flowers of Hazel greatly brightened up our morning.

All in all, our merry band of urban plant-hunters finished on an unseasonally high total of 40 species. As did the team roving on Lindisfarne, it turns out. With a great day had by all, it would be rude to scoff at an amicable draw.

Mock Strawberry, Wild Strawberry, Hazel and Feverfew

Fast forward to Thursday and keen to head out with my newly acquired hand lens and Collin’s guide to British flora, and a jaunt to the coast beckoned. What transpired was a lovely (and uncharacteristically sunny) three hours at Tynemouth, ultimately culminating in a grand total of 43 flowering plants. The highlight of which had to be Alexanders in bloom – a regionally scarce species abundant at this site due, I am led to believe, to the culinary taste of the monks who once inhabited the long-abandoned Tynemouth Priority.

Elsewhere, I chanced upon two new species for me: Seaside Daisy and Buck’s-horn Plantain. The former, a native of California persevering along a small stretch of stonework near the priory, and the second, a pretty cool native species whose leaves (at least in my mind) resemble more the serrated bill of a Sawfish, as opposed to the horns of a buck. I am unsure how I have overlooked this plant until now – it’s pretty distinct.

Left to right: Alexanders, Seaside Daisy & Buck’s-horn Plaintain

All in all, this year’s New Year Plant Hunt provided a great opportunity to get out and about and appreciate the diversity of local flora. While also providing an opportunity to learn from and socialise with a number of local botanists far more knowledgeable than I. A win-win!

If you would like to cast your peepers over the results of this year’s hunt or, like me, keep a watchful eye on what others have seen in your area, you can check out the BSBI results page here: https://nyph.bsbi.org/results.php

North Shields

St. Peter’s Basin

Heaton

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Tynemouth

Heaton

Scotswood

Ouseburn

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