Tag: Vascular Plant

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 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.

North Merseyside Biodiversity Action Plan
Dune Helleborine Epipactis dunensis

1 Current status
1.1 National
The Dune Helleborine has recently been upgraded to a full species from a sub-species of Epipactis leptochila. It is a nationally rare, endemic taxon for which Britain has an international responsibility. Dune Helleborine is largely confined to sand-dunes in Northwest England and North Wales. Similar plants from inland sites in Northumberland and Scotland are now thought to belong to a different taxon. Because of taxonomic uncertainties, The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain (Cheffings & Farrell, 2005) treats Dune Helleborine as “Data Deficient”. It is a Priority Species in the UK BAP on account of its endemic status.

1.2 Local
In North Merseyside the Dune Helleborine is confined to the Sefton Coast sanddunes. Travis’s Flora of South Lancashire (1963) describes it as “Occasional, locally common … in open, moist hollows in the dunes at the edge of pine plantations”. This is still the case. P.S. Gateley recorded 870 spikes in 1988 and 1911 in 1992 during partial surveys of the dune system. The largest numbers of plants in both years were found in Ainsdale Sand Dunes NNR, the northern and southern extremities of the dune system having few plants. Gateley found that 21% of spikes occurred in pine plantations, while 53% were associated with Creeping Willow Salix repens. The plant avoided Marram Ammophila arenaria-dominated dunes and heavily vegetated fixed-dune pastures but seemed well adapted to disturbance, being often found in areas cleared of conifers, along fence
lines and the edges of footpaths. A large population is now known to occur in the frontal woodlands of Ainsdale NNR. Over 200 spikes were counted in 2007 in the Lifeboat Road woodlands. Small additional colonies have been located at Freshfield Dune Heath Nature Reserve and Altcar Rifle Range.
English Nature carried out a survey of Dune and Green-flowered Helleborine in Ainsdale NNR in 2002 at 130 randomly generated points, but statistical problems associated with small sample sizes prevented rigorous analysis of the results.

North Merseyside Biodiversity Action Plan
Early Sand-grass Mibora minima

1 Current status
1.1 National
This nationally rare annual plant is native on the loose sand of maritime dunes and similar places near the sea in Anglesey, North Merseyside and the Channel Islands, and possibly native in Glamorgan. The Early Sand-grass has become naturalised in a few places on the south and east coasts of England and north to East Lothian. It is a rare casual elsewhere. The New Atlas of the British & Irish Flora (2002) shows it as a native plant in 15 hectads (Channel Isles, Anglesey, Gower, Sefton Coast) Early Sand-grass is listed as a vascular plant of Conservation Importance in A Biodiversity Audit of North West England (1999).

1.2 Local
Early Sand-grass is confined to the Sefton Coast in north Merseyside. It was first discovered by D.P. Earl and J. Buckley-Earl in April 1996, growing in a small area of dunes on the west side of Southport Marine Lake. The plant’s distribution was mapped by P.H. Smith on 12th April 1999 when it was found to be dominant in many patches over a distance of about 100m, some of the patches being up to 10m in diameter but many much smaller. Most of the population was associated with the south to south-east facing slope of a low (3m-high) dune ridge. Some small patches were also found on a plateau area to the west of the ridge. All patches of Early Sandgrass were in poorly vegetated areas with a high proportion of bare sand, often on the
fringes of sandy, informal footpaths. The most abundant of 16 associated plants were Kidney Vetch, Little Mouse-ear and Common Whitlow-grass. A repeat survey in 2004 showed the plant’s area had increased by 47% to 2158m2. Regular visits from 2005 to 2007 suggest the grass is doing well and continuing to spread.