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This year on National Meadows Day, we are campaigning for the protection of irreplaceable meadows – and we need your help!
Our wildflower meadows are a powerful ally in the fight against climate change – but they are in trouble!
“Will you help protect and restore irreplaceable habitats?”
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Read in: EnglishCymraeg
Known as nature’s meadow maker, Yellow Rattle, is the single most important plant you need when creating a wildflower meadow.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Yellow rattle, commonly known as the meadow maker, is one of the most important plants you need for a meadow. Without it, vigorous grasses can grow unchecked and smother flowers you want to encourage.
As Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor grows in a meadow the grass will become thinner, making room for plants like Oxeye Daisy, Knapweeds and Vetches to appear. And if you’re lucky, maybe even an orchid will pop up.
Then large bees, especially bumblebees, move in and pollinate the flowers of yellow rattle and it’s large seed pods dry and ripen. This leaves the seeds rattling around inside. Farmers used to use the sound of the rattling seeds as their cue to cut the hay – hence the name.
Yellow Rattle is a very useful starting plant when making a wildflower meadow, but it can be a little tricky to establish. Here are some top tips to get you started:
If you have very fertile soil, it might be trickier to grow Yellow Rattle. Poor and infertile soils are best and following the steps above will help reduce the fertility of your soil over time.
Late summer (August-September) is the best time to sow Yellow Rattle. It will not grow successfully if sown in the spring. The seeds can be sown no later than November because they need about 4 months below 5C to germinate in the spring.
Yellow Rattle is easy to collect by hand. Simply hold a paper bag under the ripe seed pod and shake it gently with your fingers. Collecting larger quantities can easily be done using a vacuum or leaf blower.
WATCH: Plantlife’s Sarah Shuttleworth collects Yellow Rattle with a vacuum.
There are a number of reasons why Yellow Rattle may disappear from a meadow, including:
For meadows, we recommend 0.5-2.5kg per hectare/10-20g per m2 if you are collecting your own seed.
There are several possible reasons:
Your go-to guide for transforming places into flower-rich meadows.
Yellow Rattle, is the single most important plant you need when creating a wildflower meadow. Here’s everything you need to know.
Managing or making meadows, whether in a lawn or larger site, can sometimes lead to prickly problem plants like docks or nettles. Follow our expert advice for managing problem plants.
Want to start a community meadow, but not sure where to begin? Read our guide to creating a flower-filled haven for your local community.
Lichens on a tree infected with ash dieback have been rescued and given a new home in a bid to save them.
The rescue mission, using tried and tested translocation methods, saved 2 rare lichen species in the Lake District. Read on to find out how our experts did it.
We recently discovered 2 rare lichen species at risk in the Lake District’s unique temperate rainforest. They were growing on an infected Ash tree and needed to be moved to ensure they continued to thrive in this habitat.
The tree has been infected with ask dieback meaning it is at a high risk of dying or collapsing in a storm.
Our experts translocated some of the lichen from the infected Ash tree to a nearby Hazel tree in the Lake District, home to some of the UK’s rare temperate rainforests.
The high rainfall, humid temperatures and ancient woodlands provide a perfect climate for rare lichens to survive.
Alongside a beck in the Lake District, our team identified Black-bordered Shingle Lichen and Stinky Sticta on a mature Ash tree.
Stinky Sticta Sticta fuliginosa is so called because it smells like rotten fish when wet! It is blackish brown when wet and dark grey-brown when dry. The lichen has rounded lobes that turn down at the edges.
Black-bordered Shingle Lichen Parmeliella thriptophylla looks like a dark stain on the bark of trees. It has a coral-like structure and can normally be found growing on either bark or rock surfaces in damp shaded woodlands. The lichen is blackish when wet and brown or grey-brown when dry.
Both these lichens are rainforest indicators and are members of a group of lichens that we have an international responsibility to protect.
To translocate the lichens, our experts carefully removed small fragments of both lichens and the top surface of the tree bark with a pen knife. Young and healthy-looking parts of the lichen were chosen as they were still growing.
They were then taken to an area of trees about 10m along the beck, chosen because of their similar conditions, to give the lichens the best chance of survival. In this case, a Hazel tree with similar high bark pH was chosen.
The lichens were attached to the tree using plastic mesh netting and stapled in place.
Both Black-bordered Shingle Lichen and Stinky Sticta need air flow, light and access to water – which the mesh can allow. The lichens were translocated onto a horizontal branch, with similar conditions to their original location, allowing the lichens to be easily wetted by rainfall.
Many lichen species rely on Ash trees for survival .Ash Fraxinus excelsior is especially important for a community of lichens which grow on more alkaline or ‘basic’ tree bark. The survival threat facing Ash trees, caused by ash dieback, means these important habitats are gradually disappearing.
Ash dieback is a fatal fungal disease caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. More than a quarter of the UK’s lichen species can be found on ash trees, but ash dieback is now widespread across much of the UK.
Both lichens in this rescue mission needed to be saved from the infected Ash tree because we did not know how long it would remain a viable host tree. As Ash trees die off, the bark dies and falls from the tree, taking any lichens on the bark with it.
Translocation is never a first option for lichen conservation work, but to ensure the survival of some species, it is necessary.
Careful consideration is given to the species of lichen and the recipient tree in all cases.
This is a long-term project and we won’t know how successful the translocation has been for some time. The Stinky Sticta should show signs of taking to its new tree earlier than Black-bordered Shingle Lichen.
The site will be monitored regularly, but signs of complete success could take up to 10 years to show.
Britain is home to one of the rarest habitats in the world – the temperate rainforest. But how would you know if you were walking in one?
Dave Lamacraft, Plantlife’s Lichen and Bryophyte Specialist, heads out to discover a wealth of extraordinary lichens which call Wales’ rainforests home.
Air pollution often poses the biggest danger to internationally rare habitats and nitrogen gases have the potential to destroy our temperate rainforests.
A journey to return one of the UK’s rarest wildflowers to the wild has made a major step to success.
The iconic orchid, Lady’s-slipper, was believed to have been driven to extinction in the UK by the early part of the 20th century as a result of over-collecting and habitat loss.
However, in 1930 a single plant was discovered growing in a remote part of the Yorkshire Dales. The location was kept secret for decades, during which time volunteers frequently checked on the plant to make sure it wasn’t dug up and stolen.
A reintroduction programme was planned with the ambition of reinstating self-sustaining populations of the orchid in the wild. Now, decades of work have finally paid off.
Last summer, the first new naturally occurring Lady’s-slipper Cypripedium calceolus plant was discovered in the wild for almost 100 years. The team who discovered the plant included Plantlife, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) and Chester Zoo.
This incredible moment for plant conservation was decades in the making.
Some 2 years ago, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, in partnership with Plantlife, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, BSBI and the National Trust received a grant from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme to continue and extend the work to recover Lady’s-slipper.
This work involved protecting the habitat of the remaining wild Lady’s-slipper plant, rearing lots of new orchid seedlings and planting out orchids into former haunts.
Then last June, the team were delighted to discover an entirely new plant at one of the reintroduction sites. This means the orchids that were planted out have managed to cross pollinate and set seed,, which then successfully germinated and established in the wild.
Lady’s-slipper, like other orchids, has tiny seeds and has long proven difficult to cultivate from seed. It took many years to refine the technique for hand pollination, discover the best time for seed capsule collection, germinate the hand-collected seeds and successfully grow-on mature individuals that were strong enough to be planted out in the wild.
Over the years, Kew has led the development of propagation techniques for the orchid. The young plants were then transferred to the hands of volunteer orchid-specialists, managed by the National Trust, who nurtured the plants for several years before they were ready to be planted out.
Trials have shown that larger plants – which are more rapidly able to get their roots down into rocky ground – grow better in the wild then smaller ones. This means, many of plants which were planted out in 2024 and 2025 were over 10 years old!
Together with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, BSBI, Natural England and Kew, we identified suitable sites for planting out orchids back into the wild.
Lady’s-slipper are the crowning glory of Britain’s wildflowers – one of the rarest and most impressive. Its rescue from the brink is one of the UK’s most fascinating lost and found stories, and a hopeful symbol of what can be regained when partners work together to carefully reintroduce plants back into the wild.
The distribution of Lady’s-slipper used to once stretch from Cumbria to Derbyshire. But as a result of over-collecting and habitat loss, the plant was believed extinct in the UK by the early part of the 20th century.
During the Victorian era it fell victim to the orchid hunting craze known as ‘orchidelirium’. Explorers would be sent off by wealthy collectors with the mission of finding new species of the delicate and beautiful orchids. Sadly, this led to Lady’s-slipper’s decline.
Find out more about the Lady’s-slipper including how and where to spot it.
Despite this wonderful step to success, there is still work to be done. The project team will continue their work to help the Lady’s-slipper and it’s hoped that if funding is secured more self-sustaining populations of the plant will be created.
If you would like the chance to see Lady’s-slipper, you can visit Kilnsey Park near Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales in late May and early June. More information here (www.kilnseypark.co.uk).
This year Plantlife has secured more funds from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme to monitor previous reintroductions and explore the environmental and habitat factors which correlate with various measures of success. So that future reintroductions and reinforcements can be targeted to locations that are most likely to successfully support self-sustaining populations.
Photo credits: Kevin Walker and Dr Elizabeth Cooke
A journey to return one of the UK's rarest wildflowers to the wild has made a major step to success.
Sun, sand, sea and wildflowers – why not add finding flowers to your list of beach time activities this summer.
It’s not just animals that have DNA in their cells, plants and fungi do too – and understanding it can help us with hard to identify plants.
The changes to insects, wildflowers and people have been ‘mind-blowing’ since the National Museum of Scotland started taking part in the No Mow Movement.
We asked Entomology Curator Ashleigh Whiffin how it’s made a positive impact to insect biodiversity and how it’s helping her work as an entomologist.
Watch our full video below.
I have always been a big supporter of No Mow May and the No Mow Movement because I think it’s an incredible campaign for raising awareness of wildflowers and this is vital if we’re going to improve the available habitat for insects.
There had been an interest among staff in participating in the No Mow Movement, but really what spurred it on was the lockdown periods. During this time the contractors didn’t come in to mow the grass and displayed a little version of what could be.
Initially, we just wanted to see what was here naturally. The site had been manicured for many years, so the grass was incredibly short and flowers were not given the opportunity to bloom.
When we first left the site to grow in lockdown, we started to see wonderful flowers like Oxeye Daisy and Cuckooflower – things I know insects love.
Native wildflowers are most important to insects because these are the species that they have evolved alongside and they provide them with the exact food sources they need.
We have also done a little bit of enhancement and added Primroses and Cowslips to the grassland to provide an early supply of nectar and pollen for some of our spring pollinators. And then we’ve also added Yellow Rattle, which has probably had the biggest impact. The Yellow Rattle has spread throughout the 4 years that we’ve been doing this project, and it’s really made quite a difference.
I think my favourite flower is possibly the Common Knapweed because I love its bright pop of colour and seeing a bee really stuck face-first deep into the flower is really satisfying.
One of my favourite things about us participating in the No Mow Movement has been the insects that we’re recording, including things that were not here before.
Everything from butterflies to moths to beetles and bees – and one of the biggest noticeable differences is the number of butterflies in recent years.
We’ve recorded 16 species of butterflies on our site during this period. They’re not all breeding here but that number is almost half of the butterflies recorded in Scotland, so that’s pretty good going! And because we’ve allowed our areas to grow, we found that we have a wonderful population now of Small Skipper butterflies.
The adult butterflies really need the floral resources to get the pollen and nectar. But their offspring need some breeding habitat, so the diversity of grasses we have are really important.
I’ve loved being able to work with my colleagues out on the grounds and interact in different ways than we usually would. It definitely has the mental health benefits to many of the staff and volunteers.
Also, the sounds of nature. Sitting near the meadow on your lunch break and hearing the grasshoppers and seeing the butterflies dance along the meadow – it’s a really nice experience.
There’s also a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that we’ve made these changes and they’ve been really positive.
The management plan that we developed has totally rewritten what was happening here before and we have transformed the site during the course of the last 4 years.
Instead of the grass being cut every 2 weeks, we have just particular areas of the grass that are cut. Most of the grassland is left and we just have edges of the green spaces, the perimeter of the site and then designated pathways cut during the growing season. We also leave areas long all winter to create habitat for wildlife.
It’s been a delicate balance of trying to make sure that we’re enhancing the biodiversity but not disrupting any access.
The National Museum’s collection centre is in the north of Edinburgh in an urban area. Our site is pretty unassuming – it’s an urban plot that is a series of buildings with green spaces laced between them.
But we have become a little bit of a green haven for the local wildlife.
As an institution, the No Mow Movement really nicely aligns with our aims as we research biodiversity, particularly Scottish insects, which is one of my focuses.
And of course, we’re very concerned about the environmental and biodiversity crisis right now. So doing something more with our own green space that we have was a natural way forward. I really hope that what we’ve done on our site can show other organisations what’s possible.
If I had to list everything that we found, we would be here for a very, very long time. We’ve got countless moths, butterflies, bees and bugs including:
With insects being more plentiful, that’s also been great for the birdlife and we’ve had Blue Tits and Great Tits nesting on site and foraging, collecting caterpillars for their young.
We’ve also had a number of mammals, some of which can’t be recorded in the day. So, by setting up camera traps, we’ve been able to see some of the nocturnal wildlife, predominantly that’s our foxes.
The biodiversity loss that we’re facing and biodiversity declines that we’re seeing are a very real and quite scary issue.
Now more than ever, it’s so important that we use any little scrap of space that we can to make things a little bit wilder and support our biodiversity.
By participating in the No Mow Movement it’s given us this whole opportunity to look at the insect life and our biodiversity right on our doorstep at the Collections Centre in a totally different way.
It’s clear that by giving power to the flowers and encouraging those native grasses can have a huge impact on our insect biodiversity.
What do you think of when you hear the word 'weed'? Join us as we uncover the myths #and delve into what it really means.
Plantlife's Road Verges Advisor Mark Schofield reveals how to keep your thriving No Mow May flowering lawn blossoming into June.
It’s not just trees that capture and store carbon, our meadows and grasslands play an important role too.
If you’re taking part in No Mow May this year, then your garden will be well on its way to becoming a beautiful, biodiverse haven for nature. But there is a bonus to helping the wildflowers grow – as you allow lawn to become meadow, your garden becomes your very own carbon store, helping to reduce your carbon footprint.
When carbon sequestration is mentioned, most minds turn to trees. As a society we are more aware than ever before of the role of woodlands in combatting climate change and creating a space for nature. Much less discussed is the remarkable and equally vital role our grasslands and meadows can play in increasing biodiversity and capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere.
When we create healthy grasslands and meadows by mowing or grazing livestock, we are simply replicating the activity of the herds of large wild herbivores that once moved across our hills and valleys. These habitats – if the grazing is gentle, infrequent and low intensity – recreate prehistoric landscapes and provide a home for our wild plants, insects, birds and fungi. Natural and semi-natural grasslands (meaning those that are farmed but in a traditional, less intensive manner) improve the quality of our water, prevent flooding and help increase the resilience of farming to summer droughts.
This grassland – and the healthy soil beneath it – also has an incredible and little-known potential to lock away atmospheric carbon. Soil carbon is a particularly valuable store; it is far more stable and long lasting than the carbon in trees, which is vulnerable to forest fires, pests and disease.
As plants live and grow, carbon from the atmosphere is drawn down into the plants’ roots, where the myriad creatures in the soil make use of it, locking it away beneath the ground. As the diversity of plants on the surface increases, so does the diversity of microorganisms, fungi and invertebrates beneath it. The more diverse the soil life, the richer the entire ecosystem – and the more carbon the soil can store.
The almost mystical role of mycorrhizal fungi is now well known. They connect roots to the nutrients in the soil, trading sugars that plants and trees create from sunlight with locked away minerals the fungi extract from the soil. We now know that plants and trees can communicate through these fungal networks, alerting them to pests and diseases and passing nutrients to others in need.
Mycorrhizal fungi have another important role – they are critical in the ability of plants to transfer carbon to the soil. In areas of farmland, meadow and garden where the soil is ploughed, fertilised or dominated by a small number of grass species, these mycorrhizal networks are much less effective – with fewer species and a lower carbon storage potential. When we look after our farmland and gardens with care, mowing and grazing infrequently and gently, avoiding ploughing and pesticides, we nurture our mycorrhizal fungi, helping the soil to become a more potent carbon store.
By taking part in No Mow May, you will not only begin to create a home for wildflowers and insects, you will also create healthier soils that nourish your garden plants – and reduce your carbon footprint in the process.
England alone has around 640,000 hectares of private garden. If just a quarter of this area was transformed into wildflower rich meadow – by mowing just once or twice a year and collecting the cuttings – then these garden soils could potentially capture and store an additional amount of carbon equivalent to more than 3 million average cars’ annual emissions within a spade’s depth, and well over 10 million cars in soils as deep as one meter*.
Lawns and gardens are of course just one part of the puzzle – the UK’s farmed grassland landscape offers tremendous potential for us to sequester carbon, while also protecting agriculture and biodiversity.
Farmers and landowners have a fundamental role to play – combining food production with sustainable grasslands that lock away carbon in healthy, ecologically rich soils. Some 40% of the UK’s land area is grassland – but much of this is intensively farmed, limiting its potential for carbon storage.
Globally, studies have suggested that 2.3-7.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalents per year could be sequestered through grassland diversity restoration. Carbon sequestration doesn’t just mean more trees. Healthy grassland, with the more sensitive grazing and less intensive farming that nourishes it, also keeps carbon out of the atmosphere.
No matter how large or small our garden, we all have a role to play, and we can all make a difference. It’s easy to get started – just put your lawnmower away this May!
The National Museum of Scotland has transformed its collections centre into a haven for insects and local wildlife by taking part in the No Mow Movement. Learn how.
An incredible story of returning one of England’s rarest lichens to its historic home – more than 350 miles away.
Let’s learn how expert Dave Lamacraft translocated the lichen across the country.
The Scrambled Egg Lichen, a rare and endangered lichen, has been reintroduced to its historic home in East Anglia.
This yellow lichen with a white fungus on top really does look like an egg. But before you start imagining carrying it in a frying pan, let’s follow the amazing journey of transporting this lichen 350 miles.
The Breckland, in the east of England, has suffered more than other places with habitat loss. One of the casualties is the Scrambled Egg Lichen. It became extinct in the Breckland due to habitat loss resulting from changes in farming practices, an increase in tree cover and a loss of rabbits. The Scrambled Egg Lichen is 1 of 3 specialist lichens lost from the region, where they were once common, along with the Starry Breck and Scaly Breck Lichen.
Fortunately, we have found a way to reintroduce it back into the Breckland. Our Lichen and Bryophyte Senior Specialist Dave Lamacraft collected small patches of the lichen from Penhale in Cornwall and transported it using a process called translocation.
The rare Scrambled Egg Lichen Fulgensia fulgens 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.
The UK is home to globally significant populations of rare lichen species, some of which are found nowhere else on earth. However, lichens face increasing threats from habitat loss, climate change and air pollution. Projects such as this are vital and will help us to reverse these declines.
Translocation is a process used in conservation which involves moving an organism to a new location, where it will hopefully survive and thrive. To translocate the Scrambled Egg Lichen, small patches of the lichen were carefully removed and reattached using a combination of water and bookbinding glue.
Some 200 small pieces of the lichen – about the size of a 20p piece – were removed from Cornwall and 160 transplanted into the Breckland chalky landscape. The site in Cornwall is managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
About 160 lichens were translocated to a small area of about 100m at a site managed by Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Measuring long term success of this translocation will take a few years, but it is hoped that if successful, the lichen will show evidence of growing after one year and spread naturally afterwards.
None of this work would have been possible without the support from Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Norfolk Wildlife Trust, with funding from Natural England as part of the Species Recovery Programme.
200 small patches of Scrambled Egg Lichen were transported from Cornwall to Norfolk
The Scrambled Egg Lichen was transported to the east of England in seed trays
The lichen was transplanted across an area of about 100m at a site managed by Norfolk Wildlife Trust
Glue and water was used to transplant the lichen
If you’ve been taking part in the No Mow Movement, you might have spotted some wonderful wildflowers poking through your lawn.
Our meadows have been part of our natural heritage for centuries and cared for by people for generations – but they are now more at risk than ever before.
Far too often, the world’s wild plants have been relegated to the green background for more charismatic wildlife…but no more.We’re thrilled that the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation was adopted at COP16. Just returned from Cali, Colombia – our Global Advocacy Officer Claire Rumsey tells us more.
As the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came to a close in the early hours on Sunday morning, we were thrilled to hear the news that the new Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) was officially adopted.
Far too often, the world’s wild plants have been forgotten and we’ve been calling to bring them to the forefront of global conservation efforts.
The adoption of the GSPC (and its 21 complementary plant conservation actions) in Cali, Colombia is a big step forward. It means a commitment to align plant conservation efforts with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which is an international agreement made up of ambitious goals and targets to combat biodiversity decline. This includes updating the GSPC with specific indicators and a standardized reporting template, ensuring that progress in plant conservation is measurable and consistent with global biodiversity targets.
A Fungi Pledge was also put forward, which we were absolutely thrilled about. The pledge, lunched at a side event by the UK and Chilean Governments proposed that the CBD introduce a ‘fungal conservation pledge’ to better prioritise fungi in global conservation strategies.
This is great news for fungi. We are starting to see much more profile and attention given to the fungus kingdom and we will be seeking opportunities to work with the fungus community to build on this momentum.
In a truly historic decision, COP 16 delegates agreed to create a special advisory board for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).
This means that the voices and knowledge of IPLCs will be an integral part of the future of biodiversity and nature conservation decision-making.
Pre-COP there was general acknowledgement that this COP must strengthen the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who are “the world’s great guardians of biodiversity, luminaries of sustainable use”. And this decision, has done just that!
This COP had big shoes to fill, being the first one since the landmark KMGBF was adopted in Montreal in December 2022, hailed the Paris Agreement for Biodiversity.
There was more interest than has ever been seen in a Biodiversity COP; we were among a whopping 23,000 other registered delegates, the High-level Segment was attended by six Heads of State, more than 130 Ministers and Vice Ministers, and over 70 leaders of international organisations.
And, staying true to its title of ‘the people’s COP’, for the first time ever in a CBD COP there was a Green Zone (differing from the Blue Zone where the negotiations take place), located in the centre of Cali, constituting an open fair for biodiversity, and attracting around 40,000 people daily. This felt like the true COP, vibrant, full of energy and lots of public engagement with the stalls and activities. Check out our video here.
Our week was (as you’d expect) lots of non-stop talking about plants, fungi and biodiversity. At the conference itself, we shared a booth with Botanical Garden Conservation International (BGCI) creating a hub for discussions of all things plants (and fungi).
We were there, to quite literally wave our (pink!) flags for plants and fungi, and the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation (GPPC). It was very busy and incredibly worthwhile.
Another common thread of the COP was the implementation of a ‘whole of society’ approach to conservation, which we at Plantlife have been encouraging for years. This, for us specifically meant emphasis that it is not the sole responsibility of botanists and botanic gardens to speak up for plants (in the form of these new actions), but all different sectors – the farmers, the foresters, the businesses, IPLCs, national and global NGOs.
We had fruitful and fascinating conversations with new and old friends including New York Botanic Garden, IUCN’s Reverse the Red, Key Biodiversity Areas, the Crop Trust and the IUCN’s Global Species Action Plan. And we connected with people from Mexico, Nepal, California, Switzerland, and Ruth Davies popped in to say hello as the new UK Nature Envoy (a former Plantlife employee and still a big Plantlife fan!).
Our Director of Conservation, Nicola spoke at the GSPC side event about how these new plant conservation actions will contribute not only to the implementation of the KMGBF, but also multiple other UN frameworks and global policies. It was clear this is a moment for plants!
Now that we’re back and the GSPC has been formally adopted, we can follow-up on the numerous connections we made, continuing to strengthen and grow our global network.
We will continue to advocate for the GSPC, particularly beyond the botanical garden world, so that we widen the understanding of the value and relevance of the plant actions and push for a broader societal to apply the actions within their own programmes and activities. Our aim is to make information more accessible and useful and to help bridge the gap from the science to conservation action on the ground.
Currently, a list of threatened and range-restricted plant species is being refined in New Guinea as part of the Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPA's) project (2022-2024).
In Mozambique 57 IPA's have been identified, which is being used as focus for the Tropical Important Plant Areas team.
Recent studies have revealed that there’s so much fungi out there that we don’t know about.
But how do we know this? Plantlife’s Rachel Inhester, from our science team, tells us why.
This incredible fact from the Kew report, ‘State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023’, highlights just how much there is to learn when it comes to fungi. That was certainly my first thought when I read this statement. It’s exciting to think of all the discoveries we have yet to make, and it gives an indication as to the huge amount of work ahead of us, to find and classify such a large number of unknown species. The report goes on to estimate that there are between 2-3 million species of fungi in the world, and as of yet, only 155,000 of those species have been formally named!
Fungi can be difficult to detect for a number of reasons:
As I was contemplating just how little we know about these extraordinary organisms; another thought came to mind. How can we estimate that 90% of fungal species are unknown to science? How did we come up with that number? In other words, how can we know what we don’t know?
Well, it turns out, that to arrive at such an estimate, you first need a team of fungal specialists, known as mycologists, and then you need the time and capacity to critically evaluate all the current knowledge on the topic so far. It was certainly no simple undertaking!
Past methods of calculating the number of fungal species, were not without issue, so the team of experts definitely had their work cut out for them. Previous estimates couldn’t be completely relied upon on their own. Sampling techniques varied and some fungal groups were not considered in certain studies. Some reports were simply outdated due to the discoveries that have been made since they were first published.
It’s important that we try to speed up this process so that we can understand the fascinating world of fungi around us. Fungi are interconnected with nearly all life on earth. They can improve nutrient uptake of plants, improve the immunity of their plant hosts against pathogens, they are biomass decomposers, and some species are used to make medicines [1].
The team of specialists decided to focus on 4 key academic areas to better estimate the number of expected species. These research areas were scaling laws, fungus to plant ratios, actual vs previously known species and DNA based studies.
Organisms are classified into 8 main levels or ‘taxa’. From highest to lowest, these taxa are: Domain – Kingdom – Phylum – Class – Order – Family – Genus – Species. This is a way of organising organisms into groups which become more inclusive with every level. Let’s use the Fly Agaric fungi as an example. At species level we simply have Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). The Fly Agaric is an individual species, but individual species can belong to a larger group, or genus, in this case the genus Amanita. A genus is a grouping of similar species which all share a common ancestor. The groupings, or taxa, get progressively larger as you move up each level until you reach the levels of Kingdom and Domain. The Fly Agaric is part of the Fungi Kingdom which includes all other fungal species.
Scaling law studies aim to predict species diversity by looking at patterns in the numbers of ‘higher taxa’ and the number of known species in each.
In this case, information from the level of phylum (the third taxa) to genus (the seventh taxa) was used. Patterns in the numbers of these ‘higher taxa’ were compiled to predict fungal species diversity. Previous studies were assessed by the fungal experts, who adjusted the estimates to include recent discoveries and accurate numbers of known species.
Fungus to plant ratios have been estimated in multiple studies over the years and for a variety of habitats. Therefore, if we know the number of plant species, we can make a pretty good estimate as to the number of fungal species.
However, the fungal experts were still faced with challenges when examining previous research. Studies varied in how they calculated the ratios to begin with. Some only considered fungi with a known association to plants and other studies were much broader. Coupled with the fact that lots of fungi can be difficult to detect and may have no association with plants whatsoever, a lot of the predictions were considered an underestimate. On evaluating earlier research, the specialists felt that a ratio of 5:1, of fungi to plant species, in temperate areas and 4:1 in tropical locations, was more accurate than previous estimates.
Some species of fungi can be difficult to differentiate. This can cause an underestimation of species numbers as multiple species are occasionally classified as one and the same. The fungal experts examined a study which had investigated this in detail where they concluded that there were 11 times as many actual species compared with previously known species. Varying definitions of exactly what a species is, creates difficulty with this method of estimation.
DNA based methods have been an incredibly powerful tool in documenting fungal diversity around the world. A single sample can allow scientists to sequence the DNA of whole communities of fungi. These samples can come from a variety of places, including soil and deadwood. The samples are then analysed and any DNA within the sample is extracted and sequenced.
This DNA gives us a list of all the fungal species found in a sample, including species which we can’t even see, providing us with a more accurate representation of fungal species numbers.
For Kew’s report, it provided the final piece of the puzzle in answering the question of ‘how many species of fungi do we think there are globally?’.
Using all the information and research available to them, the fungal experts refined their predictions and came up with an estimate of 2.5 million species of fungi worldwide! [2]
So there really was a lot of work that went into this seemingly impossible estimation. As it stands, this estimate reveals how many species we have yet to discover.
At this time, around 2,500 new species of fungi are identified and described each year. And if the above estimate is accurate, that would mean waiting 750-1000 years for us to find and describe the rest. [2]
As we discover more species, we shall hopefully uncover more benefits of the fungi around us, as well as conserving as many species as possible before we potentially lose them forever.
Fungi underpin the health of our environment and are key to resolving the climate, ecological and societal challenges we face. Your donation could help increase understanding of fungi and get them the support they need.
The peat-rich Flow Country, which our Munsary Peatlands are part of, has been given the same standing as the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon.
This marks a special moment for Scottish wild plants, fungi and the wildlife that call it home.
With the same standing as the Pyramids and the Great Barrier Reef, The Flow Country has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status – marking a magnificent moment for Scottish wildlife.
Deep within this historic landscape is our own Munsary Peatlands, which is an incredibly special place for plant life. One of the most extensive peatlands left in Europe, our Munsary Nature Reserve is key for tackling the ongoing climate crisis.
Alistair Whyte, Head of Plantlife Scotland said: “The Flow Country may be less well-known than the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids but it is cause for great celebration that it today has achieved the same standing as those rightly revered places on Earth. Recognition of the special significance of this wet and wild habitat in northern Scotland, where ancient peat can be as deep as a double-decker bus, demonstrates a growing recognition of the importance of peatlands to plants, people and planet.”
This historical moment also means the Flow Country has become the world’s first peatland World Heritage Site.
After years of hard work, we are thrilled that The Flow Country, in northern Scotland, has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – a special moment for Scottish wild plants, fungi and the wealth of the wildlife they support.
UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of natural and cultural heritage around the globe considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. What makes the concept of World Heritage so special is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all people, irrespective of where they are located.
The list of World Heritage Sites is as varied as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the Pyramids of Egypt – and now that list includes the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland, located near Lybster in Scotland (among just over 30 sites currently in the UK).
Munsary, a vast and undulating plain of blanket bog, is home to a huge variety of wildlife including some rare and threatened species.
This historic landscape is the most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world. As well as being very important for biodiversity, it is also classed as an Important Plant Area (IPA). IPAs are key sites for exceptional botanical richness and identified as the best places for wild plants and their habitats.
So far, 147 species of vascular plants have been recorded at Munsary including the nationally-scarce Small Cranberry and a patch of Marsh Saxifrage, discovered in 2002, which is one of the largest colonies in Britain. The reserve in Caithness is also home to a Bog Orchid, a tiny yellow-green orchid which is so slight as to be almost invisible in the few bogs where it grows.
But, healthy peatlands – like Munsary – are more than just wildlife havens; they also have a vitally important role as we tackle the climate emergency. In fact, the vast expanse of pristine peat formed over many millennia at Munsary locks up a staggering two million tonnes of carbon.
Some species to look out for inlcude:
A special feature at Munsary is an unusual-looking area of dark-watered pools, high on a dome of peat, called dubh lochans. This area is particularly diverse, with pools of different shapes, sizes and depths, vegetated pools, and open water, ridges, and hummocks.
Even a visitor who has never studied mosses can spot differences between those forming the peat. Some form neat, rounded mounds, others are brownish or reddish tufts, while others make a deceptive green lawn, floating over water of an uncertain depth.
The drier areas of bog moss are home to many characteristic bog plants: Bog Asphodel, with spikes of yellow flowers, Common Cottongrass, with many white cottony heads in summer, and hare’s-tail cottongrass with just a single, fluffier head. Three species of heather grow here and plenty of sedges too, including such hard-to-find species as few-flowered sedge, flea sedge and bog-sedge.
Insect-eating plants lurk beside streams and wet pools: butterwort, with a basal rosette of broad, yellow-green leaves on which small insects stick, and round leaved and great sundew, with long red hairs on their leaves curving over to entrap their prey.
Peatlands are home to some of the UK’s most distinctive plant communities – they have evolved in response to the low-nutrient conditions. This has led to some remarkable adaptations such as the insect-eating sundews and butterworts, and the spongy blankets of colourful spagnum mosses.
They are also one of our most important terrestrial carbon sinks. But when bogs are drained or the peat is exploited, the peat gets exposed to the air and begins to break down, releasing carbon dioxide. This turns a huge carbon store into a vast emitter, contributing to climate change. Read more here.
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