Mapping flora in your area

[Ceph]

I was thinking about the types of pollen you have in your area and podered if there is anywhere o the web that shows the predominant flora in your area?

I have looked at google map with 3 mile radius around my apiary but of course its a bit difficult as google maps view only shows the greenery.

I live near woods so that should be easy for the main flow, any ideas?

Other than that its have a walk around and try and spot whats in flower but its a big area to cover in an urban area.

Thanks

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I doubt that there's much on the web unless you live in an area of special interest (South Downs etc) where various groups may have mapped the local flora.
I find it really interesting to walk the lanes around my area noting what's in flower but I have no idea whether my bees are visiting any of them unless they are in really big patches (gorse, knapweed, bramble etc).

 

[Winker]

I had a drive around my local area the other day on my motorbike, nice and slow to see what was about in the fields. I was shocked to see that i had so many horse fields around my house and the rest was all cereal crop... Its not looking to good for me as a new beekeeper.

I live in the countryside too, but this year I cant see any OSR within a few miles of house. Me thinks it has to be a conspiracy

 

[victor meldrew]

Trouble with google maps (satellite view) is that it's a snap shot in time !
No help at all really , annuals like balsam wouldn't be displayed unless in full growth/flower, at the time of the mapping .

John Wilkinson

 

[RoofTops]

All the flora in the UK has been mapped but I believe the published data is in 10 km grid squares - as with most distribution records for birds, mammals etc.

One way to find out what flowers of use to bees are in your area would be to sample the pollen they bring back. This won't record flowers they don't collect pollen from I suppose but I don't think there are many of those apart from perhaps lime.

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

Mapping flora in your area


But why, pray, would I want to specify where around here you can find margarine?

 

[richardbees]

About 18 years ago somebody at Swansea University did a (free) analysis of honey samples through bbka to determine the nectar source by pollen identification, I've lost the result but maybe you could contact them to find out who it was?
In my case the principal sources were blackberry, cherry (street trees) and ivy.

ps

diplomat...get your coat!

 

[Gardenbees]

There are several ways of finding out about the flora of your area:

1. Find a Flora of the county, i.e. a published flora which shows a mapped distribution of plants in the area;

2. Ask your local environmental records centre. There's usually one in every county/administrative area. Yours is probably GIGL (they have a basic, online species finder here: http://www.gigl.org.uk/WIMBY/tabid/57/Default.aspx);

3. Have a look on the National Biodiversity Network: http://data.nbn.org.uk/

4. Have a look on the Botanical Society for the British Isles' website, where they have an atlas of UK plant distribution: http://www.bsbimaps.org.uk/mstetrads/main.php - this will only work for individual species on a tetrad (2km square) basis, but might still be of interest;

5. Use the Natural History Museum's Postcode Plants Database: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/postcode-plants/

None of these is really comprehensive because they all rely on whichever records have been sent in; some will be duplicated (e.g. some of the GIGL records will also probably have been sent to the BSBI and the NBN). However, it should give you an idea, and all the above links will help to check whether certain individual species are prevalent in your area.

Ultimately I guess the best clue to what your bees are finding is simply to have a wander round and look at what seems to be most plentiful. It might be a broad mixture of garden species (quite likely in London) or one or two seasonal favourites - like a row of lime trees or a big bramble patch.
Happy botanising!