Species of Southeast England local origin

Herbiseed ‘Goring Gap’ wildflowers are of Southeast England Local-Origin. Most have been grown from initial seed collections made from wild populations in the Chilterns and Thames valley. The grass seeds used in ‘Goring Gap’ mixtures are all wild grasses collected from an organically certified ancient meadow in the Thames valley which has not been re-seeded in living memory, so the grasses are definitely of wild origin, not modern agricultural varieties.

Why use local-origin seed?

Local-origin seed is likely to be better adapted to local conditions than seed imported from other parts of the country.

Seed from distant localities is likely to carry genes which are less well adapted to the area in which the seed is sown, posing a threat of contaminating the gene pool of local populations.

Many wildflowers have locally distinct populations, so an introduced population can look out of place in a sown area. Furthermore, the local wildlife (such as bees and other insects) may be co-adapted to the local population and unable to make use of an introduced population.

Agricultural varieties of grasses have been bred for fast growth on rich soils, so tend to establish more quickly than many wildflowers. Thus they can out-compete the wildflowers, resulting in a poorly balanced plant community with a severely restricted number of wildflowers.

For more information on the desirability of using local-origin seed see: www.floralocale.org.uk