There are around 4,100 species and hybrids growing in Britain, of which about 40% have been introduced from other countries, with approx 1,600 recorded in Lancashire. However, up to 60% of these have only been recorded on a few occasions, hence around 1,000 species could be found if someone made the effort to explore the county.

Lancashire’s wildflowers include the flowering plants that often have brightly coloured and showy petals but also those without petals such as grasses, sedges and rushes. Trees and shrubs are also flowering plants but these are dealt with separately.

Plants may be categorized in several ways including the families to which they belong, the colours or shapes of the petals, their height, the habitats in which they are found and whether they are annual, biennial or perennial.

Some families of plants are well known such as the Roses, Pea (Legumes), Cabbage (Brassicas) and Willowherbs.

A few wildflower identification books organise the plants in terms of the flower colours, which can be useful when someone is starting to learn to identify them. A few examples of some of the showy wildflowers include:

Excluding trees and shrubs, some of the tallest plants to be found are giant hogweed (I) that can grow up to 5.5m, common reed (3.5m), great willowherb (1.8m), pendulous sedge (1.8m), rosebay willowherb (1.5m) and purple loosestrife (1.5m).

In contrast many plants are tiny, being a few centimetres or less and you really need to be on your hands and knees to see them!

Examples include pearlworts, early hair-grass, spring vetch and bird’s-foot. Most plants lie somewhere in between the above examples.

Whilst some plants grow in a range of different habitats, many are typically found in certain habitats and some can be regarded as indicator species of certain habitat types, such as:

Plants that are annual germinate, flower and produce the seeds all in one year and include such species as annual meadow-grass and yellow rattle.

Plants that are biennial germinate and grow in the first year and then flower and produce seeds in the second year and include foxglove, hedge garlic and teasel.

Plants that are perennial live for several or many years and include rock rose.

For more information about wildflowers in general see:

Plantlife - www.plantlife.org.uk
BSBI - www.bsbi.org.uk
Wildflower Society - www.thewildflowersociety.com

Reference books include:
Stace, C (1997) New Flora of the British Isles 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521589355

Identification guides include:
Rose, F (2006) The Wildflower Key (revised edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britian and Ireland. Frederick Warne. ISBN: 0723251754