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South Stack Fleawort

Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima

South Stack Fleawort by the coast

The South Stack Fleawort is found along a small section of the North Wales Coastal Path on Ynys Gybi (Holy Island).

Distribution

Found only between Parth Dafarch and RSPB South Stack Nature Reserve

Habitat

Grassy cliff tops and vegetated gullies

Best time to see

May and early June

yellow bud of flower shooting on a hairy leaves South Stack Fleawort

Did you know…

  • South Stack or Spathulate Fleawort smells sweetly of honey and is pollinated by bumblebees.
  • It is found on just a small region of coastline in North Wales and nowhere else in the world.
  • Recent genetic studies showed that its closest relatives are a small population of Field Fleawort in Bedfordshire but that it is distinct enough from those plants to maintain its status as a separate subspecies.

Plantlife supports a project to understand why this subspecies of Fleawort is only found in this small area of Ynys Gybi and the ecological requirements of the plants.

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