Frequently asked questions
Plantlife is often asked questions on a range of topics.The answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and some basic facts about Plantlife can be found below.
About Plantlife International, its work, jobs and volunteering
Plantlife International's Nature Reserves
Gardening and creating wild flower areas
Studying and identifying plants
Environmental and conservation issues
Membership, merchandise and publicity materials
What is the difference between Plantlife and other wildlife organisations?
Plantlife's sole focus is the conservation of wild plants in their natural habitats. While other wildlife organisations may carry out wild-plant conservation, it is likely to be as a by-product of other conservation, such as that of birds, insects or mammals.
Other organisations such as botanic gardens carry out ex-situ conservation whilst Plantlife seeks to conserve plants in their habitats.
Do you have any job or volunteer vacancies?
All of Plantlife International's paid employment vacancies are posted on our website and are advertised in the local or national press. As a charity, we welcome and value volunteers in our offices.
Office volunteer tasks range from filling envelopes and filing, to data entry and research. Volunteering for Plantlife would provide you with a good insight into the voluntary sector and the current systems and issues in UK conservation. For information or an informal discussion, please contact us on 01722 342730 or e-mail: enquiries@plantlife.org.uk.
How can I help Plantlife other than joining or making a donation?
Give a wildflower conservation talk
Alternatively, if you are more interested in keeping an eye on rare plants, take a look at the field volunteers web page for details.
Who funds Plantlife ?
Plantlife is a registered charity, and depends on donations to fund most of its work. Anyone can become a member and contribute through membership subscriptions, donations, and by remembering Plantlife in their will.
Charitable trusts also contribute to the cost of Plantlife International's work, as do companies. English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales contribute significantly to species recovery and other work, and the Heritage Lottery Fund has helped to fund annual plant surveys.
Can Plantlife fund our project?
Plantlife International only makes grants to other organisations through our Allachy Fund for Livelihods from Wild Plants. However there are a number of directories listing funding sources for environmental projects available from the Directory of Social Change or you may wish to try the Heritage Lottery Fund. Good luck with your fundraising!
How many members does Plantlife International have?
Approximately 11,500 as of December 2006.
Who does Plantlife work with?
Plantlife collaborates widely in the interests of wild-plant conservation. Plantlife convenes Plant Link, which brings together major bodies in the UK with an interest in wild-plant conservation. These include the Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, English Nature, the Botanical Society of the British Isles, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The National Trust, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Similarly, Plantlife convenes the Fungus Conservation Forum.
Internationally, Plantlife works with leading conservation bodies and individuals around the world, and provides the secretariat for Planta Europa, the European network of organisations and people concerned with plant conservation. Link to our international work.
What types of plants does Plantlife work with?
As well as vascular plants, Plantlife also works with non-vascular plants such as bryophytes (including mosses and liverworts) and lichens. Fungi are also included in Plantlife's work, although biologists do not classify them as plants (fungi now form one of the five major kingdoms of living organisms in their own right: bacteria, single-celled organisms, fungi, plants, animals).
Does Plantlife conserve habitats as well as species?
Yes. Whilst our Back from the Brink programme has a species focus, conserving these would be impossible without also conserving their habitats. When considering how to conserve our nature reserves, for example, we take into account not only the needs of unusual plants and animals present but also the wider habitat. Furthermore, rare plants often occupy rare habitats which can support whole communities of uncommon species e.g. in traditionally managed arable fields, so we can achieve both species and habitat conservation at the same time.
Does Plantlife try to reintroduce plants that have become extinct?
Plantlife only reintroduces plants as a last resort: our primary aim is to maintain native populations in the habitats that they have been long recorded in. If we do undertake a reintroduction, we follow the stringent criteria on reintroductions and translocations laid down by IUCN - The World Conservation Union.
Does Plantlife have information on all rare plant species?
No, Plantlife concentrates its efforts on the species in the Back from the Brink species recovery programme. Information on other rare species in the UK can be found here.
Does Plantlife sell plants or seeds?
Plantlife does not sell plants or seeds. For advice on purchasing native and sustainably sourced plants and seeds, Landlife provides a wealth of information and is happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. For more information on good plants to grow in your garden go to visit our Grow Wild pages.
How many nature reserves does Plantlife own?
There are 23 Plantlife nature reserves located in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. For further details, see the Nature Reserves pages on our website.
When are the Plantlife nature reserves open?
Most of the nature reserves have open access all year round. The exceptions are the nature reserves at Lugg Meadows in Herefordshire (where access to a part of the site during spring and summer is by appointment only - due to the presence of ground nesting birds), Upton Ham in Worcestershire (access here is restricted to the public footpaths) and Stockwood Meadows in Worcestershire (which is accessible only on special open days).
There is no charge for entry to any of Plantlife's nature reserves. Anyone wishing to visit Munsary Peatlands in Caithness is advised to contact Plantlife beforehand as the site includes potentially dangerous terrain. It is advisable to take at least one other person with you when visiting this reserve.
When visiting any of the sites please keep dogs on a lead, keep gates closed and keep to the footpaths and field edges wherever possible.
Gardening and creating wild flower areas
Does Plantlife sell plants or seeds?
Plantlife International does not sell plants or seeds. For advice on purchasing native and sustainably sourced plants and seeds, Landlife provides a wealth of information and is happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. For more information on good plants to grow in your garden go to visit Grow Wild.
I would like to create a wildlife garden - where can I buy native wildflower seeds?
Plantlife focuses on saving rare wild plants in their natural habitat and as such does not have specific information on this topic. However, as Plantlife encourages the use of sustainably sourced seeds and good practice, we suggest that you look at our green gardening pages or contact Flora Locale for supplies of seeds and bulbs, and advice on creating and restoring wild-plant habitats.
How do I create a wildlife pond?
Information on pond creation and management is available from the Ponds Conservation Trust. Also, a booklet called 'Pond Heaven - how to create your own wildlife pond' is available from Froglife. Plantlife has an advice leaflet on which are the best (and worst) plants to put in your pond, click here to find out more.
How do I create a wild flower meadow?
Contact us to get hold of our advice leaflet or join us and get your free copy of How to make a wildlife garden by Chris Baines
We would like to plant/grow wild flowers on our village green/road verges - how do we go about this?
Guidance on sowing or planting wild plants on road verges, village greens or other areas of the countryside is available from Flora Locale. You should read this guidance carefully as there are many situations where it would be a mistake to plant wild flowers. Make sure that you plan properly before doing any planting, and remember that seeds or propagules used in your project should always be of local provenance. Although it is easy to find seed mixtures of native species, these may not be of local provenance.
Does Plantlife want my Bluebell bulbs?
Plantlife International is unable to take any unwanted Bluebell bulbs as we are a small charity and will not be able to find a suitable home for them.
What are peat-free products and where can I buy them?
Click here to discover the importance of peat bogs.
Peat-free products are those which are not sourced from natural peat bogs and peatlands. Nowadays most garden centres sell peat free products.
What is the alternative to using moss in hanging baskets?
There is now a good range of moss alternatives with which hanging baskets can be lined.
How can I be an organic gardener?
For advice on creating an organic garden, we recommend that you contact the Henry Doubleday Research Association - the organic organisation dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.
Studying and identifying plants
I am doing a study on a particular plant - can Plantlife help me?
We can supply some information on the plants in our Back from the Brink species recovery programme, depending on the information sought. If the plant isn't mentioned here and it may be a species under threat, check if it appears on the UK BAP (UK Biodiversity Action Plan) website where contact organisations are listed against each species.
What information is available on the species which Plantlife works on?
We can supply some information on the plants in our Back from the Brink species recovery programme, depending on the information sought. Check this list on the Species and Habitat section of our web page to see if it is there. If it isn't and it may be a species under threat, check if it appears on the UK BAP where contact organisations are listed against each species.
I think I've got a rare plant in my garden - can you help?
The first step is to check that the plant is what you think it is. Firstly, you should use a good identification book, either for basic identification such as The Wildflower Key by Francis Rose, or a more detailed key such as The New Flora of the British Isles, by Clive Stace. If you know who your local Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) County Recorder is, they maybe interested in checking your plant. Ask other naturalists in your area or at your local Wildlife Trust for their details.
How can I learn to identify wild flowers?
There are many good identification books and courses. The English Nature website has a comprehensive list of botanical plant publications, including plant identification guides. The Field Studies Council runs courses on plant identification for various levels of skill and specialisation.
How can I tell if a Daffodil is native?
In theory it is quite easy. The petals of the native Daffodil are the same length as the trumpet (the tube in the middle) and are paler in colour. They are also slightly twisted and relatively narrow. If these plants are growing in a broadleaved woodland and are widely scattered over a large area you almost certainly have a population of native Daffodil.
The problem is that there are hundreds of cultivars in a huge range of colours and these are being planted "in the wild" more and more frequently.
How can I tell if a Bluebell is native?
The leaves will be fairly narrow, usually 7-15mm wide, but they can be up to 20mm wide. The flower stem droops distinctly to one side and almost all the flowers are on one side of the stem. The flower itself is deep violet-blue and is the shape of a narrow, straight-sided bell and the petal tips curve back onto the flower tube. Click here for more information on bluebells.
Environmental and conservation issues
What are Plantlife International's policies on particular environmental issues?
Plantlife has policies and position statements on the following issues:
Control of vertebrates at Plantlife's Nature Reserves in the UK
Non-native species
Field sports
Public access and nature conservation
Sale of Bluebells
Genetically modified crops in the UK
Contact us if you would like to find out more
What are the effects of genetically modified (GM) crops on wild plants?
For more information, click here.
What are 'alien' or non-native invasives?
These are non-native species whose introduction and/or spread threaten biological diversity.
Invasive plants can cause competition for nutrients, light and space and can alter plant populations and communities in terrestrial and freshwater situations.
For more information, click here.
How do I object to planning applications which I think will spoil the environment?
Firstly you will need to gather information. You need to know from your local planning authority the details of the application, including the timescale for decision making. You also need to find out about the wildlife interest of the site in question - this may be through your own observations if you are able to gain access to the site , or you could contact your local wildlife organisations for their help.
If you feel you should object to the planning application then the next step is a carefully worded letter to the named Case Officer (or Chief Planner) at the relevant Local Authority, including reference to the wildlife features you are concerned may be threatened. The planning system can be a complicated process at times - download Plantlife's leaflet 'Planning with plants and fungi in mind' which gives you step-by-step guidance on how best to approach this.
Are there any laws about collecting seed from wild plants?
It is legal to collect the seed of the majority of British wild flowers, but gardeners should only collect a small quantity from large populations of a particular species, leaving the bulk to replenish natural stocks.
However a small number of the most threatened species are fully protected through listing on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and for these species no part of the plant may be collected - including the seeds.
Merchandise and publicity materials
What publicity material does Plantlife have available?
Plantlife has a range of publicity materials concerned with all aspects of wild plant (and fungi) conservation. If you cannot find what you are looking for within Plantlife's publications then please contact us. Press releases, reports, leaflets and press cuttings are all available from the Press Office - please call us on 01722 342740.
Where do I buy Plantlife publications from?
Click here to find details Plantlife publications on their UK work and click here to find details of our international publications.
What merchandise does Plantlife International sell?
Plantlife International has a small range of postcards and greetings cards. We also sell Christmas cards. Contact us for more details
Do you have school packs?
Plantlife International is working with schools through its surveys programme. Although we do not have information packs for schools, we send information, posters and leaflets to schools as requested.
