Native British plants that are extinct and rare

Photo by Ark Wildlife

The list of native British plants is quite long, but have you ever heard of the plants that are endangered? Conservation for native plants is important to keep and promote biodiversity – a natural habitat will add enrichment and keep balance. If you are interested, I will have a list of conservation projects for you to look into!

Top left lamb succory (Back from the Brink), top right downy hemp nettle (Bob Gibbons), bottom left davall’s sedge (HermannSchachner), bottom right interrupted brome (R.I. Moyse, Plantlife)

Extinct native British plants:

• Lamb succory – a member of the daisy family with small yellow flowers. It became extinct in 1971, but can still be found elsewhere. In the US, it has a common name of ‘dwarf nipplewort’
• Downy hemp nettle – it is a presumed extinct plant that is a member of the sage family. If you wanted to spot this plant in the wild, you can find them in other European countries
• Davall’s sedge – this plant is a species of sedge, found in wetlands. It went extinct in 1852 due to land being drained for building houses
• Interrupted brome – a flowering plant in the grass family. In the wild it became extinct in 1972, but has since been reintroduced in the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, in 2004
  

Top left ghost orchid (Carlton Ward Jr.), top right spreading bellflower (Ellyn Baker), bottom left lady orchid (Francesco Scelsa), bottom right yellow bird’s nest (Wildlife Ranger on flickr)

Rare native British plants:

• Ghost orchid – the last sighting of the Ghost orchid was in 2009. Previous sightings are in woodland areas in Southern England, so keep your eye out!
• Spreading bellflower – a beautiful blue and purple flower that definitely stands out in their woodland habitat. Unfortunately they have been in decline due to disturbance in their environment
• Lady orchid – the petals of this orchid form to look like ladies wearing bonnets! Their decline is due to too much shade and deer browsing. Thankfully, where they are found, they produce large numbers of orchids
• Yellow bird’s nest – they are a ghostly looking perennial that does not contain chlorophyll. You can only spot the flowers as the rest of the plant grows underground. As they cannot photosynthesise, they get ‘food’ by forming a parasitic relationship with fungi

Left black poplar (via Wikiwand), top right wilmott’s whitebeam (Peter Wakely), bottom right wood calamint (Dawn Nelson)

• Black poplar – black poplar is the most endangered timber tree in Britain. Their decline was due to the female tree’s cotton-like seeds being too messy for some, so females were removed
• Wilmott’s whitebeam – another tree but with different growing requirements. These trees are difficult to please, needing open rocky limestone slopes in Avon George.
• Wood calamint – the perennial herb likes to grow in woodland or scrubland. It has seen an increase due to conservation efforts, but is only really found in a patch on the Isle of Wight

 

British conservation projects:

• Thames Chase Black Poplar Project (Essex)
•  Sussex Black Poplar Working Group (Sussex)
• The Rare British Plants Nursery (Wales)
• Plant Life Back From the Brink (not specified)
• The Wildlife Trust
• Woodland Trust
• Reforest Britain

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland also have a rare plant register. Link

 

 ---> Thank you for taking time to read my post, Nate