IWT New Year Plant Hunts with BSBI

By Charlotte Salter-Townshend, IWT Communications & Network Officer

First published online: 07 January 2026

IWT x BSBI New Year Plant Hunt on North Bull Island, 3 January 2026. Credit: Kim Lake.

Warmer winters may be changing the flowering times of plants, with a domino effect on all forms of wildlife. Since 2011, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) have collated data on what’s in bloom at the very end/very beginning of the year. The New Year Plant Hunt is the BSBI’s primary outreach activity, suitable for beginners and experts alike. This remarkable citizen science venture not only unveils winter’s floral secrets and sheds light on climate change, it is also a great opportunity to get out and discover your local flora while getting some (bracing!) fresh air.

This was the first year the IWT organised groups to take part, with outings in Dublin and Kerry. Here’s a summary of how it went, as well as a look at some of the broader results from the BSBI and what it tells us about biodiversity and climate change. 

IWT New Year Plant Hunt on Bull Island

For our inaugural IWT New Year Plant Hunt, we explored North Bull Island in Dublin. We met up at the Tree of Life sculpture just outside St Annes Park, where we began recording. We walked down Causeway Road, surveying both sides of the road (without going into the sensitive saltmarshes) and finished up around the back of the Interpretive Centre. 

Originating as a by-product of coastal engineering, Bull Island showcases a dynamic interaction between nature and human influence. In 1981 it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (now part of Dublin Bay Biosphere) and has multiple other conservation designations. Over just under 15km², it supports nine habitats and is notable for its uninterrupted sequence of plant communities ranging from intertidal mudflats to salt marshes, to sand dunes. Around 30% of Ireland’s flora may be found here, including flowering plant species protected under Irish law: Lesser Centaury (Centaurium pulchellum), Red Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis angustifolia), and Meadow Saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata). It is also noted for hosting several Orchid species, including the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). None of these particular species were found in bloom in January, but our intrepid IWT group did find 26 species of plants in flower in just under two hours! 

Botanists got the identification books out to identify Rapistrum rugosum (Bastard Cabbage)

Bull Island is always full of surprises and Saturday 3 January was no exception. While eight out of the top ten most frequently recorded species were logged, there were also some unusual finds. These include Rapistrum rugosum (known as Bastard Cabbage or Turnipweed). We were the only survey in both Ireland and Britain to record this species. An annual herb, found mainly on waste ground (we found it behind the Interpretive Centre toilets), Bastard Cabbage is now naturalised in a variety of habitats where it is sometimes invasive, such as in open grassland. Native to the Mediterranean region and south-western Asia, it is introduced with grain and birdseed. Though we don’t expect the plant to become widespread on Bull Island, other introduced plants have proven problematic. Both Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) and Common Cordgrass (Spartina anglica) were introduced in the hopes that they would combat erosion of the dunes, but instead they threaten rare plants by forming dense thickets, altering the habitat. This is a prime example of how difficult it is to engineer ecological balance and the challenges inherent in managing conservation in a novel eco-system such as Bull Island. 

We also found many of the usual suspects on the New Year Plant Hunt, including Winter Heliotrope (Petasites pyrenaicus). This plant was introduced to Ireland about 200 years ago (around the same time Bull Island formed) from the Mediterranean region. This winter-flowering plant has become invasive due to its spreading habit where it shades out other species. All of the known naturalised plants in Ireland and the UK are male plants which spread clonally! So the distinctively scented flowers (some say liquorice, others cherry or vanilla) are all male flowers and do not produce seed. 

Flowers on the aptly named Winter Heliotrope (Petasites pyrenaicus). The flowers and leaves of this heliotropic plant gradually follow the sun from east to west and during the night turn back to the east to greet the next dawn.

While we didn’t expect Vicia sepium (Bush Vetch) and Smyrnium olusatrum (Alexanders) to be in bloom in January, 18 of the New Year Plant Hunts on the island of Ireland logged Bush Vetch and 7 logged Alexanders this year. Bush Vetch usually blooms April – October and Alexanders February – June. 

Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) and Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium) in full bloom (photos taken in April).

The Alexanders plant came to us from the Mediterranean. The name refers to Alexander the Great as the plant is thought to have been used by him and brought to Britain and Ireland by the Romans for use as a potherb. Many of our coastal plants are edible, e.g. Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) is the ancestor of beetroot and chard. 

We would like to thank the 15 people who joined us on the IWT New Year Plant Hunt on Bull Island, especially Kim Lake (BSBI Botanical Skills Project Manager, Northern Ireland), Maria Long (NPWS Grasslands Ecologist), and Niall Mac Coitir (IWT Dublin Branch) who shared their expertise in plant identification and helped run the event. Keep an eye on our Events page for future outings on Bull Island, including Niall’s summer Wildflower Walks for the IWT Dublin Branch, featuring a few species of Orchids!

Kerry IWT plant hunt

Meanwhile, the IWT Kerry Branch joined forces with Tralee Tidy Towns on the Tralee to Fenit Greenway. They organised seven separate New Year Plant Hunts, with local community groups surveying a section each of the 13km Greenway route. As with on Bull Island, participants enjoyed fine crisp weather. The IWT Kerry Branch, led by Ger Scollard, took part on Friday 2 January. Over three days, a total of 31 people took part in the plant hunts along the Greenway. Almost 40 flowering species were recorded including the commonly recorded Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) as well as slightly more disconcertingly, Primrose (Primula vulgaris) and Knapweed (Centaurea nigra).

The Greenway New Year Plant Hunts formed part of the Community Foundation Ireland-funded project Dúlra Thrá Lí, a Community Biodiversity Action Plan for the Kingdom of Kerry Greenway – Tralee to Fenit route. The initiative was an opportunity to for community groups on the Greenway including Fenit Town Hall, Kerry FC, Fenit Coast Conservation, Spa Tidy Village, Tralee Bay Swimmers, and of course IWT Kerry Branch to connect with each other while making a valuable contribution to local biodiversity knowledge as well as to the wider BSBI project. 

On Saturday 3 January, the industrious IWT Kerry Branch also surveyed Ballyseedy Wood, where they found eight species flowering, including Nipplewort (Lapsana communis) and Holly (Ilex aquifolium). 

Getting serious on the plant hunt when the books come out (IWT Kerry Branch at Ballyseedy Woods). Credit: Ger Scollard

The BSBI New Year Plant Hunt and Climate Change

The UK Met Office has evaluated the New Year Plant Hunt data set from the past ten years. Using their detailed climate records, they showed a very strong linear relationship between the average (mean) number of plant species flowering during the new year and the average temperature during the preceding two months. The relationship suggests that for every 1°C warmer average temperature during November and December, there are about 2.5 more species of plants in flower. 

Closer to home, six Irish gardens have systematically collected around 7,500 observations since 1966 on the timing of the main seasonal changes in plants. Valentia Observatory in Kerry and the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin have the most complete set of historical records. Met Éireann uses this data for climate research, while organisations like the Central Statistics Office (CSO) publish reports based on these findings. The gardens are part of a European network of International Phenological Gardens that allows for comparison of Irish data with other countries.

Research by the Met Office using BSBI New Year Plant Hunt records shows linear relationship between rise in average temperature and number of plants in flower (UK data). Credit: BSBI LinkedIn

The 2026 BSBI Plant Hunt results at a glance:

Conclusion

Early flowering plants such as Dandelions and Alexanders have their place as they are vital for pollinators that emerge in early spring (e.g. bumblebee queens). But the trends logged by the BSBI offer a clear indication that more and more plants are blooming out of season and hence out of sync with animal life. 

The New Year Plant Hunt outings also show that although climate change is affecting our wildlife, communities can show up and take action. Through the simple act of recording biodiversity, we facilitate connections between communities and between people and nature. This builds awareness and appreciation, and through that, hope through advocacy and action for nature.