“Wildflower or Wildfouler”, How the Industry Can Support the Bees and Biodiversity

Noeleen Smyth, National Botanic Gardens in conjunction with Maria Long, Grassland Ecologist National Parks & Wildlife Service; Jane Stout, Professor of Botany, Trinity College Dublin & All Ireland Pollinator Plan & Una Fitzpatrick, All Ireland Pollinator Plan & National Biodiversity Data Centre

Biodiversity in Trouble

The most recent global assessment on biodiversity in 2019 highlighted that the rate of decline in nature during the past 50 years is unprecedented. Biodiversity or biological diversity, is defined as the diversity of all living things, and it is under severe threat. The
number of plants, insects, animals and birds that are threatened or in danger of extinction grows every year. In Ireland, our President Michael D. Higgins highlighted to the first National Biodiversity Conference in 2019 that, “if we were miners, we would be up to our
necks in dead canaries”.

Our health and well-being are reliant on nature and its services, which we receive in the form of air, food, water, medicines, as well as landscapes for recreation, and protection against natural hazards. Our very existence depends on this natural capital provided for us
from the natural world – our natural assets, which include geology, soil, air, water and all our biodiversity (World Forum on Natural Capital 2020), but we have not invested sufficiently in them. The global biodiversity assessment report of 2019 listed the top five
drivers of the negative change in biodiversity: land and sea use change; direct exploitation of organisms; climate change; pollution; and invasion of alien species. Ireland responded to this and declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency in 2019.

The plight of our native species is forlorn, with one in five species estimated to be at risk of extinction. Extinction risk is higher in some groups, including our pollinators, with 33% of all Irish bees and 18% of Irish butterflies currently at risk of extinction. This could have direct impacts on humanity, 75% of the world’s human food crops are animal pollinated, a service that is worth millions to the Irish economy each year (Bullock et al. 2008 The Economic and Social Aspects of Biodiversity – Benefits and Costs of Biodiversity in Ireland)

One of the most successful national biodiversity programmes to date is helping to raise awareness and promote positive action to reverse pollinator decline. This programme is known as the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan (https://pollinators.ie). The aim of this plan is to engage farmers, local authorities, schools, gardeners and businesses to come together to create and support an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive. The public and consumers have heard this message loud and clear, everyone wants to ‘do their bit for the bees’ so that the demand for “Wildflowers” to support the bees has increased dramatically and the demand for products has resulted in lifestyle stores, which didn’t stock seeds or plants in the past, now filled with enticing, colourful packets of “Wildflower” seed.

Most people buying these ‘Wildflower’ seed packets assume they are buying Irish wildflowers, however, the majority of wildflower seed for sale in Ireland today is not native seed. Most of the packets we have investigated, which declare themselves as good for the bees, and selling as traditional meadow flowers, field flowers, with names such as “biodiversity mix”, are filled with species that could impact and pollute the last remaining bits of our native biodiversity and semi-natural grasslands. These generally, summer flowering species will do little to support the bees, who really just need more of our humble
spring flowers, such as dandelion, when they are most in need of a good feed to start them off for the year.

Some well-meaning groups are busy clearing natural areas and road verges and planting seeds of unknown origins, and mixes that have never existed “in the wild” here, and which will do little to support our bees or biodiversity. One of our big-earner industries in
Ireland is overseas tourism, estimated to be worth €6 billion to our economy, which hopefully will return post-pandemic. Our unspoilt environment was cited by 86 % of visitors as a reason for visiting (Bullock et al. 2008 The Economic and Social Aspects of Biodiversity
– Benefits and Costs of Biodiversity in Ireland) https://www.cbd.int/doc/casestudies/inc/cs-inc-ireland-en.pdf). We risk much by planting these unknown mixes into our natural and semi-natural places, and it is unfortunate that well-meaning groups and individuals are being misled by claims on the packaging of these seeds.

COMMON NAME Calendula LATIN NAME Calendula officinalis INFORMATION Originated in Southern Europe, no true wild populations are currently known.

So How Can the Horticultural Industry Play its Part in Supporting Bees, Wildflowers and Biodiversity?

There is a lot of demand for wildflower seeds from local authorities, school gardens, local community groups and landscapers who are asked to or who want to plant wildflower meadows. The seeds however need to be sourced from genuine Irish wildflower, field and meadow seed. This presents a difficulty as currently there are just one or two suppliers on the whole Island of Ireland! More suppliers of genuine native Irish seed are needed, preferably at the regional level, supplying seed mixes to suit different local environmental conditions. There are potential opportunities to support farmers regionally who have meadows rich in native wildflowers to set up and sell the ‘real deal’ to the industry, with
both quality and amenity fulfilling species mixes.

There is an easier way to naturally encourage a more diverse meadow, with minimal seed application. Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) is a hemiparasite that taps into grassroots for nourishment and is also known as ‘nature’s lawnmower’, this is an invaluable species to have in meadows. If seeds of yellow rattle are sown, the plants will suppress growth of vigorous grasses, giving other wildflowers a chance to establish. With the help of yellow rattle, native wildflower meadows can form naturally in 5-7 years. Check out some of the very useful and informative videos available on https://pollinators.ie/videos. There is a need for more suppliers of genuinely native yellow rattle seed. There is also a need to
explore regional donor sites, where seed could be harvested from remaining species-rich natural meadows and made available for local larger-scale restoration projects.

Nurseries and garden centres dealing with the public need to highlight that the packets of “Wildflowers” they sell are sourced from the larger seed supply companies. These seeds should only be planted in gardens, as they are annual half-hardy and hardy “flowers” and not Irish Wildflowers or wildflowers in reality. The images on the mixed packets do not exist anywhere in the wild and do not contain any native Irish wildflowers, nor are they sourced in Ireland. Planting these anywhere outside a garden setting has the potential to impact negatively on local biodiversity through pollution of the seed bank and the introduction of possible future invasive alien species. Thus, we may be unwittingly selling and introducing “Wildfoulers” into the Irish landscape instead of “Wildflowers”.

If you are a garden centre owner, landscaper or gardener, look at the species mixes you are selling, sowing or being sold in these “Wildflower” packets and mixes. A quick check through the species list on the packet is a good way to make an informed decision. Some
of the key exotic species are highlighted as either not native or occur so infrequently in Ireland that they could not be sourced here commercially – the top 10 to watch out for as exotics are highlighted here. If you want to sell, buy or sow native and Irish wildflowers don’t sell, buy or sow packets with these species and specifically do not sow or plant them in natural and semi-natural habitats.

Irish wildflower meadows have decreased by 97% and some of the remnants are found on our roadside verges. Let’s protect what we have left, and build support for an Irish wildflower industry which will help to save and restore our true biodiversity. If properly
done, this would sustainably reintroduce the beautiful native Irish grassland meadows and verges that have been decimated over the last decades. This will help, not only our beleaguered pollinators but all biodiversity. ✽

NOELEEN SMYTH is a botanist and horticulturist. She holds a PhD and Hons Degree in Botany from Trinity College Dublin and Diplomas in horticulture from Teagasc and the RHS. She is currently a Biodiversity and Conservation specialist working at the National Botanic Gardens (OPW). As part of her current role, she acts as the CITES Scientific Authority for Ireland advising the government on rare plant imports.