About the databaseMapping system
This database is based on a 10x10 kilometre grid square system, which is a standard format for
recording biological distribution data. The entire area of the UK (except the Channel Islands) is
divided into 3,259 grid squares. Dots are used to indicate the presence of each species in
any square.
There are several qualifications relevant to the use of such dot-maps:
The UK postal code system divides the country into a hierachial system of
Postal Areas, Districts, Sectors and Units. Using the
example GU9 8AQ:
The Postcode Plants Database provides lists for any of the 2,791 postal districts of England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including the Orkneys, Shetlands (including Fair Isle)
and Hebrides, the Isle of Man and the Scilly Isles. The Republic of Ireland and the Channel
Islands are not yet included.
It is important to bear in mind that postal districts are not strictly comparable.
Some are entirely urban, some rural and some mixed. They very widely in shape and
size - inner city districts are usually tiny (often much smaller that the 10x10
km resolution of the data), while some remote and sparsely populated districts may
be very large (up to about 60x60 km). One result of this is that some districts may
include several different types of habitat, so not all plants listed for a specific
postal district will necesarily be suitable for cultivation over the entire area.
The Postcode Plant Database does not recognize hybrids, or taxa below species level. In most cases the raw
data do not distinguish between records for different subspecies. Therefore subspecies are
not mapped separately, but as part of a composite map for the species in question. In some
cases this means that data for non-native subspecies will be included in maps for native species.
Similarly, some species are mapped as aggregate species groups (agg.). There are two possible
reasons for this:
Users who require clarification of these points for a particular species are referred to
New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd edition (1997), by Clive Stace (published by Cambridge University Press)
and to the Atlas of the British Flora, 3rd edition (1982), edited by F H Perring and S M Walters (published by the
Botanical Society of the British Isles).
Opinions vary as to which species of plant and animal are native to the British Isles. For plant
species we have taken New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd edition (1997), by Clive Stace
(published by Cambridge University Press) as the standard authority. For animal groups native
status data are from various sources (see entries below).
It is important to remember that although a species may be native it might
not be indigenous throughout the entire British Isles. For example, the hedgehog
(Erinaceus europaeus) is native to Britain but has been introduced to various
offshore islands (e.g. the Hebrides), sometimes with disastrous ecological consequences. Lists
generated for a postal district in such islands will include the hedgehog because it is native
to Britain, even though it may be alien to the island in question.
For species listed as 'Native/Introduced', populations in the British Isles include both native and introudced components. Please remember
that all status and distribution data refer to the British Isles only.
For example, species that are threatened in this country may not be in Europe, and
vice versa.
Floral data
The floral species list follows New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd
edition (1997), by Clive Stace (published by Cambridge University Press).
There are many differences of opinion among botanists regarding both classification of plants
and their status as natives. We have taken the New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd
edition (1997), by Clive Stace (published by Cambridge University Press), as the standard
authority.
Distribution data for flora are derived from several sources:
Click here for a list of species including their distribution data sources.
The atlas and its supplement use various categories of data, and the information contained in any
one map is not necessarily completely consistent with that in other maps. It has not been
possible in the database output to indicate such discrepancies conveniently. Users who require
information about the exact nature of the data for any particular species should refer to the
atlas and/or supplement.
The dataset supplied by ITE is more recent than that used in compiling the atlas, and so for some
species it includes many additional records compared to the atlas. Since these data have yet to be
published, it is not possible to provide any further information about the exact status of these records.
Records pertaining to known introductions or casual occurences of species have been excluded
wherever possible.
The database currently contains distribution data for approximately 90 percent of Britain's native flora. Please note: At present only 670 plant species
(click here for list) are included for Northern Ireland (BT postal area).
We apologise for this discrepancy, which we hope to rectify shortly.
Form characterizations for plants have been adapted from Raunkiaer's life-form
classification: see Flora of the British Isles by Clapham, Tutin & Warburg
(Cambridge University Press, 1952).
Conservation status data for plants are taken from The Pink Book of Plants by
Hodgetts, Palmer and Wigginton (published by JNCC, 1996), and use the new (1994) IUCN threat
categories. However, please note: it has recently been brought to our attention that this book was never
officially published and that JNCC cannot endorse these data, some of which are known to be incorrect.
We apologise for this situation and hope to be able to rectify it soon.
The butterfly species list follows The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, 1991, by
Thomas and Lewington (published by Dorling Kindersley).
Distribution data for butterflies are derived from the Atlas of Butterflies in Britain
and Ireland, 1984, by Heath, Pollard and Thomas (published by Viking), and include all records up until 1982.
The database currently contains distribution data for 62 butterfly species.
Conservation status data for butterflies are taken from Assessing Conservation
Priorities: an Improved Red List of British Butterflies, by Warren et al,
Biological Conservation 82 (1997) pp317-328.
The bird species list follows The British List (including the notes on species recorded from
Ireland and the Isle of Man), which is maintained and published by the
British Ornithologists' Union. Bird Provenance
and Resident status data are derived from the Checklist of Birds of Britain and
Ireland, 6th edition (1992), compiled by A G Knox for the Records Committee of the British
Ornithologists Union. These publications do not include records from the Channel Islands. Common
names for birds follow The British List except where these internationally recognized names
might be confusing to UK residents. In such cases more familliar alternatives have been adopted
from the BOU Checklist.
Resident status: the Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland uses up to 8
status codes to describe the resident status of each species or subspecies. These are listed
below with their meanings and our equivalents:
Where these codes occur in combination, we have described them as follows:
For many species, more than one of these codes or combinations are given.
This is because birds are mobile and not all members of a given bird population in
the UK necessarily behave similarly. For example, some individuals of a population
may migrate while others remain here (Partial Migrants), or the population of a
species that is normally migratory may be supplemented by winter or passage visits
(or vagrancy) by other individuals from different populations and/or subspecies.
In addition, some populations are native but also have introduced (by humans) components.
Almost all possible combinations of the above categories exist.
Where more than one of these codes or combinations is given for a species (or its
subspecies) we have separated them with slashes. Subspecies are not listed by the
Flora-for-Fauna database or in The British List, but these data are derived from
the BOU Checklist (see above), which details all subspecies known to have been
recorded in Britain and Ireland. Users who require more detailed information should
refer to this checklist.
Native status is similarly difficult to determine for some species. We have described
all non-introduced residents, migrants, partial migrants, passage visitors and winter
visitors as 'Native' since it is 'normal' for them to occur in the
British Isles.
Conservation status data for birds are derived from Bird Species of Conservation Concern
in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man: revising the Red Data List by Gibbons
et al, RSPB Conservation Review 10 (1996) pp7-18. This publication places each
species on one of three lists - Red, Amber and Green - which refer to High, Medium and Low
Conservation Concern respectively. These data are available only for species covered in the BTO
publication The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991.
Distribution data for birds are from the British Trust for Ornithology's
The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988 - 1991, (1993), by David Gibbons (published by Academic Press).
All birds listed as breeding in the UK are included, but distribution data
for Irish data is not yet included due to funding and software constraints.
The database currently contains distribution data for all birds listed as breeding in the UK,
but bird distribution data for Ireland are not yet included due to funding and software constraints,
so bird species will not appear in postcode lists for the BT postal area.
We hope to rectify this in the near future.
Mammal species list follows The Handbook of British Mammals, 3rd edition
(1991), by G.B.Corbett and S.H.Harris (published by Blackwell Scientific).
Distribution data for mammals were provided by the
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (now the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology),
and are subject to the limitations discussed in the Atlas of mammals in Britain,
by H R Arnold (published by HMSO, 1993). Please note that the database does not yet include mammal
distribution data for Northern Ireland, so mammals are not included in postcode searches for the BT postal area.
Conservation status data for bats are taken from Action Plan for the Conservation of Bats
in the UK, 1993, by A M Hutson (published by the Bat Conservation
Trust), and uses the old (pre-1994) IUCN threat categories.
Conservation Status data for mammals other than bats are taken from A Review of British Mammals, 1995,
by Harris et al (published by the JNCC). This publication categorizes
species as Common, Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, Locally Common, Rare or Vulnerable. 'Common' and 'Locally Common'
species have been assumed not to be under threat.
The database contains distribution data for all of Britain's native mammal species.
Our species list follows The Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Britain,
(1995), by H.R.Arnol (published by HMSO).
Distribution data for reptiles and amphibians were provided by the
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (now the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology),
and are subject to the limitations discussed in the The Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Britain,
by H R Arnold (published by HMSO, 1995). Please note that the database does not yet include reptile or amphibian
distribution data for Northern Ireland, so these species are not included in postcode searches for the BT postal area.
The database contains distribution data for all of Britain's native reptile and amphibian species.
Plant species descriptions by Don Berwick.
Information about individual animal species has been compiled from various published
sources. Please note that all weights and dimensions given are
approximate.
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Please note that Protected status details apply primarilly to England, Wales and Scotland, where the principal
legislation is the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (although some species, notably badgers, deer
and seals, are additionally protected under other legislation).
In the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, Scilly Isles
and Channel Islands, protection may differ from that shown. This information has not yet been incorporated into
the database.
In general, all wild birds are protected at all times, except those which are either pest or game species. Game species
may be taken during designated seasons only. Pest species may be taken by authorized persons only. However, for a few
species, licences allow collection of eggs and sale or possession of captive-bred birds, or destruction of birds under
certain circumstances (e.g. at aerodromes).
It is an offence for any unauthorized person to intentionally uproot any wild plant.
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Toxicity warnings are given for those native plants that are known to have caused poisoning by
ingestion, and for a few that regularly produce severe allergic skin reactions.
However, it is important to remember that little is known about the toxicity of many plants
that are not normally eaten by humans, so the absence of a specific warning does NOT mean
the plant in question is safe to eat. There are many plants that regularly poison
livestock or which are known to contain toxic chemicals, and although they are usually
unpalatable and unlikely to be consumed by humans, they would probably cause poisoning if
they were.
Very many plants are capable of causing allergic skin reactions, so it is advisable always to
wear gloves when handling plant material, especially if one has sensitive skin or any skin
disorder. Warnings have been included for those few plants which regularly cause very
severe skin problems.
Toxicity information is taken from Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Britain, 2nd edition
(1998), by M R Cooper & A W Johnson, published by The Stationery Office. We have used the term
toxic to describe species that are known to have caused human poisoning by ingestion, and
the term highly toxic for those that are potentially fatal by ingestion.
Back to top Details of interactions between animals and plants have been compiled from a number of sources, but should not be considered comprehensive. An attempt has been made to categorize these data with respect to their significance to the animal species in question. Any individual association of animal with plant is listed as 'Important', 'General' or 'Occasional'. It should be remembered that this is a relatively arbitrary judgement, and is intended only as a guideline for wildlife gardeners. Back to top
'Gardenworthy' plant species have been designated after consultation with botanists and
horticulturalists, and are indicated in the lists by GW next to the common name.
Obviously this categorisation is subjective, and should not be regarded as definitive - some gardeners
may enjoy plants that are not listed as gardenworthy, and vice versa.
Garden status for birds, where given, is derived from information in The Garden Bird Book,
1982, edited by David Glue (published by Macmillan London Ltd.).
Garden status for butterflies is derived from The Butterlies of Britian and Ireland, 1991, by
Thomas and Lewington (published by Dorling Kindersley).
Back to top Horticultural Information has been compiled from the LandMan database (CHS Landscape Software, Cedar Nurseries, Cobham, Surrey), and from the book Scottish Plants for Scottish Gardens, by Jill, Duchess of Hamilton (published by The Stationery Office, 1996). Back to top Software
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