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Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima
The South Stack Fleawort is found along a small section of the North Wales Coastal Path on Ynys Gybi (Holy Island).
Found only between Parth Dafarch and RSPB South Stack Nature Reserve
Grassy cliff tops and vegetated gullies
May and early June
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.
Saxifraga cespitosa
Tufted Saxifrage grows at a number of sites in Scotland and just a couple of boulders in Wales, where it is extremely threatened by spring droughts and lack of winter snow cover.
This arctic alpine plant prefers to grow on cliff ledges and boulders on calcium rich rocks in Eryri and the Scottish Highlands
This species flowers from May through to early June however the inaccessibility of its sites makes it a very difficult species to see in the wild.
Tufted Saxifrage was first discovered in the wild in Wales in 1796 but wasn’t seen between the late 1800’s and the 1950’s when it was rediscovered by Evan Roberts (the first warden of Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve).
In the 1970’s its population was bolstered by a conservation reintroduction and it saw a population high in the 1980’s. Since then it has seen a steady decline and the Welsh population of Tufted Saxifrage now (2023) numbers just seven plants in the wild.
Through the Tlysau Mynydd Eryri Project (part of Natur am Byth!) we are successfully cultivating Welsh Tufted Saxifrage plants with a plan to enable them to move higher up the mountains of Eryri to sites where they will see snow for longer in the winter.
In Scotland, we are at the beginning of our journey to protect this delicate plant through our Resilience and Recovery, Helping Rare Species Adapt to a Changing World project. Read more about our work with Tufted Saxifrage here,
Read about Natur am Byth! A Green Recovery project to save vulnerable species from extinction in Wales, including the Tufted Saxifrage
Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea
The Irish Saxifrage was once found in Wales too. Its upright buds and bright white flowers distinguish it clearly from the other ‘mossy’ saxifrages found in the British Isles.
Several localities in Ireland and once known from just one locality in Eryri, Wales.
Calcium rich rock ledges and crevices.
You can see this species flowering in cultivation at the National Botanic Garden of Wales during May and June
Rosy Saxifrage is extinct in the wild in Wales. It was last seen in the wild in Wales in the 1960’s.
Richard Roberts discovered a piece of a plant that had been washed down from a cliff whilst he was leading a group on a geology walk. Noticing it was something different he took the piece of plant home and grew it. All the Welsh Rosy Saxifrage material now kept in cultivation came from that small piece of plant. Through the Tlysau Mynydd Eryri Project (part of Natur am Byth!) we plan to reintroduce Rosie Saxifrage to the wild again in Wales.
Armeria maritima
However, there is nothing to match seeing it in its natural habitat: atop dramatic coastal cliffs or astride craggy islands.
Globular heads of pink flowers have stalks 5-30cm long. Flattened, linear, dark green leaves.
Across wild, coastal areas throughout the UK – especially Scotland. As well as rocky cliffs, Thrift can also be commonly found brightening up saltmarshes and other sandy areas.
April to July when it flowers.
Has started to appear inland on roadsides as salting creates favourable conditions.
Thrift growing on the Gower
Thrift growing along the coast
Viola lactea
In fact the second part of its scientific name – lactea – means ‘milky’ in Latin. It has creeping stems originating from a rosette of leaves about its base.
A species of humid heathland and grass heath in southern England, largely confined to key heathland districts including the Wealden and Thames Basin heaths, the New Forest and Dorset heaths, and through much of Devon and Cornwall (though rarely ever commonly).
Pale Dog-violet is a species of humid heathland and grass heath (including the Culm grasslands), favouring areas with short vegetation and considerable bare ground created by burning, grazing or incidental disturbance such as rutting, turf cutting etc.
The species’ greatest threat comes from the cessation of traditional management practices, notably winter swaling (burning of dead grass and dwarf shrubs) and traditional stock grazing, ideally by cattle and/or ponies.
May and June whilst flowering.
Pale Dog-violet in grass
Tuberaria guttata
A flower of the west coast, the largest colonies of Spotted Rock-rose lie on Anglesey’s Holy Island, where it is also the county flower.
Its distinct crimson-spotted flowers are matched by red-flushed leaves.
A handful of colonies on Ynys Mon (Anglesey), Ynys Gybi (Holy Island) and the Llyn Peninsula in Wales. The only location it can be found on the British mainland is at the very end of the Llyn Peninsula
Dry, rocky places.
Flowers from June to August
To see the spotted rock-rose in full bloom you have to catch it at just the right time. It flowers only once during its lifetime and sheds its vivid petals within hours of doing so.
The county flower of Anglesey (Cor-rosyn rhuddfannog) in Welsh is one of the priority species for the partnership project Natur am Byth!. Plantlife are working with the RSPB, Natural Resources Wales and a range of other organisations and individuals to ensure this species is protected and more fully understood. Through working with the RSPB to undertake a full review and baseline survey of the species in 2022 we now have the data at our fingertips to enable this species’ future conservation.
Orchis morio
Its Latin name, morio, means ‘fool’ and refers to the jester-like motley of its green and purple flowers.
It can sometimes be confused with the early-purple orchid – the difference is in the leaves, which are not spotted, and the sepals which have green veins.
Green-winged orchid was chosen as the County Flower of Ayrshire. It can also be seen growing at our Joan’s Hill Farm Reserve in Herefordshire.
Widespread in most of England but has become scarce in the south-west. It is also less common in the north of England. It is well known on the Welsh coast and can be found in one small area on the west coast of Scotland
The green-winged orchid has many names in Scotland, suggesting a lively folklore: hen’s kames (combs), bull’s bags, dog’s dubbles, keet legs and deid man’s thoombs!
Pilosella officinarum
Each plant has a small rosette of hairy ragged leaves that are dark green above but whitish and hairy underneath. They’re rounded at the tips and not toothed. The flowers are carried on long stems from the centre of these rosettes, up to 30cm tall. Each narrow and tightly packed bloom – one per stem – is like a dandelion but a paler lemon yellow in colour. They are followed by fluffy seed heads.
Found throughout the UK, but rarer in north-west Scotland.
Grows in dry grassy places like meadows, pastures, verges, lawns, heaths and dunes as well as waste ground.
When in flower, from May to August.
Mouse-ear Hawkweed at Brockles Field
Ranunculus repens
Also known as Common Buttercups, it’s long rooting runners help it to spread across damp areas of grass, which distinguishes it from other buttercup species. It has yellow flowers and hairy leaves divided into 3 lobes.
Creeping Buttercups are found in a variety of damp habitats such as pastures, roadside verges, lawns, tracks and paths.
Creeping Buttercups are widespread and stable throughout the British Isles.
Creeping Buttercup, image by Trevor Dines
Taraxacum officinale
A common sight in spring, these bright yellow wild flowers can look quite exotic and the fluffy seed heads that follow are delicate and ethereal.
Look out for the bright yellow discs of tightly packed florets above a rosette of jaggedly toothed leaves. The flowers are followed by fluffy white seed heads. The plants are perennial and have a long tap root.
They are a huge number of Dandelion microspecies, in the UK, we have around 250. It’s believed that more than 40 of these are endemic species, and the majority are native.
Dandelions mostly occur in disturbed habitats such as pastures, roadside verges, lawns, tracks, paths and waste ground. They are widespread and stable throughout the British Isles.
Dandelions and daisies on a Wiltshire lawn, image by Archie Thomas
Ashy Mining Bee on Dandelion, image by Pip Gray
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