County flowers of the United Kingdom

In 2002 Plantlife conducted a "County Flowers" public survey to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.^[1] The results of this campaign designated a single plant species to a "county or metropolitan area" in the UK and Isle of Man.^[2] Some English counties already had flowers traditionally associated with them before 2002,^[3] and which were different from those assigned to them by Plantlife, including the white rose for Yorkshire (assigned the harebell), the poppy for Norfolk (assigned the Alexanders), and the cowslip for Essex (assigned the poppy). Some flowers were assigned to multiple counties.

England

County	Common name	Scientific name	County status	Shared
Bedfordshire	bee orchid^[4]	Ophrys apifera	native
Berkshire	summer snowflake^[5]	Leucojum aestivum	native
Bristol	Maltese-cross^[6]	Silene chalcedonica	casual
Buckinghamshire	Chiltern gentian^[7]	Gentianella germanica	native
Cambridgeshire	pasqueflower^[8]^[9]	Pulsatilla vulgaris	native	Hertfordshire
Cheshire	cuckooflower^[10]	Cardamine pratensis	native	Brecknockshire
Cornwall	Cornish heath^[11]	Erica vagans	native
County Durham	spring gentian^[12]	Gentiana verna	native
Cumberland	grass-of-Parnassus^[13]	Parnassia palustris	native	Sutherland
Derbyshire	Jacob's-ladder^[14]	Polemonium caeruleum	native
Devon	primrose^[15]	Primula vulgaris	native
Dorset	Dorset heath^[16]	Erica ciliaris	native
Essex	common poppy^[17]	Papaver rhoeas	native	Norfolk
Gloucestershire	wild daffodil^[18]	Narcissus pseudonarcissus	native
Greater Manchester	common cotton-grass^[19]	Eriophorum angustifolium	native
Hampshire	dog-rose^[20]	Rosa canina	native
Herefordshire	mistletoe^[21]	Viscum album	native
Hertfordshire	pasqueflower^[8]^[9]	Pulsatilla vulgaris	native	Cambridgeshire
Huntingdonshire	water-violet^[22]	Hottonia palustris	native
Isle of Wight	pyramidal orchid^[23]	Anacamptis pyramidalis	native
Isles of Scilly	thrift^[24]	Armeria maritima	native	Bute & Pembrokeshire
Kent	hop^[25]	Humulus lupulus	native
Lancashire	red rose^[26]	Rosa gallica officinalis	absent
Leeds	bilberry^[27]	Vaccinium myrtillus	native
Leicestershire	foxglove^[28]	Digitalis purpurea	native	Argyll, Monmouthshire & West Midlands
Lincolnshire	common dog-violet^[29]	Viola riviniana	native
London	rosebay willowherb^[30]	Epilobium angustifolium	native
Merseyside	sea-holly^[31]	Eryngium maritimum	native
Middlesex	wood anemone^[32]	Anemone nemorosa	native
Norfolk	common poppy^[17]^[a]	Papaver rhoeas	native	Essex
Northamptonshire	cowslip^[35]	Primula veris	native	Surrey & Worcestershire
Northumberland	bloody crane's-bill^[36]	Geranium sanguineum	native
Nottingham	Nottingham catchfly^[37]	Silene nutans	native
Nottinghamshire	autumn crocus^[38]	Crocus nudiflorus	archaeophyte
Oxfordshire	snake's-head fritillary^[39]	Fritillaria meleagris	native
Rutland	clustered bellflower^[40]	Campanula glomerata	native
Sheffield	wood crane's-bill^[41]	Geranium sylvaticum	native
Shropshire	round-leaved sundew^[42]	Drosera rotundifolia	native
Somerset	Cheddar pink^[43]	Dianthus gratianopolitanus	native
Staffordshire	heather^[44]	Calluna vulgaris	native
Suffolk	oxlip^[45]	Primula elatior	native
Surrey	cowslip^[35]	Primula veris	native	Northamptonshire & Worcestershire
Sussex	round-headed rampion^[46]	Phyteuma orbiculare	native
Tyne and Wear	monkeyflower^[47]	Mimulus guttatus	neophyte
Warwickshire	honeysuckle^[48]	Lonicera periclymenum	native
West Midlands	foxglove^[28]	Digitalis purpurea	native	Argyll, Leicestershire & Monmouthshire
Westmorland	alpine forget-me-not^[49]	Myosotis alpestris	native
Wiltshire	burnt-tip orchid^[50]	Neotinea ustulata	native
Worcestershire	cowslip^[35]	Primula veris	native	Northamptonshire & Surrey
Yorkshire	harebell^[51]	Campanula rotundifolia	native	Antrim & Dumfriesshire

Isle of Man

County	Image	Common name	Scientific name	County status	Shared
Isle of Man^[b]		fuchsia^[53]	Fuchsia magellanica	neophyte

Northern Ireland

County	Common name	Scientific name	County status	Shared
Antrim	harebell^[51]	Campanula rotundifolia	native	Dumfriesshire & Yorkshire
Armagh	cowbane^[54]	Cicuta virosa	native
Belfast	gorse^[55]	Ulex europaeus	native
Londonderry	purple saxifrage^[56]	Saxifraga oppositifolia	native
Down	spring squill^[57]	Scilla verna	native
Fermanagh	globeflower^[58]	Trollius europaeus	native
Tyrone	bog-rosemary^[59]	Andromeda polifolia	native	Ceredigion & Kirkcudbright

Scotland

County	Common name	Scientific name	County status	Shared
Aberdeenshire	bearberry^[60]	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi	native
Angus	Alpine catchfly^[61]	Silene suecica	native
Argyll	foxglove^[28]	Digitalis purpurea	native	Leicestershire, Monmouthshire & West Midlands
Ayrshire	green-winged orchid^[62]	Anacamptis morio	native
Banffshire	dark-red helleborine^[63]	Epipactis atrorubens	native
Berwickshire	rock-rose^[64]	Helianthemum nummularium	native
Bute	thrift^[24]	Armeria maritima	native	Isles of Scilly & Pembrokeshire
Caithness	Scottish primrose^[65]	Primula scotica	native
Clackmannanshire	opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage^[66]	Chrysosplenium oppositifolium	native
Cromarty	spring cinquefoil^[67]	Potentilla neumanniana	native
Dumfriesshire	harebell^[51]	Campanula rotundifolia	native	Antrim & Yorkshire
Dunbartonshire	lesser water-plantain^[68]	Baldellia ranunculoides	native
East Lothian	viper's-bugloss^[69]	Echium vulgare	native
Fife	coralroot orchid^[70]	Corallorrhiza trifida	native
Glasgow	broom^[71]	Cytisus scoparius	native
Inverness-shire	twinflower^[72]	Linnaea borealis	native
Kinross	holy-grass^[73]	Hierochloe odorata	native
Kirkcudbright	bog-rosemary^[59]	Andromeda polifolia	native	Ceredigion & Tyrone
Lanarkshire	dune helleborine^[74]	Epipactis leptochila	native
Midlothian	sticky catchfly^[75]	Silene viscaria	native
Moray	one-flowered wintergreen^[76]	Moneses uniflora	native
Nairn	chickweed wintergreen^[77]	Trientalis europaea	native
Orkney	Alpine bearberry^[78]	Arctostaphylos alpina	native
Peeblesshire	cloudberry^[79]	Rubus chamaemorus	native
Perthshire	Alpine gentian^[80]	Gentiana nivalis	native
Renfrewshire	bogbean^[81]	Menyanthes trifoliata	native
Ross	bog asphodel^[82]	Narthecium ossifragum	native
Roxburghshire	maiden pink^[83]	Dianthus deltoides	native
Selkirkshire	mountain pansy^[84]	Viola lutea	native
Shetland	Shetland mouse-ear^[85]	Cerastium nigrescens	native
Stirlingshire	Scottish dock^[86]	Rumex aquaticus	native
Sutherland	grass-of-Parnassus^[13]	Parnassia palustris	native	Cumbria
West Lothian	common spotted-orchid^[87]	Dactylorhiza fuchsii	native
Western Isles	Hebridean spotted-orchid^[88]	Dactylorhiza fuchsii subsp. hebridensis	native
Wigtownshire	yellow iris^[89]	Iris pseudacorus	native

Wales

County	Common name	Scientific name	County status	Shared
Anglesey	spotted rock-rose^[90]	Tuberaria guttata	native
Brecknockshire	cuckooflower^[10]	Cardamine pratensis	native	Cheshire
Caernarfonshire	Snowdon lily^[91]	Gagea serotina, syn. Lloydia serotina	native
Cardiff	wild leek^[92]	Allium ampeloprasum	native
Carmarthenshire	whorled caraway^[93]	Carum verticillatum	native
Ceredigion	bog-rosemary^[59]	Andromeda polifolia	native	Kirkcudbright & Tyrone
Denbighshire	limestone woundwort^[94]	Stachys alpina	native
Flintshire	bell heather^[95]	Erica cinerea	native
Glamorgan	yellow whitlow-grass^[96]	Draba aizoides	native
Merioneth	Welsh poppy^[97]	Papaver cambricum	native
Monmouthshire	foxglove^[28]	Digitalis purpurea	native	Argyll, Leicestershire & West Midlands
Montgomeryshire	spiked speedwell^[98]	Veronica spicata	native
Pembrokeshire	thrift^[24]	Armeria maritima	native	Bute & Isles of Scilly
Radnorshire	Radnor lily^[99]	Gagea bohemica	native

Notes

References

Bibliography

The list of county flowers above is taken from the county flowers pages at Plantlife's website.
County statuses are taken from:
- Stace, C. A., R. G. Ellis, D. H. Kent and D. J. McCosh (2003) Vice-county Census Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Great Britain Botanical Society of the British Isles (for British counties)
- Source to be determined for Northern Ireland

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