The North-West Rare Plant Initiative

Flat-sedge Blysmus compressus
Image: J. Styles

Josh Styles, a BSBI member and one of our next generation of botanists, has been in touch about an interesting project he is setting up. Over to Josh to tell us more:

"The North-West Rare Plant Initiative (NWRPI) is a recent project operating across the north-west of England principally through vice counties 58 (Cheshire), 59 (South Lancashire) and 60 (West Lancashire) as a response to the drastic negative change in the abundance and range of certain species of plant on a regional level. 

"The aim of the NWRPI is to bring into cultivation the rarest plant species within VC 58-60 with the end goal of reintroduction back into suitable sites where a suitable environment with a sustainable management regime exists. A goal of the NWRPI in addition to conservation of species in decline is to set up a network of cultivators across the country whereby plants are able to be cultivated on a much larger scale than is possible by a single cultivator.

Sheep's-bit Jasione montana, scarce in VC58-60
Image: J. Styles

"Most of the priority species that the NWRPI is concerned with are red-listed species in a similar state of decline across England such as Flat-Sedge Blysmus compressus". 

To find out more about this project, see the NWRPI website.  

To find out more about species on the England Red List, head over to this page where you can download the entire list. 

And do check out BSBI's Species Accounts, put together by Kevin and Pete, the BSBI Science Team. There is a Species Account for Blysmus compressus and also for 78 other rare species.