In 2002 Plantlife conducted a "County Flowers" public survey to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. [1] The results of this campaign designated a single plant species to a "county or metropolitan area" in the UK and Isle of Man. [2] Some English counties already had flowers traditionally associated with them before 2002, [3] and which were different from those assigned to them by Plantlife, including the white rose for Yorkshire (assigned the harebell), the poppy for Norfolk (assigned the Alexanders), and the cowslip for Essex (assigned the poppy). Some flowers were assigned to multiple counties.
| County | Image | Common name | Scientific name | County status | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isle of Man [lower-alpha 2] |  | fuchsia [53] | Fuchsia magellanica | neophyte |
| County | Image | Common name | Scientific name | County status | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim |  | harebell [51] | Campanula rotundifolia | native | Dumfriesshire & Yorkshire |
| Armagh |  | cowbane [54] | Cicuta virosa | native | |
| Belfast |  | gorse [55] | Ulex europaeus | native | |
| Londonderry |  | purple saxifrage [56] | Saxifraga oppositifolia | native | |
| Down |  | spring squill [57] | Scilla verna | native | |
| Fermanagh |  | globeflower [58] | Trollius europaeus | native | |
| Tyrone |  | bog-rosemary [59] | Andromeda polifolia | native | Ceredigion & Kirkcudbright |
| County | Image | Common name | Scientific name | County status | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglesey |  | spotted rock-rose [90] | Tuberaria guttata | native | |
| Brecknockshire |  | cuckooflower [10] | Cardamine pratensis | native | Cheshire |
| Caernarfonshire |  | Snowdon lily [91] | Gagea serotina , syn. Lloydia serotina | native | |
| Cardiff |  | wild leek [92] | Allium ampeloprasum | native | |
| Carmarthenshire |  | whorled caraway [93] | Carum verticillatum | native | |
| Ceredigion |  | bog-rosemary [59] | Andromeda polifolia | native | Kirkcudbright & Tyrone |
| Denbighshire |  | limestone woundwort [94] | Stachys alpina | native | |
| Flintshire |  | bell heather [95] | Erica cinerea | native | |
| Glamorgan |  | yellow whitlow-grass [96] | Draba aizoides | native | |
| Merioneth |  | Welsh poppy [97] | Papaver cambricum | native | |
| Monmouthshire |  | foxglove [28] | Digitalis purpurea | native | Argyll, Leicestershire & West Midlands |
| Montgomeryshire |  | spiked speedwell [98] | Veronica spicata | native | |
| Pembrokeshire |  | thrift [24] | Armeria maritima | native | Bute & Isles of Scilly |
| Radnorshire |  | Radnor lily [99] | Gagea bohemica | native |
Anacamptis pyramidalis, the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Anacamptis of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name Anacamptis derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'bend forward', while the Latin name pyramidalis refers to the pyramidal form of the inflorescence.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell, a name which is used in Scotland to refer to the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.
Papaver rhoeas, with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, red poppy, and Odai, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is native to north Africa and temperate Eurasia and is introduced into temperate areas on all other continents except Antarctica.
Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head, chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in the British Isles, simply fritillary. The plant is a bulbous perennial native to the flood river plains of Europe where it grows in abundance.
Campanula rotundifolia, the common harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.
Anacamptis morio, the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid, is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East.
Arctous alpina, the alpine bearberry, mountain bearberry or black bearberry, is a dwarf shrub in the heather family Ericaceae. The basionym of this species is Arbutus alpinaL..
Gentiana verna, the spring gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae, and one of its smallest members, normally only growing to a height of a few centimetres.
Cephalanthera rubra, known as red helleborine, is an orchid found in Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this Cephalanthera has always been one of the rarest orchids in Britain.
Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting is an ancient practice with records of a Chinese botanist collecting roses over 5000 years ago.
Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity. As of 2023, it manages 24 nature reserves around the United Kingdom. HM King Charles III is patron of the charity.
Gentianella germanica, common name German gentian, also known in the United Kingdom as the Chiltern gentian, is a flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae. It was chosen as the county flower of Buckinghamshire. Within the UK, it is only native to the Chiltern Hills of southern England, although its distribution in continental Europe is much wider, ranging from France to the Balkans.
Silene nutans is a flowering plant in the genus Silene, most commonly known as Nottingham catchfly.
Neotinea ustulata, the burnt orchid or burnt-tip orchid, is a European terrestrial orchid native to mountains in central and southern Europe, growing at up to 2,400 m (7,900 ft) elevation. The plant is considered Endangered in Great Britain and Least Concern internationally based on IUCN Red List criteria. The burnt-tip orchid was voted the county flower of Wiltshire in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.
Ranscombe Farm, in Cuxton in North Kent, is a Plantlife Nature Reserve and working farm. Part of the site is included in the Cobham Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the whole farm is within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Deacon Hill SSSI is a 35.4-hectare (87-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is part of the Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit nature reserve, managed by Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Swift's Hill is a 9.15-hectare (22.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1984.
The Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh Nature Park is a habitat or species management area in central Albania adjacent with the border with Dajti National Park. It covers a surface area of 25,266.42 hectares (252.6642 km2). It is situated in Dibër and Tirana County with three municipalities, Xibër, Martanesh and Shëngjergj, and several villages within its territory. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the landscape as Category V. The region has been as well recognised as an Important Plant Area of international importance by Plantlife.
