Filago gallica Narrow-leaved Cudweed

Filago gallica ©Plantlife

A small plant with silvery-grey leaves and small clusters of little yellow flowers. It grows in disturbed places on light or sandy soils, such as arable field margins and grazed commons.

It has always been rare in mainland Britain, and became extinct in the wild when it disappeared from its last site in Essex. Luckily, a botanist (David McClintock) had some plants in his garden grown from the seeds of plants at the Essex site, and it was re-established in its original home in 1994.

There is one other group in the Channel Islands. The principal reason for its decline is habitat change, due to lack of grazing, but it has also been affected by agricultural changes such as loss of field margins and use of herbicides. It is hoped that re-introduction of seed into old sites will help the species to recover, but the problems of habitat change still remain.

Classified as Critically Endangered and is also Globally Threatened