Expansion of iris in the north

This map is the work of Martin Partridge, the Yorkshire chair. The data was provided by Stephen Mathers, Ken Orpe, and Richard Jeffery.

South Derbyshire became purple for the first time in 2024, with more squares recorded in the south in 2025, and, particularly, several new sightings in the north-east of the county this year: the latter sightings are not very far from the established localities in Sherwood Forest. 

The Yorkshire sightings are very exciting: all of them except one from the coast near Scarborough [2024]  are from 2025. The map indicates how widespread these sightings were over this huge county, suggesting that they were not the result of releases. 

Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire remain strongholds.