Seed supplies of UK-native wild flowers - how like their wild counterparts are they?

They will discuss the extent to which plants grown from wild flower seed supplies may or may not differ from their wild counterparts in appearance, ecological function and taxonomic identity. Possible sources of differences will be discussed, including:

• historical introductions of plants
• deliberate sourcing of wild flower seed from outside the UK
• unconscious selection in field cultivation of wild flowers for seed.

They will consider how the population genetics of wild flower seed crops might develop following bona fide seed collection from the wild, whether all types of species are equally susceptible to significant change and how such changes, if any, might relate to current infraspecific taxonomy or drive future recognition of new infraspecific taxa (which might affect user perceptions of habitat creation requiring plants of UK-native provenance).