WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

Wild Plants of the Bristol Region

Beneath the species name additional information is to be given to represent status.

• Very Common (VC) = Dark Green = ≥90% / ≤100% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Common (C) = Mid Green = ≥70% / ≤89% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Frequent (F) = Light Green = ≥50% / ≤69% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Uncommon (U) = Yellow = ≥30% / ≤49% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Scarce (S) = Orange = ≥10% / ≤29% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Rare (R) = Light Red = ≥5% / 9% of 1km squares filled since 2000
• Very Rare (VR) = Dark Red = ≥0% / ≤4% of 1km squares filled since 2000 (unlikely to need mapping)
• Extinct (E) = Purple = 0% of 1km squares filled since 2000 (unlikely to need mapping)

1334 kmsq in the Bristol Region.

Pre 2000 records compared with those since 2000 = no. vs no. e.g. 300 vs 150 followed by a percentage (in this case 50%) and an arrow on a scale which represents rate of decline, increase or stability by either facing halfway for stable (no increase or decrease), down for decline and up for increase with the difference coloured in red for decrease and blue for increase or an arrow that faces down for decrease, to the side for stable and up for increase with the percentage change represented by the arrow swelling and shrinking.

Abbreviations:

• White, 1912 = The Bristol Flora
• Riddelsdell, 1948 = Flora of Gloucestershire
• Murray, 1896 = The Flora of Somerset
• Marshall, 1914 = The Flora of Somerset Supplement
• Sandwith, 1932 = The Adventive Flora of the Port of Bristol

It will be noticed that for some of the more contentious or unsettled taxa such as the Dryopteris affinis complex both alternative naming systems (as sspp. under D. affinis and as species in their own right) are used in order to increase the chances of the book remaining up to date for longer, whichever way it swings (if it ever does!).

After the species name, synonyms - names which have changed since the old flora (the Flora of the Bristol Region) are written in brackets. Those which are in blue brackets are the international name - used when they differ from Stace or where the lowest level of classification is incomplete such as additional sspp. or Vars. This is useful when trying to interpret different sources and opinions.

The nomenclature and order of taxonomy follows largely that of New Flora of the British Isles, fourth Edition, by Clive Stace (2019). Names used in this books predecessor 'the Flora of the Bristol Region,' where changed are included in brackets as synonyms. Those in blue brackets are the Kew (Plants of the World Online) accepted names, included where names differ from those used by Stace or to complete full taxonomy such as additional subspecies or varieties on an international level. Taxa which are not included in Stace follow Kew's naming except for Hieracium, Rubus and Taraxacum which follow the work of Atlas of British and Irish Hawkweeds (McCosh & Rich, 2018), Atlas of British and Irish Brambles (Newton & Randall, 2004) and Field Handbook to British and Irish Dandelions (Richards, 2021) but continue the use, when present, of Kew's alternatives in blue brackets. For those of Charophyta, National Biodiversity Network (NBN) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been used. For Common names, again Stace is the main source but where absent, NBN, GBIF and various other sources have been utilised and a proportion still, for the purpose of continuity, have been 'made up'; particularly for the likes of Brambles, except when it is named after someone and the choice made obvious. These are indicated with an asterisk.