KILDARE WILDLIFE WATCH: Look out for Spring wild flowers in your area

While there are some wild evergreen plants that can produce flowers all year long now that the days are getting longer those plants that hibernated for the darker colder winter months are beginning to emerge from their winter retreat.

The first signs of this are the plants bright green leaves that emerge above the surface.

Leaves contain chlorophyll an essential ingredient in the plants ability to make its own food, a process known as photosynthesis. The leaves photosynthesis so that the plant can make enough energy to produce a flower and this week I came across the first evidence of a spring flower.

Although it was not in full bloom it was almost there, Ireland’s native lesser celandine (Grán arcáin as Gaeilge). This spring flower maybe familiar to you as I have written about this wildflower before.

It is a hairless plant, the leaves are heart shaped glossy and dark green.

The flowers are bright yellow, star shaped and open on bright days but will also close on duller days. You should watch for it growing in your community along hedgerows, in woodlands and under trees in your local park.

Did you know that Ireland has a spring flower project jointly managed by the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) and the National Biodiversity Data Centre?

This survey is another example of a citizen scientist initiative. As it is still quite cold outside we don’t spend as much time outside as we would during the summer. This project was started to encourage us all to record our observations of these early flowering species that can be otherwise lacking in data. Understanding the populations of these early spring flowers can support in setting in place conservation measures to help protect them.

If you would like to get involved in the spring flower project spotter sheet are available at https://biodiversityireland.ie/sprin
g-flowers-project.

You should not expect to find all the different spring flowers in your community as some like open spaces while other more shady.

I encourage you to get involved and start looking this week for Ireland’s spring flower and see how many you can observe this season.