County flowers

County flowers are wildflowers representative of counties. A county flower was chosen for each county in the United Kingdom after competitions run by PlantLife, a charity, beginning in 2002.

The PlantLife campaign

Plantlife wanted to commemorate the Queen's Jubilee in 2002 by putting wild flowers on the map, and launched a campaign to ask every county to choose its own wild flower emblem. The nation was asked to choose a wild flower emblem to represent their county or city.

The competitions

In its first year, people were asked to vote for any wild flower that they felt best represented their county. The following year, the competition was whittled down to the top two for each of the 92 counties in the United Kingdom, for the Isle of Man and for the largest cities; 109 in all. The results were announced on 5th May 2004 and are published on PlantLife’s website.

Norfolk was the one example of a change after a flower had been chosen. The initial vote chose alexanders (smyrnium olusatrum), but vocal local feeling against the choice forced a change, and so the common poppy (papaver rhoeas) was chosen instead.

UK's favourite flower

The first round of voting for County Flowers yielded the native bluebell as a clear favourite across the country, topping the list in many of the counties. The bluebell was crowned the wild flower emblem for the whole of the United Kingdom, and was endorsed by the PlantLife's patron, HRH The Prince of Wales.

Why a wildflower emblem?

Flowers are a powerful means of expression - everyone recognises the poppy, iconic image of remembrance for those who fell in battle. The simple dog-rose has appeared on heraldic banners for over a thousand years and many towns and villages are named after plants – Bromley is named after the broom, Ramsey after ramson, otherwise known as wild garlic.

Reasons for the campaign

Plantlife launched the County Flowers campaign in order to highlight the threat that wildflowers are facing in Britain. A recent report from the charity shows that, on average, every county in the United Kingdom is losing one species of wild plant every two years due to habitat loss, pollution and intensive farming.

The flowers chosen

Many of the wildflowers chosen as county flowers are rare. Some are found only in the county or in narrow ranges. Some counties share a flower, for example the pasqueflower is the county flower for Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, the harebell for County Antrim, Dumfriesshire and Yorkshire.

The following are the flowers selected for the counties of the United Kingdom in Plantlife's 2002 "County Flowers" campaign.

County	Common name	Scientific name	Status
Aberdeenshire	Bearberry	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi	Native	Bearberry
Anglesey	Spotted Rock-rose	Tuberaria guttata	Native	Spotted rock-rose
Angus	Alpine Catchfly	Lychnis alpina	Native	Alpine catchfly
County Antrim	Harebell	Campanula rotundifolia	Native	Harebell
Argyllshire	Foxglove	Digitalis purpurea	Native	Foxglove
County Armagh	Cowbane	Cicuta virosa	Native	Cowbane
Ayrshire	Green-winged Orchid	Anacamptis morio	Native	Green-winged orchid
Banffshire	Dark-red Helleborine	Epipactis atrorubens	Native	Dark red helleborine
Bedfordshire	Bee Orchid	Ophrys apifera	Native	Bee orchid
Berkshire	Summer Snowflake	Leucojum aestivum	Native	Summer snowflake
Berwickshire	Rock-rose	Helianthemum nummularium	Native	Rock-rose
Brecknockshire	Cuckooflower	Cardamine pratensis	Native	Cuckooflower
Buckinghamshire	Chiltern Gentian	Gentianella germanica	Native	Chiltern gentian
Buteshire	Thrift	Armeria maritima	Native	Thrift
Caernarfonshire	Snowdon Lily	Lloydia serotina	Native	Snowdon lily
Caithness	Scots Primrose	Primula scotica	Native	Scottish primrose
Cambridgeshire	Pasqueflower	Pulsatilla vulgaris	Native	Pasqueflower
Cardiganshire	Bog-rosemary	Andromeda polifolia	Native	Bog-rosemary
Carmarthenshire	Whorled Caraway	Carum verticillatum	Native	Whorled caraway
Cheshire	Cuckooflower	Cardamine pratensis	Native	Cuckooflower
Clackmannanshire	Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage	Chrysosplenium oppositifolium	Native	Opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage
Cornwall	Cornish Heath	Erica vagans	Native	Cornish Heath
Cromartyshire	Spring Cinquefoil	Potentilla neumanniana	Native	Spring cinquefoil
Cumberland	Grass-of-Parnassus	Parnassia palustris	Native	Grass-of-Parnassus
Denbighshire	Limestone Woundwort	Stachys alpina	Native	Limestone woundwort
Derbyshire	Jacob's-ladder	Polemonium caeruleum	Native	Jacob's-ladder
Devon	Primrose	Primula vulgaris	Native	Primrose
Dorset	Dorset Heath	Erica ciliaris	Native	Dorset heath
County Down	Spring Squill	Scilla verna	Native	Spring squill
Dumfriesshire	Harebell	Campanula rotundifolia	Native	Harebell
Dunbartonshire	Lesser Water-plantain	Baldellia ranunculoides	Native	Water-plantain
County Durham	Spring Gentian	Gentiana verna	Native	Spring gentian
East Lothian	Viper's-bugloss	Echium vulgare	Native	Viper's-bugloss
Essex	Common Poppy	Papaver rhoeas	Native	Poppy
Fermanagh	Globeflower	Trollius europaeus	Native	Globeflower
Fife	Coralroot Orchid	Corallorrhiza trifida	Native	Coralroot orchid
Flintshire	Bell Heather	Erica cinerea	Native	Bell heather
Glamorgan	Yellow Whitlowgrass	Draba aizoides	Native	Yellow whitlowgrass
Gloucestershire	Wild Daffodil	Narcissus pseudonarcissus	Native	Wild daffodil
Hampshire	Dog-rose	Rosa canina	Native	Dog-rose
Herefordshire	Mistletoe	Viscum album	Native	Mistletoe
Hertfordshire	Pasqueflower	Pulsatilla vulgaris	Native	Pasqueflower
Huntingdonshire	Water-violet	Hottonia palustris	Native	Water-violet
Inverness-shire	Twinflower	Linnaea borealis	Native	Twinflower
Kent	Hop	Humulus lupulus	Native	Hop
Kincardineshire	Clustered bellflower	Campanula glomerata	Native	Viper's bugloss
Kinross-shire	Holy-grass	Hierochloe odorata	Native	Holy-grass
Kirkcudbrightshire	Bog-rosemary	Andromeda polifolia	Native	Bog-rosemary
Lanarkshire	Dune Helleborine	Epipactis leptochila	Native	Dune helleborine
Lancashire	Red rose	Rosa gallica officinalis	Absent	Red rose
Leicestershire	Foxglove	Digitalis purpurea	Native	Foxglove
Lincolnshire	Common Dog-violet	Viola riviniana	Native	Dog violet
County Londonderry	Purple Saxifrage	Saxifraga oppositifolia	Native	Purple saxifrage
Merionethshire	Welsh Poppy	Meconopsis cambrica	Native	Welsh poppy
Middlesex	Wood Anemone	Anemone nemorosa	Native	Wood anemone
Midlothian	Sticky Catchfly	Lychnis viscaria	Native	Sticky catchfly
Monmouthshire	Foxglove	Digitalis purpurea	Native	Foxglove
Montgomeryshire	Spiked Speedwell	Veronica spicata	Native	Spiked speedwell
Morayshire	One-flowered Wintergreen	Moneses uniflora	Native	One-flowered wintergreen
Nairnshire	Chickweed Wintergreen	Trientalis europaea	Native	Chickweed wintergreen
Norfolk	Common Poppy	Papaver rhoeas	Native	Poppy
Northamptonshire	Cowslip	Primula veris	Native	Cowslip
Northumberland	Bloody Crane's-bill	Geranium sanguineum	Native	Bloody crane's-bill
Nottinghamshire	Autumn Crocus	Crocus nudiflorus	Archaeophyte	Autumn crocus
Orkney	Alpine Bearberry	Arctostaphylos alpina	Native	Alpine bearberry
Oxfordshire	Snake's-head Fritillary	Fritillaria meleagris	Native	Snake's-head fritillary
Peeblesshire	Cloudberry	Rubus chamaemorus	Native	Cloudberry
Pembrokeshire	Thrift	Armeria maritima	Native	Thrift
Perthshire	Alpine Gentian	Gentiana nivalis	Native	Alpine gentian
Radnorshire	Radnor Lily	Gagea bohemica	Native	Radnor lily
Renfrewshire	Bogbean	Menyanthes trifoliata	Native	Bogbean
Ross-shire	Bog Asphodel	Narthecium ossifragum	Native	Bog asphodel
Roxburghshire	Maiden Pink	Dianthus deltoides	Native	Maiden pink
Rutland	Clustered Bellflower	Campanula glomerata	Native	Clustered bellflower
Selkirkshire	Mountain Pansy	Viola lutea	Native	Mountain pansy
Shetland	Shetland Mouse-ear	Cerastium nigrescens	Native	Shetland mouse-ear
Shropshire	Round-leaved Sundew	Drosera rotundifolia	Native	Round-leaved sundew
Somerset	Cheddar Pink	Dianthus gratianopolitanus	Native	Cheddar pink
Staffordshire	Heather	Calluna vulgaris	Native	Heather
Stirlingshire	Scottish Dock	Rumex aquaticus	Native	Scottish dock
Suffolk	Oxlip	Primula elatior	Native	Oxlip
Surrey	Cowslip	Primula veris	Native	Cowslip
Sussex	Round-headed Rampion	Phyteuma orbiculare	Native	Round-headed rampion
Sutherland	Grass-of-Parnassus	Parnassia palustris	Native	Grass-of-Parnassus
Tyrone	Bog-rosemary	Andromeda polifolia	Native	Bog-rosemary
Warwickshire	Honeysuckle	Lonicera periclymenum	Native	Honeysuckle
West Lothian	Common Spotted-orchid	Dactylorhiza fuchsii	Native	Common spotted-orchid
Westmorland	Alpine Forget-me-not	Myosotis alpestris	Native	Alpine forget-me-not
Wigtownshire	Yellow Iris	Iris pseudacorus	Native	Yellow iris
Wiltshire	Burnt Orchid	Neotinea ustulata	Native	Burnt orchid
Worcestershire	Cowslip	Primula veris	Native	Cowslip
Yorkshire	Harebell	Campanula rotundifolia	Native	Harebell

Other flowers

In addition to county flowers, Plantlife determined some city and island flowers. The island flowers are:

Fuchsia	Hebridean spotted-orchid	Thrift	Pyramidal Orchid
Isle of Man Crown dependency	Outer Hebrides Inverness-shire and Ross-shire	Isles of Scilly Cornwall	Isle of Wight Hampshire
Fuchsia Fuchsia magellanica	Hebridean Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii hebridensis	Thrift Armeria maritima	Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis

Outside links

• PlantLife charity
• County flowers page

References

Books

• The list of county flowers above is taken from the county flowers page at Plantlife's website [1].
• County statuses are taken from:
  • Stace, C. A., R. G. Ellis, D. H. Kent and D. J. McCosh (2003) Vice-county Census Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Great Britain Botanical Society of the British Isles