Hundreds of wildflower species found blooming in midwinter

UK survey finds 532 types – far more than older textbooks suggest should be out

It’s been said that spring is coloured by flowers, while the colour of winter is only in the imagination.

Not so for intrepid botanists who discovered 532 species of wildflowers in bloom across Britain and Ireland around New Year’s Day.

Related: Spring flowers in autumn, birdsong in winter: what a freak year for nature