Wild Thing

The rate of decline in nature during the past 50 years is unprecedented, according to the most recent global assessment on biodiversity. Planting wildflowers helps, but as Noeleen Smyth of the National Botanic Gardens explains, we need to plant the right type of wildflowers. 

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is defined as the diversity of all living things, and it is under severe threat. 

The number of plants, insects, animals and birds that are threatened or in danger of extinction grows every year. In Ireland, our President Michael D. Higgins has highlighted that “if we were miners, we would be up to our necks in dead canaries”. 

The plight of our native species is forlorn, with one in five species estimated to be at risk of extinction. Extinction risk is even higher in some groups, including our pollinators, with one third of all Irish bees and 18 per cent of Irish butterflies currently at risk of extinction. This could have a direct impact on humanity, as 75 per cent of the world’s human food crops are animal pollinated, a service that is worth millions to the Irish economy each year.

One of the most successful programmes to date is helping to raise awareness and promote positive action to reverse pollinator decline. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan aims to engage everyone to come together to create and support an Ireland where the pollinators and all the bees and butterflies can survive and thrive. 

With everyone wanting to do their bit for the bees, another issue has arisen - the demand for ‘wildflowers’ to support the bees has increased dramatically. We have all seen enticing colourful packets of ‘wildflower’ seed, believing that sowing them will help. It won’t. It may even cause more damage.

The majority of wildflower seed for sale in Ireland today are not native Irish wild seed. Most of us buying these packets are assuming we are buying Irish wildflowers. But many of the packets we have investigated are full of species which could impact and pollute the last remaining bits of our native wildflower biodiversity if planted outside the garden. Many of these generally, summer-flowering species do little to support the bees and butterflies early and late in the year. This is when they are most in need of a good feed to start them off and before they rest for the winter. 

We risk a lot if we plant exotic packets of wildflowers into our natural and semi natural places, and it is unfortunate that we are being misled by claims on some packets. 

So what can you do to play your part in supporting bees, wildflowers and biodiversity?

Planting wildflower meadows is a great idea but you need to do it right. You really need to source genuine Irish wildflower, field and meadow seed. This can be difficult now, as there are just one or two suppliers overall on the island of Ireland. We need more suppliers preferably at the regional level with seed mixes to suit different local environmental conditions. 

There is an easier way to naturally encourage a more diverse wildlflower patch. With existing lawns and wild grass areas, all you need to sow is just one species of Irish seed called yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor). This is a hemiparasite that taps into grass roots for nourishment. Yellow rattle is also known as ‘nature’s lawnmower’ and is an invaluable species to have. It supresses the growth of vigorous grasses, giving wildflowers a chance to establish. With the help of yellow rattle, native wildflower meadows can naturally form within five to seven years. 

We need to be aware that many packets and boxes of wildflowers are sourced from the larger seed supply companies from seed abroad. These wildflower seeds should only be planted in gardens, as they are annual half hardy and hardy flowers and not wildflowers in reality and definitely not Irish wildflowers. 

The vision and pictures on the mixed packets often do not exist anywhere in the wild and nor do they contain any native Irish wildflowers. Nor are they sourced in Ireland. Planting these anywhere outside a garden setting has the potential to impact negatively on the local biodiversity through pollution of the seed bank and the introduction of a possible future invasive alien species. Thus, we may be unwittingly selling and introducing ‘wildfoulers’ into the Irish landscape instead of wildflowers. 

 A quick check through the species list on the packet is a good way to make an informed decision. Some of the key exotic species are highlighted as either not native or occur so infrequently in Ireland that they could not be sourced here commercially (see the list of top 10 to avoid). If you want to sow or buy native and Irish wildflowers be on the lookout and don’t sow, buy or plant packets with these species and especially do not plant or sow into natural and semi natural habitats. 

Irish wildflower meadows have decreased by a shocking percentage as farming practices change and some of the remnants of these old Irish wildflower hay meadows are found on our roadside verges. So let’s all do our bit to protect what we have left outside the garden. This will help not only our beleaguered pollinators but all our biodiversity. 

For more information visit pollinators.ie

Additional contributions by Maria Long, grassland ecologist, National Parks and Wildlife Service; Jane Stout, Professor of Botany, Trinity College Dublin and All Ireland Pollinator Plan; Una Fitzpatrick, All Ireland Pollinator Plan and National Biodiversity Data Centre.  

10 Wildflowers to Avoid

1. Cornlcockle (Agrostemma githago) Once a weed of wheat fields in Ireland, it is not now considered a native Irish species.

2. Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) There are very few native populations of this species in Ireland. Just one or two fields are known in the west. Pink colours are definitely not native.

3. Corn Marigold (Chrysanthemum segetum) Another old weed of corn fields. Very few native populations exist in Ireland.

4. Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) A cottage garden plant and European native, but not Irish.

5. Dame’s Violet (Hesperis matronalis) A cottage garden plant and European native, but not Irish. 

6. Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus) A cottage garden plant and European native, but not Irish. 

7. Borage (Borago officinalis) Native to the Mediterranean.

8. Scarlet flax (Linum grandiflorum) Native to Algeria and southern Europe.

9. Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus & Cosmus sulphureus) Mexican and American species.

10. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) Originated in southern Europe, no true wild populations currently known.