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. The results of this campaign designated a single plant species to a "county or metropolitan area" in the UK and Isle of Man. Some English counties already had flowers traditionally associated with them before 2002, 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 Image Common name Scientific name County status Shared Bedfordshire bee orchid Ophrys apifera native Berkshire summer snowflake Leucojum aestivum native Bristol Maltese-cross Silene chalcedonica casual Buckinghamshire Chiltern gentian Gentianella germanica native Cambridgeshire pasqueflower Pulsatilla vulgaris native Hertfordshire Cheshire cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis native Brecknockshire Cornwall Cornish heath Erica vagans native County Durham spring gentian Gentiana verna native Cumberland grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris native Sutherland Derbyshire Jacob's-ladder Polemonium caeruleum native Devon primrose Primula vulgaris native Dorset Dorset heath Erica ciliaris native Essex common poppy Papaver rhoeas native Norfolk Gloucestershire wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus native Greater Manchester common cotton-grass Eriophorum angustifolium native Hampshire dog-rose Rosa canina native Herefordshire mistletoe Viscum album native Hertfordshire pasqueflower Pulsatilla vulgaris native Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire water-violet Hottonia palustris native Isle of Wight pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis native Isles of Scilly thrift Armeria maritima native Bute & Pembrokeshire Kent hop Humulus lupulus native Lancashire red rose Rosa gallica officinalis absent Leeds bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus native Leicestershire foxglove Digitalis purpurea native Argyll, Monmouthshire & West Midlands Lincolnshire common dog-violet Viola riviniana native London rosebay willowherb Epilobium angustifolium native Merseyside sea-holly Eryngium maritimum native Middlesex wood anemone Anemone nemorosa native Norfolk common poppy Papaver rhoeas native Essex Northamptonshire cowslip Primula veris native Surrey & Worcestershire Northumberland bloody crane's-bill Geranium sanguineum native Nottingham Nottingham catchfly Silene nutans native Nottinghamshire autumn crocus Crocus nudiflorus archaeophyte Oxfordshire snake's-head fritillary Fritillaria meleagris native Rutland clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata native Sheffield wood crane's-bill Geranium sylvaticum native Shropshire round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia native Somerset Cheddar pink Dianthus gratianopolitanus native Staffordshire heather Calluna vulgaris native Suffolk oxlip Primula elatior native Surrey cowslip Primula veris native Northamptonshire & Worcestershire Sussex round-headed rampion Phyteuma orbiculare native Tyne and Wear monkeyflower Mimulus guttatus neophyte Warwickshire honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum native West Midlands foxglove Digitalis purpurea native Argyll, Leicestershire & Monmouthshire Westmorland alpine forget-me-not Myosotis alpestris native Wiltshire burnt-tip orchid Neotinea ustulata native Worcestershire cowslip Primula veris native Northamptonshire & Surrey Yorkshire harebell Campanula rotundifolia native Antrim & Dumfriesshire
Isle of Man County Image Common name Scientific name County status Shared Isle of Man fuchsia Fuchsia magellanica neophyte
Northern Ireland County Image Common name Scientific name County status Shared Antrim harebell Campanula rotundifolia native Dumfriesshire & Yorkshire Armagh cowbane Cicuta virosa native Belfast gorse Ulex europaeus native Derry purple saxifrage Saxifraga oppositifolia native Down spring squill Scilla verna native Fermanagh globeflower Trollius europaeus native Tyrone bog-rosemary Andromeda polifolia native Ceredigion & Kirkcudbright
Scotland County Image Common name Scientific name County status Shared Aberdeenshire bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi native Angus Alpine catchfly Silene suecica native Argyll foxglove Digitalis purpurea native Leicestershire, Monmouthshire & West Midlands Ayrshire green-winged orchid Anacamptis morio native Banffshire dark-red helleborine Epipactis atrorubens native Berwickshire rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium native Bute thrift Armeria maritima native Isles of Scilly & Pembrokeshire Caithness Scottish primrose Primula scotica native Clackmannanshire opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium native Cromarty spring cinquefoil Potentilla neumanniana native Dumfriesshire harebell Campanula rotundifolia native Antrim & Yorkshire Dunbartonshire lesser water-plantain Baldellia ranunculoides native East Lothian viper's-bugloss Echium vulgare native Fife coralroot orchid Corallorrhiza trifida native Glasgow broom Cytisus scoparius native Inverness-shire twinflower Linnaea borealis native Kinross holy-grass Hierochloe odorata native Kirkcudbright bog-rosemary Andromeda polifolia native Ceredigion & Tyrone Lanarkshire dune helleborine Epipactis leptochila native Midlothian sticky catchfly Silene viscaria native Moray one-flowered wintergreen Moneses uniflora native Nairn chickweed wintergreen Trientalis europaea native Orkney Alpine bearberry Arctostaphylos alpina native Peeblesshire cloudberry Rubus chamaemorus native Perthshire Alpine gentian Gentiana nivalis native Renfrewshire bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata native Ross bog asphodel Narthecium ossifragum native Roxburghshire maiden pink Dianthus deltoides native Selkirkshire mountain pansy Viola lutea native Shetland Shetland mouse-ear Cerastium nigrescens native Stirlingshire Scottish dock Rumex aquaticus native Sutherland grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris native Cumbria West Lothian common spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii native Western Isles Hebridean spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii subsp. hebridensis native Wigtownshire yellow iris Iris pseudacorus native
Wales
County Image Common name Scientific name County status Shared Anglesey spotted rock-rose Tuberaria guttata native Brecknockshire cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis native Cheshire Caernarfonshire Snowdon lily Gagea serotina, syn. Lloydia serotina native Cardiff wild leek Allium ampeloprasum native Carmarthenshire whorled caraway Carum verticillatum native Ceredigion bog-rosemary Andromeda polifolia native Kirkcudbright & Tyrone Denbighshire limestone woundwort Stachys alpina native Flintshire bell heather Erica cinerea native Glamorgan yellow whitlow-grass Draba aizoides native Merioneth Welsh poppy Papaver cambricum native Monmouthshire foxglove Digitalis purpurea native Argyll, Leicestershire & West Midlands Montgomeryshire spiked speedwell Veronica spicata native Pembrokeshire thrift Armeria maritima native Bute & Isles of Scilly Radnorshire Radnor lily 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