Conservationists have stepped in to protect one of the UK’s rarest plants after it “rather catastrophically decided” to grow on a public footpath, putting it at risk. The starved wood-sedge, a critically rare species native to only two UK sites, is found at one such location near Axbridge, Somerset, where a small cluster persists along the edge of a woodland path.
For over twenty years, the Species Recovery Trust has been dedicated to rescuing the starved wood-sedge from near extinction. However, recent shifts have seen the plants move from their natural bankside habitat directly onto the footpath, exposing them to trampling and new threats.
Dominic Price, director of the trust, explained, “In recent years the plants have unfortunately moved off the maintained bankside habitat and begun growing on a public footpath, putting them directly in harm’s way.” In response, the trust carefully removed the plants from the track and relocated them to a specialist plant nursery. There, the plants are being propagated by dividing clumps and nurturing them into mature specimens ready for reintroduction.
Additionally, the trust plans to establish two new starved wood-sedge populations within the Mendip Hills National Landscape, ensuring safer habitats away from public footpaths. This modest grass-like species typically grows in wetlands such as bogs, fens, swamps, and damp woodland edges. Although its small flowers are inconspicuous, they attract various insect pollinators. The plant also supports a range of wildlife including insects, amphibians, and birds, playing a crucial role in wetland ecosystems by regulating water flow and nutrient recycling.
The starved wood-sedge’s dramatic decline stems from habitat loss and fragmentation, limiting its presence to just two native UK sites—in Somerset and Surrey—and a few reintroduction sites. This important conservation project has been funded by the Mendip Hills National Landscape team, whose manager Jim Hardcastle emphasized the significance of the species: “At first glance, it’s an unassuming grass many have overlooked, but it holds a vital place in the ecosystem and deserves our support.”
The Species Recovery Trust’s broader mission is to save 50 UK species from extinction by 2050, spanning animals like the New Forest cicada and green tiger beetle, as well as plants including field gentians, Welsh groundsel, and marsh clubmoss.