2023 County Report for South Somerset
Stephen J Parker and Simon Leach
Approximately 10,000 records collected in 2023. This is significantly lower than in previous years. However not all the records have been entered on to Mapmate / BSBI database.
Recording concentrated on under recorded monads in the south west of VC5 and the boundary with VC3 and VC5.
On the Quantock Hills meetings were arranged to rerecord uncommon species not recently recorded.
BSBI recorders continued to encourage beginners and less experienced botanists to record in their local area and submit their records to the VC Recorder.
Help was provided in the training of Somerset Wildlife Trust volunteers for their Wilder Churches Project, surveying churchyards, including advice on churchyard management for wildlife.
Tarining was given in identification of trees in winter time.
Our botanical records were used by the Somerset Wildlife Trust report on “the State of Nature in Somerset”.
SJP and other local botanists organised and lead meetings for the Wild Flower Society on the Somerset coast.
In October the Somerset Rare Plants Group organised a conference to reflect on recording in Somerset over the past 25 years. Talks were given on a range of botanical topics relating to plant recording in the county of Somerset.
