Flowering plants and ferns

Context

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) can be notified if they include qualifying features under the flowering plants and ferns criteria outlined in section 3 of Chapter 11 'Vascular plants (flowering plants, ferns and their allies)' of the Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs. In Northern Ireland, ASSIs are selected on a very similar basis – the Guidelines for the Selection of Biological ASSIs in Northern Ireland is an addendum to the SSSI guidelines rather than an alternative.

Guidance for site selection is designed to give particular attention to the rarer and more threatened species. The more common species tend to form plant communities which are the basis for selection for habitat or vegetation types, though such selection will also include some of the rarer species.

Sites can be notified for individual species for: species listed on Schedule 8 (plants) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981; Red Data Book (RDB) species, endemics, non-endemics threatened in Europe, declining species and species at the edge of their range; and microspecies and hybrids.

Sites may also be notified for combinations of species, based on a scoring system of species occurring in 1-100 10km squares within Great Britain (encompassing RDB nationally rare and nationally scarce species).

If sites with particularly good species lists are not already selected for their habitat importance or for presence of rare or scarce species, such floristic assemblages can then qualify for selection where a locality has 75% or more of the total vascular plant species list for a community type of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC).

At present there are 115 vascular plants (flowering plants and ferns) listed on Schedule 8 (plants) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. This schedule is reviewed at five-yearly intervals, and therefore any additions or deletions should be taken into consideration.

Under Annex II of the EC Habitats Directive, the following vascular plants qualify as features for the selection of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in the UK: Killarney fern Trichomanes speciosum, shore dock Rumex rupestris, marsh saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus, creeping marshwort Apium repens, early gentian Gentianella anglica, floating water-plantain Luronium natans, slender naiad Najas flexilis, lady`s-slipper orchid Cypripedium calceolus and fen orchid Liparis loeselii.

Summary statistics

	SAC	A/SSSI	Total
Favourable condition	46%	53%	52%
Main monitoring coverage	E, S, W	E, S, NI
Reported assessments	39	285	324
Completeness of assessments	72%	unknown
Distribution of features			UK

Number of assessments reported by country and site type

Country	SAC	SSSI/ASSI
England	28	162
Scotland	5	102
Wales	5	0
Northern Ireland	1	21
United Kingdom	39	285

Natura features

List of Natura 2000 interest features within this reporting category

Interest feature name
Formal name	Informal name	No. of assessments reported	Total no. of features	% assessed
Apium repens	Creeping marshwort	1	1	100%
Cypripedium calceolus	Lady`s-slipper orchid	1	1	100%
Gentianella anglica	Early gentian	13	13	100%
Liparis loeselii	Fen orchid	3	3	100%
Luronium natans	Floating water-plantain	4	15	27%
Najas flexilis	Slender naiad	3	5	60%
Rumex rupestris	Shore dock	8	10	80%
Saxifraga hirculus	Marsh saxifrage	5	5	100%
Trichomanes speciosum	Killarney fern	1	1	100%

Natura 2000 comprises Special Protection Areas (under the Birds Directive) and Special Areas for Conservation (under the Habitats and Species Directive). The list presented here includes all of the qualifying interest features under these Directives, and shows the proportion of these features for which a condition assessment has been made.

SSSI features

List of SSSI and ASSI interest features in this reporting category

Interest feature name
Formal name	Informal name	No. of assessments reported
Asplenium septentrionale	Forked spleenwort	1
Carex buxbaumii	Club sedge	1
Carex chordorhizza	String sedge	1
Cystoperis dickieana	Dickie's bladder-fern	1
Hammarbya paludosa	Bog orchid	1
Najas flexilis	Slender naiad	1
Oxytropis halleri	Purple mountain milk-vetch	1
Polygonatum verticillatum	Whorled Solomon's seal	4
Primula scotica	Scots primrose	1
Rhinanthus augustifolius	Greater yellow rattle	1
Saxifraga hirculus R	Marsh saxifraga R	1
Saxifraga hirculus	Marsh saxifrage	1
Higher plant assemblage	Higher plant assemblage	16
Nationally scarce plant	Trifolium suffocatum	1
Nationally scarce plant	Polygonatum odoratum	1
Nationally scarce plant	Primula farinosa	1
Nationally scarce plant	Pulmonaria longifolia	2
Nationally scarce plant	Pulsatilla vulgaris	2
Nationally scarce plant	Scrophularia scorodonia	2
Nationally scarce plant	Sibthorpia europaea	2
Nationally scarce plant	Thesium humifusum	13
Nationally scarce plant	Allium ampeloprasum	1
Nationally scarce plant	Poa infirma	2
Nationally scarce plant	Spiranthes romanzoffiana	1
Nationally scarce plant	Phyteuma orbiculare	3
Nationally scarce plant	Ornithogalum pyrenaicum	5
Nationally scarce plant	Orchis ustulata	6
Nationally scarce plant	Minuartia verna	1
Nationally scarce plant	Lotus angustissimus	1
Nationally scarce plant	Herminium monorchis	3
Nationally scarce plant	Gentiana pneumonanthe	2
Nationally scarce plant	Fritillaria meleagris	2
Nationally scarce plant	Dactylorhiza traunsteineri	1
Nationally scarce plant	Carex humilis	9
Nationally scarce plant	Cerastium pumilum	1
Population of RDB plant -Buxus sempervirens	Box	1
Population of RDB plant -Carex filiformis	Downy-fruited sedge	1
Population of RDB plant -Cirsium tuberosum	Tuberous thistle	2
Population of RDB plant -Erica ciliaris	Dorset heath	1
Population of RDB plant -Euphorbia hyberna	Irish spurge	1
Population of RDB plant -Euphrasia vigursii	Eyebright	1
Population of RDB plant -Helianthemum apenninum	White rock-rose	1
Population of RDB plant -Herniaria glabra	Smooth rupturewort	2
Population of RDB plant -Koeleria vallesiana	Somerset hair-grass	1
Population of RDB plant -Leucojum aestivum ssp aestivum	Summer snowflake	3
Population of RDB plant -Ornithopus pinnatus	Orange bird's foot	3
Population of RDB plant -Peucedanum officinale	Sea hog's-fennel	1
Population of RDB plant -Phleum phleoides	Purple-stemmed cat's-tail	1
Population of RDB plant -Polemonium caeruleum	Jacob's-ladder	1
Population of RDB plant -Silene otites	Spanish catchfly	2
Population of RDB plant -Sorbus eminens	Whitebeam	1
Population of RDB plant -Trinia glauca	Honewort	1
Population of RDB plant -Viola kitaibeliana	Dwarf pansy	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Althaea hirsuta	Rough marsh-mallow	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Artemisia campestris	Field wood	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Cynoglossum germanicum	Green hound's-tongue	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Cyperus fuscus	Brown galingale	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Cypripedium calceolus	Lady's slipper orchid	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Damasonium alisma	Starfruit	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Eryngium campestre	Field eryngo	3
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Filago lutescens	Red-tipped cudweed	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Filago pyramidata	Broad-leaved cudweed	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Fumaria reuteri	Martin's ramping-fumitory	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Gentianella anglica	Early gentian	4
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Himantoglossum hircinum	Lizard orchid	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Melampyrum arvense	Field cow-wheat	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Mentha pulegium	Pennyroyal	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Ophioglossum lusitanicum	Least adder's-tongue	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Orchis militaris	Military orchid	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Orobanche reticulata	Thistle broomrape	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Phyteuma spicatum	Spiked rampion	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Rhinanthus angustifolius	Greater yellow-rattle	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Rumex rupestris	Shore dock	4
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Salvia pratensis	Meadow clary	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Scleranthus perennis ssp prostratus	Perennial knawel	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Senecio paludosus	Fen ragwort	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Stachys germanica	Downy woundwort	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Teucrium scordium	Water germander	2
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Thlaspi perfoliatum	Perfoliate pennycress	1
Population of Schedule 8 plant -Trichomanes speciosum (sporophyte)	Killarney fern	1
Rare species	Erica vagans (Cornish Heath)	1
Rare species	Irish Lady's-Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana R)	1
Rare Species	Pyramidal Bugle R (Ajuga pyramidalis R)	1
Rare species	Rare species	1
Vascular plant assemblage	Vascular plant assemblage	122

This list has not been fully standardised at a UK level yet. It is intended to show the principal constituent "feature types" for this reporting category.

Maps - distribution

UK distibution of reported interest features

Distribution of reported interest features.

Map showing the locations of the 10km squares in which at least one condition assessment has been reported. It does not show features that have not yet been assessed.

Maps - Natura

Current condition of SAC features
Distribution of SAC features showing assessments of favourability (where unfavourable-recovering is counted as unfavourable).

Condition of SAC features, with those currently reported as unfavourable-recovering shown as favourable
The implication of the unfavourable-recovering condition assessments is that at some point in the future these features should become favourable. This map shows the effect of that recovery by counting the favourable and unfavourable-recovering assessments together.

IMPORTANT NOTE: we do not have information on the timescale of the predicted recovery, which may be influenced by many past, natural and human related factors. A sustained sympathetic management regime is more likely to result in favourable condition being attained.

Key: Proportion of assessed features on 10km squares that are favourable:

Natura map legend - Key: proportion of assessed features on 10km squares that are favourable

Details of how these maps were produced

Maps - SSSI

Current condition of SSSI/ASSI features
Distribution of SSSI/ASSI features showing assessments of favourability (where unfavourable-recovering is counted as unfavourable).

Condition of SSSI/ASSI features, with those currently reported as unfavourable-recovering shown as favourable
The implication of the unfavourable-recovering condition assessments is that at some point in the future these features should become favourable. This map shows the effect of that recovery by counting the favourable and unfavourable-recovering assessments together.

Key: Proportion of assessed features on 10km squares that are favourable:

SSSI map legend - Proportion of assessed features on 10km squares that are favourable

Details of how these maps were produced

Condition summary

This lists the 10 different condition assessments and presents a bar chart showing the number of features within the SSSI series and the Natura 2000 series (either SPA for bird features or SAC for features other than birds). Note that for Natura 2000 we are able to estimate the number of features that have not been assessed during the 6 year reporting period - we are unable to do this for SSSI/ASSI because we do not have an overall list of notified interest features for these designations.

NB favourable unclassified and unfavourable unclassified have been used in this first six year cycle to get around difficulties in identifying trends in condition as common standards monitoring is implemented. It is expected that these categories will not be used for subsequent assessments of a feature.

Condition assessment - Natura 2000 features

The number and proportion of assessments for Natura 2000 (SAC and SPA) interest features falling into each of the condition categories. Note that the �unfavourable� category includes all reports of unfavourable condition except �unfavourable recovering� which is shown as a separate segment.

Condition assessment - SSSI features

The number and proportion of assessments for SSSI/ASSI interest features falling into each of the condition categories. Note that the �unfavourable� category includes all reports of unfavourable condition except �unfavourable recovering� which is shown as a separate segment.

Adverse activities

The number of interest features where an activity has been reported as being implicated in the "unfavourable" condition of a feature. More than one adverse activity may be reported for each feature.

Management measures

For each "measure" the chart shows the number of interest features where that measure has been taken on a site to improve or maintain the condition of an interest feature. More than one measure may be reported for each feature assessed.

Interpretation

52% of flowering plant and fern features reported are in favourable condition. This is below the average for species features, and just below the average for all features combined. 53% of A/SSSI and 46% of SAC features reported are favourable; a further 14% of A/SSSI and 28% of SAC features are unfavourable-recovering.

These total figures mask a substantial difference in condition assessments for combinations of vascular plants as compared to single species interest features. 138 of the features reported are combinations (assemblages) of vascular plants and of these 44% are in favourable condition. However, in comparison, 58% of the 186 single species interest features reported are in favourable condition. This difference is due to the fact that all of the component species in the combination must be favourable for the combination feature to be classified as favourable. Within the single species interest features are 20 orchid features, of which 65% are in favourable condition, and another 15% unfavourable-recovering.

Within the single species interest features it is also possible to separate out subsets of species that are nationally rare or scarce, or are given protection through listing on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Nationally scarce plants are defined as those which occur in 16-100 10km squares, nationally rare plants as those which occur in 15 or fewer 10km squares. The nationally scarce plants reported are in better condition (64% favourable) than the nationally rare (49% favourable), though more of the rare plants are in unfavourable recovering condition (24% for nationally rare and 16% for nationally scarce). Plants protected through Schedule 8 are reported as 53% favourable and 24% unfavourable-recovering.

There is reasonable coverage in the assessments on SACs of three Annex II species: fen orchid Liparis loeselii, slender naiad Najas flexilis, and marsh saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus. The condition of Liparis and Saxifraga is of great concern: both of the Welsh fen orchid sites reported are unfavourable-declining, whilst two out of the three saxifrage sites are unfavourable. Both plants also occur in England, where the features are listed as unfavourable. Slender naiad appears to be doing better, with all three SAC features in favourable condition, although inland SSSI sites are unfavourable.

The most commonly recorded adverse activity for unfavourable features is over-grazing, with 34 assessments listing this as a problem. It is likely that this is particularly a problem on large upland sites in Scotland. Management agreements are seen as key to securing favourable condition.