2022 County Report for South Somerset

Stephen J Parker and Simon J Leach

With considerable help from Somerset Rare Plants Groups, Somerset Botany Group, BSBI members and other local botanists recording in South Somerset it was very productive in 2022 with over 26000 records added to BSBI database via Mapmate in 2022.

Records of new and interesting plants are reported every year in the Somerset Rare Plants Group Newsletter, this is compiled by Dr Helena Crouch and published in the Somerset Rare Plants Group Newsletter. This includes the ongoing studies by local botanists on critical taxa including Taraxacum and Dryopteris and other groups.

Thirty new species were recorded for VC5 Somerset, these included Notobasis syriaca (Syrian Thistle) a modern 'first' for GB. Two new species of Chenopods (C. bushianum and C. strictum).

The Somerset/SANHS Herbarium, with more than 1000 specimens added since we started work on it back in 2016/17

A key objective of the year was to encourage new recorders in Somerset. During the year five short training courses were run in different habitats for new and improving botanists in recording and plant identification in the field.

Over the year there were three presentations to Somerset conservation groups on the work of the Somerset Rare Plants Group and the BSBI.

Training in aquatic plant identification was given to 20 members of the Wessex Team of Natural England to help with condition assessments on the Somerset Levels SSSIs and botanical surveys of new Natural England land were carried out and the results sent to the local NNR manager.