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Platanthera bifolia
The best time to see the Lesser Butterfly Orchid is spring into summertime with June to July being the peak flowering time.
The Lesser Butterfly Orchid is a sweet-smelling plant, which grows across the UK. It can be found in a range of habitats, such as grasslands, meadows, bogs, woodlands, calcareous fens, and scrub, although it may be difficult to spot as it has declined in recent years.
Unfortunately, the Lesser Butterfly Orchid has been lost from much of its habitat in the UK, and is now endangered. One of the reasons for this decline is an increased use in agricultural chemicals which eradicate the soil fungi necessary for the plant to survive.
Drymocallis rupestris
Photograph taken by Nahhan
Rock Cinquefoil is part of the Potentilla genus, which contains more than 500 species of flowering plants in the rose family (Rosaceae). They are commonly called cinquefoil. They typically look similar to strawberry plants but differ with their fruits usually being dry and their seeds – each being technically a single fruit are actually tiny nuts.
It can be found in only a handful of sites across Britain, and populations are small. A species recovery project taking place in Wales at Criggion Quarry, Montgomeryshire has bolstered populations by collecting seeds and using transplants as part of their ongoing quarry restoration plan.
Native in Britain, but it is a rare native flower in the wild, it can only be found in two locations in Scotland and three in Mid-Wales, and one of the sites in Wales is thought to be an introduction.
The Genus name ‘Potentilla’ comes from the Latin ‘potens’, meaning ‘powerful’ in reference to the reputed medicinal properties of the plant. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is said to have been used in both medicine and magic since the time of Hippocrates.
It’s species name ‘rupestris’ comes from the Latin word for rock, ‘rupes’, meaning it lives on cliffs or rocks.
Fulgensia fulgens
This rare lichen is not just striking, but also a crucial part of the biological soil crust community which stabilises soils and facilitates the growth of other plants. It also hosts a globally rare fungus Lichenochora epifulgens which is even rarer than the Scrambled Egg lichen itself.
It grows on open short calcareous grasslands and dunes. It needs an open, well-lit, free draining substrate such as limestone, chalk or sand made from shells, with a high pH. Most often it grows over mosses or sometime directly on rock, at coastal sites in the south and west of Britain.
As the name suggests, it really does look like a scrambled egg. It has a crust-like yellow body which is often paler in the middle with scattered orange fruits of 1.5mm.
It is historically rare in Britain and had gone extinct in the east of England due to habitat loss as a result of changes in farming practices, an increase in tree cover and a loss of rabbits.
We are working to bring it back to the Breckland through a process known as translocation. Read how expert Dave Lamacraft translocated the Scrambled Egg Lichen, taking it 350 miles, and transplanted it using bookbinding glue!
Neotinea ustulata
Burnt-tip Orchid is a white orchid with a deep crimson peak – the “burnt tip” in question.
This small orchid can be difficult to spot. Plants grow from a tuber which is replaced each year and tend to grow in small clumps. Pale green leaves form a rosette from which a flower spike holding between 15-50 flowers emerges.
Burnt-tip Orchid is confined to a scattering of sites in southern England, especially the Wiltshire Downs. It is found in short, chalk downland turf, and occasionally strays into meadows.
Burnt-tip Orchid was once more common and its scarce population continues to decline. This decline is due to changes in agricultural practices.
Galium tricornutum
Corn Cleavers is an annual wildflower rather like the common Cleavers but much rarer and not so clingy.
Corn Cleavers is a rough, straggly plant with whorls of narrow leaves. The stems are sometimes square in cross-section. It differs from its common relative as it has cream-coloured flowers, as opposed to the white ones of the common weed. The fruits are spherical nutlets hanging in pairs at the leaf axils. As they lack hooked barbs, they do not stick to your clothes.
It used to be a common weed of cereal crops, but has declined dramatically over the last 60 years owing to changing agricultural methods. Corn Cleavers is now found in only two sites in central-southern England. It prefers disturbed ground, mainly in arable fields, but also on hedge-banks and sea cliffs.
Corn Cleavers is classified as Critically Endangered. The use of fertilisers and herbicides, the loss of field margins and the development of highly productive crop varieties have led to its decline.
Orchis purpurea
The Lady Orchid is a tall, elegant herbaceous plant belonging to the Orchidaceae plant family.
Lady Orchid can reach 30–100 centimetres with the fleshy, bright green leaves being up to 15 cm long. The leaves are broad and oblong, forming a rosette about the base of the plant and surrounding the flower spike. These flower spikes can contain up to 200 individual flowers to which the stem upwardly points. Some of the flowers have the look of women in crinoline ball gowns. In terms of colour they are usually pale pink or rose, with a deeper purple ‘head’.
The Lady Orchid can be found in most parts of Europe (specifically Kent, England), Northern Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus.
Lady orchids usually grow in woodlands, oak forests, slopes and meadows, and can occasionally occur on savanna. They prefer to grow in limestone or chalk soil, in shady or sunny places. The Lady Orchid occurs in short grassland, on woodland edges and sometimes in open woodland. However, it is now very rarely found in the UK.
Lady Orchid’s flowering occurs in late April to June.
The sepals and upper petals are known to be purple, hence the Lady Orchid adopting the latin name purpurea.
Linnaea borealis
The beautiful Twinflower has two pink bell-like flowers on a slender stem, and a thicker stem below which creeps along the ground, forming small mats of the plant. It is one of our smallest and most delicate native flowers.
Twinflower is confined to Scotland. It grows mainly in the native, open, pine woods, particularly in the Cairngorms, and is an Arctic-Alpine plant that is a relic of the Ice Age.
The clearance of native woodlands before the 1930s resulted in severe losses of this little flower. Continued habitat destruction and changes in woodland management have also lead to declines in populations.
Twinflower is the County Flower of Inverness-shire.
The isolation of the remaining sites of Twinflower leads to poor seed production and thus contributes to its continued decline. Other threats include; mechanical harvesting of timber, the deliberate thickening of forests leading to excess shade and poor management of pine plantations leading to single age structure woodland without a niche for seedlings to develop.
One of Plantlife’s most exciting projects has been research into how the historical management of ancient pine plantation may have benefited Twinflower. A study of how timber was grown and extracted in the 18th and 19th centuries has led to a proposal to test whether these methods could boost Twinflower populations today. Read more about our work with Twinflower here.
We’re continuing our work with Twinflower through the Resilience and Recovery, Helping Rare Species Adapt to a Changing World project. Read more about our work here.
Without intervention, the delicate pink blooms of the rare Twinflower could disappear from Scotland.
Lobaria pulmonaria
Tree Lungwort is a beautiful, vibrantly green, leafy lichen. It is one of the largest lichens and is an indicator of ancient woodland.
Tree lungwort is found mainly in Scotland, particularly the west coast, where the wetter climate provides the moisture it requires to thrive. Because of air pollution, it is much sparser in the rest of Britain, confined to a few sites in wilder areas, such as the Lake District and parts of Wales.
It can be found growing on trees and old wood in areas of low air pollution.
Tree Lungwort can be spotted all throughout the year.
Veronica triphyllos
Fingered Speedwell is a low-growing, hairy plant with deep blue flowers.
Fingered Speedwell has leaves that rarely grow longer than a centimetre and are deeply divided into parallel-fingered lobes. Its upper leaves are stalkless, whereas the lower leaves have short stalks. Its flowers are borne at the tip of the stem amongst leaf-like structures called bracts.
Fingered Speedwell is restricted to just a few sites in East Anglia (Breckland) and Yorkshire. Generally an arable species, it is typically found in the margins of fields sown with winter cereals and also on fallow land or waste places. It has also been recorded in tracks, gravel pits, sand banks and disturbed parched grassland. It favours sandy calcareous or slightly acidic soils.
Fingered Speedwell is classified as ‘Endangered’ and is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. It is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy any plants. The species is also listed as a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
The main causes of the decline of Fingered Speedwell are a direct result of the intensification of arable farming. Key factors include the introduction of broad-spectrum herbicides and the high increase in nitrogen fertiliser used on modern crop systems. Several sites have also been lost to development.
Liparis loeselii
One of our rarer plants, its pretty pale yellow flowers liven up our dunes.
This wild flower is difficult to spot as it is small (around 8cm tall) and inconspicuous. The leaves wrap around the bottom of the single stem which supports several flowers towards the top of the plant.
The orchid is dependent on the unique, open conditions of fenland, a naturally marshy area. Fen orchid needs wet areas with bare sand, short grasses and a lot of calcium in the soil.
The species has declined due to habitat loss as a result of wetland being reclaimed for agricultural use or fens being allowed to “scrub over” and slowly revert to woodland. Plantlife has worked with Suffolk Wildlife Trust to translocate Fen Orchid to restored habitats.
The majority of the Fen Orchid populations were lost through drainage and in the late 20th Century through peat digging and mowing. Other threats include climate change, inappropriate water and habitat management.
After a decade of research and partnership work, the orchid has been re-discovered at former sites and the total population has risen through proper management.
Read more
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