Who are the BSBI, and what do they do?

• They are the leading organisation for people interested in wild plants, their biogeography, and their changing patterns in Britain and Ireland.
• They organise a large number of field outings each year here, some of which are introductory in nature, some are aimed at recording, and some are at an advanced botanical level. See this year’s list for Ireland on the Irish webpage.
• They produce a range of publications which are invaluable for botanists - e.g. the Atlas, the ID books for tricky groups (e.g. sedges, grasses, umbellifers, etc.), the plant crib, etc.
• They have a network of 'referees' - experts in all the plant groups who are willing to accept specimens for identification/confirmation. This is an invaluable resource.
• They offer a range of research, travel and training grants - mostly small, but very useful!
• They have a website full of resources - here you will find tick lists of the most common plants for each county (very useful in the field), detailed support on the use of recording software such as MapMate, news on events relevant to botany, info on training courses, online plant keys,
• They produce a journal - the New Journal of Botany, along with a newsletter - BSBI News. Both are full of very detailed and advanced plant-related articles, but the newsletter in particular always has short articles with things like ID tips for tricky plants, etc. Always worth having a look through.
• And finally... there is a dedicated Irish Officer (Maria Long) (Visit http://www.bsbi.org.uk/ireland.html or contact at maria.long@bsbi.org), who works to ensure that the organisation continues to evolve to be as relevant and useful to botanists throughout Ireland as possible, whether amateur or professional, beginner or advanced.

It costs £45 to join as an individual member, and can be done online (https://bsbi.org/about/membership/join).

A large percentage of the Vascular Plant Database for Northern Ireland has been added since 1997 due to the enthusiasm for the Botanical Society of the British Isle (BSBI) Atlas 2000 Project. The BSBI Vice county recorders have collected a huge amount of data which has been computerised either by themselves or in the Ulster Museum. Below are the contact details for the Northern Ireland vice county recorders.

If you would like to know about the general flora of a particular place within Northern Ireland, please contact the relevant vice county recorder directly.

Fermanagh

Mr. Robert Northridge, 9 Coole Drive, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, BT74 6BS
email:

Dr. Ralph Forbes, Coolattin, 26 Castleward Road, Strangford, Co. Down, BT30 7LY
email:

Antrim

Mr. David McNeill, 13 Greystown Park, Belfast, BT9 6UN
email:
publication: County Antrim Scarce, Rare and Extinct Vascular Plant Register

Tyrone

Mr. Ian McNeill, 86 Fair Hill, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, BT80 8DE

Londonderry

Dr. David Riley, 161 Duncrun Road, Gortmore, Limavady, Co. Londonderry, BT49 0JJ

Armagh

Dr. John Faulkner, Drumherriff Lodge, Orchard Road, Loughgall, Co. Armagh, BT61 8JD
email:

Down

Mr. Graham Day, Cherry Cottage, 11 Ballyhaft Road, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2AW
email:
web page: Flora of County Down Project
publication: County Down Scarce, Rare and Extinct Vascular Plant Register

Other contributors to the Vascular Plant Database for Northern Ireland (VPDNI) include:

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

The Ulster Museum

The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club (BNFC)

County Armagh Wildlife Society

The Forest Service

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

The National Trust