Resources
A Wiltshire Axiophyte List
An axiophyte list is a collection of worthy plants, neither so common as to be ubiquitous nor so rare as to be uncommonly met, with each species largely restricted to a single named habitat. Counting the number of axiophyte species found within a site gives a good indication of both the habitats present and the conservation value of the site.
As habitats vary across the British Isles, each county has a separate list. Ours has 292 species divided between Ancient Woodland, Aquatic, Arable, Chalk, Fen, Heath, and Neutral Meadow habitats. It has been suggested that finding 50 axiophytes in a site is an indication of SSSI quality.
The concept was originated and promoted by the BSBI; more information is available about the scheme at
Axiophytes - BSBI Website.
The Wiltshire list can be downloaded
here. It is also available to registered users on the BSBI database (the DDb), where it can be used as a checklist in queries.
Good Plants: the hunt's on to record seasonal species!
Since 2021, as part of the ongoing recording of the plants of Wiltshire, the WBS has targeted recording of certain species which historically have been under- recorded.
Download our latest list of Good Plants below - how many can you find? You can also download past lists from the archive.
Recording cards and a spreadsheet are available on the
Recording page. If you only have a few records you can just list them in an email to
Richard Aisbitt. Happy hunting!
Small-flowered crane's-bills Guide
We have written a guide to the small-flowered geraniums/crane's-bills, our most comprehensive and detailed descriptions of a group of plants so far. These plants can be confusing as there can be quite a lot of plasticity, and this user-friendly guide should be helpful to all those venturing out this spring. The guide is designed to be printed and taken out into the field.
As always, please send in records for these species, for other interesting plants, or for any surveys that you make.
Elm key
Elms (Ulmus) are widely acknowledged to be difficult to identify and Wiltshire suffers from its fair share of confusion about these idiosyncratic trees. Brian Eversham has put together and excellent and informative key to the genus and has very kindly allowed us to make it available to WBS members. You can download it by clicking here.
There is also a very comprehensive album of elm images, photos, with a short introductory essay
here.
