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1. CURRENT STATUS
1.1 National
1.1.1 Petalwort is a nationally scarce liverwort found mainly in damp, lime-rich sand-dune slacks. It occurs in 16 Vice Counties in Britain and two in
Northern Ireland. The largest known populations are in Cornwall, Devon, Cardigan, Anglesey, South Lancashire, Northumberland and West Ross. It is thought that 25 – 49% of its global population occurs in Britain.

1.1.2 Petalwort is a Priority Species within the UK Biodiversity Action Plan on account of the threat to its populations.

1.2 Local
1.2.1 Petalwort is confined to the Sefton Coast in north Merseyside and Northwest England. It has been known from dune slacks in the Ainsdale and
Southport area since 1861.

1.2.2 Recent surveys by M. Newton and D. Wrench have located and mapped the plant in several slacks within the Ainsdale and Birkdale Sandhills LNR. Wrench records 47 different ‘populations’, though many are situated in the same slack. It seems to prefer damp ground around the edges of fairly recently formed slacks where competing plant life is low. Light trampling, which keeps ground vegetation sparse, may be beneficial.

1 Current status
1.1 National
Purple Ramping-fumitory is a nationally scarce, endemic annual plant which used to
be widespread in the mixed farming and arable areas of Britain. However, during the
last 50 years it has undergone a drastic decline throughout its former range due to
agricultural intensification. Recent records of the plant are mainly concentrated in
the west of the country, near the coasts of Cornwall and Lancashire, notably north
Lancashire, the Fylde, West Lancashire and north Merseyside. However, it rarely
seems to persist at any given locality.

Purple Ramping-fumitory is a Priority Species within the UK Biodiversity Action
Plan on account of its endemic status and the threat to its populations.

1.2 Local
Since 1995, small, transient populations of Purple Ramping-fumitory have been
located in north Merseyside at Southport, Churchtown, Crossens, Ainsdale, Formby,
Little Crosby, Rainford Junction, Garston Gasworks, Lydiate, Maghull and Anfield
Cemetery. The records were from disturbed ground or the edges of arable fields. In
many cases, return visits to the sites did not rediscover plants. It is often the case that
Purple Ramping-fumitory often does not persist at any given location although it will
often re-occur in the general area provided suitable habitats exist.

1 Current status
1.1 National
Occurring in at least 22 coastal localities in the Isle of Man and western Britain from
central Scotland to south-west England, the Isle of Man Cabbage is a nationally scarce
British endemic. The New Atlas of the British Flora (2002) maps it as native in 34
post-1086 hectads, extending from Arran to Gower, most being from N. Cumbria to
Wirral (including the Isle of Man). The atlas states that Isle of Man Cabbage is stable
or even increasing in the centre of its range in N.W. England, but is slowly declining elsewhere.

1.2 Local
In north Merseyside, Isle of Man Cabbage is confined to the Sefton Coast sand-dunes
where it has always been extremely localised. For many years it was only known
from the Crosby – Blundellsands area but development progressively destroyed this
population and it became extinct in 1992. A second colony was found in 1983 in the
Birkdale Sandhills Local Nature Reserve but this disappeared in about 1993 due to
maturation of its habitat. A third population, discovered in 1989 at Southport Marine
Lake, initially prospered, reaching a total of at least 874 plants in 1997 but declined to
281 plants by 2004.

Plants from the relict Blundellsands colony were translocated in 1992 to six sand-dune
sites nearby at Hall Road and Crosby Marine Park. From a total of only 29
plants surviving in 1994, there has been a steady increase to 1323 plants in 2007,
while the area colonised by the Isle of Man Cabbage at these sites increased fourteenfold
between 1998 and 2007, reaching over 13,600 m2 in the latter year.

1 Introduction
The Biodiversity Audit of North West England (1999) lists 474 taxa of vascular plants
of “conservation importance”, 145 of which occur on the Sefton Coast. Whittling
these down to a manageable number for Species Action Plans has been a daunting
task. Two, Dune Helleborine and Isle of Man Cabbage, are listed as UK Priority or
endemic species, so these were obvious choices. Another, Early Sand-grass, occurs
here on its only English site and it too was felt to deserve inclusion in the main body
of the BAP.

A short-list of another 18 plants that seemed to merit special conservation measures
was drawn up and 7 chosen for Species Action Plans. These are all nationally rare or
nationally scarce plants for which the Sefton Coast is especially important. In
addition, their status is fairly well known and, in most cases, their habitat
requirements well understood. They are dealt with together in this group SAP rather
than in individual SAPs – not because they are regarded as being of lesser importance
but partly because their conservation demands are often very similar and partly in
order to avoid appearing to give undue weight to the Sefton Coast within the BAP as a
whole. The 2008 review of the North Merseyside BAP led to three more species, for
which there is recent detailed survey data, being added.

It is hoped that the species selected give a representative overview of the conservation
issues facing plants on the Sefton Coast.

A brief summary of their status and requirements for all of the taxa included is given
in section two. Section three details the SMART targets for all taxa. Each taxon
included in the plan is then given more detailed treatment in subsequent sections.

1 Current status
1.1 National
Stoneworts are large algae mostly associated with freshwater bodies ranging in size
from deep lakes and canals to small ephemeral ponds. Most species require
calcareous, low-nutrient conditions. They are, therefore, fairly restricted in
distribution, being largely confined to high water quality habitats on sand, peat or clay
substrates.
Lesser Bearded Stonewort was until recently classified as Near Threatened, occurring
at only 30-35 British sites. However, information gathered as a result of the national
action plan indicates that it is more widespread than previously thought and it is no
longer classified as a Priority Species. Opposite and Clustered Stoneworts are also
Nationally Scarce, occurring in fewer than 100 10km squares in Britain.

1.2 Local
In North Merseyside stoneworts are only known to occur on the Sefton Coast. Five
species have been recorded in recent years: Lesser Bearded Stonewort Chara curta,
Opposite Stonewort Chara contraria, Bristly Stonewort Chara hispida, Common
Stonewort Chara vulgaris and Clustered Stonewort Tolypella glomerata.
Translucent Stonewort Nitella translucens was recorded in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal
in Litherland in 1977. There are local historic records of Smooth Stonewort Nitella
flexilis and Delicate Stonewort Chara virgata, the latter at Otterspool Park, Liverpool,
but it is not known if any of these still occur.
Recent surveys have only been carried out on three to four sites: Ainsdale Sand Dunes
NNR, parts of the Ainsdale & Birkdale Hills LNR, Altcar Rifle Ranges and Seaforth
NR. It is therefore impossible to be precise about the distribution of these species.
Unidentified stoneworts have been recently found in two ponds on Formby Hall Golf
Course.
Most known sites are in dune pools and slacks, where several species often occur
together. These species can exist both as perennials and short-lived annuals and can
therefore survive in water bodies that dry out in summer. Clustered Stonewort thrives
only in such ephemeral pools.
Lesser Bearded Stonewort was first discovered on the Ainsdale NNR in 1978 in a
slack which had been created two years earlier. It is now known to occur in four
slacks, all of which are close to the original site.
Opposite, Common, Bristly and Clustered Stoneworts almost certainly have a more
widespread distribution.