The BSBI project

Launched in 2005, the BSBI project aims to update our knowledge of the distribution and taxonomy of plant hybrids in the British Isles. Numerous experts have been invited to contribute taxonomic expertise, with overall editorial control by Clive Stace. The distribution data was collected by Alex Lockton and herbarium records were collated by Alan Forrest, partly through the use of herbaria at home. Chris Preston, of the Biological Records Centre, is responsible for producing distribution accounts, and the entire project is managed by David Pearman.

Publication is delayed, but that will not be the end of the initiative. Increased knowledge and awareness of hybrids, plus continued analysis of data from herbaria, will lead to improved knowledge of ecology, taxonomy and distribution in future.

The process of hybridization is a major force in the evolution of plants - much more so than in the animal kingdom.

Plants of related species often cross-pollinate to produce fertile hybrids, which can reproduce themselves or back-cross with the ‘parent’ species to produce hybrid swarms. Some hybrids do not reproduce sexually, but can effectively clone themselves to produce new microspecies. And some hybridization events produce entirely new species, often by doubling their chromosome number, in which case the offspring contain all the DNA of both parents.

The process of hybridization often occurs when plants find themselves growing near related species that they would not normally be found with in the wild. Introducing exotic species, disturbing natural ecosystems and altering the distribution of plants through climate change are all ways in which human activity can facilitate hybridization. The responses of plants to these changes are well worth studying.

Hybrids, despite often being difficult to identify, should not be ignored. They may reflect subtle changes in the environment, or they may be the best possible adaptation of wild plants to climate change. Hybridization is neither good nor bad, but it is inevitable.

The hybridization project is funded by the BSBI and is the only strategic initiative on this subject in the UK, despite its importance for conservation, land management and ecology.

Projects

>> Rare Plant Registers

<< Axiophytes

How to contribute

Members can contribute by studying hybrids. This needs to be done with considerable skill, and often involves techniques such as microscopic examination of pollen grains. Good quality specimens should be collected and lodged in major herbaria.

Members can also help by digitizing specimens on herbaria at home.

Significant records should be sent direct to the project, as well as copied to county recorders. The definitive data on many hybrids is held by national referees.