Sussex RARE PLANT REGISTER of Scarce & Threatened Vascular Plants, Charophytes, Bryophytes and Lichens
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The Sussex RARE PLANT REGISTER of Scarce & Threatened Vascular Plants, Charophytes, Bryophytes and Lichens NB - Dummy Front Page The Sussex Rare Plant Register of Scarce & Threatened Vascular Plants, Charophytes, Bryophytes and Lichens Editor: Mary Briggs Record editors: Paul Harmes and Alan Knapp May 2001 Authors of species accounts Vascular plants: Frances Abraham (40), Mary Briggs (70), Beryl Clough (35), Pat Donovan (10), Paul Harmes (40), Arthur Hoare (10), Alan Knapp (65), David Lang (20), Trevor Lording (5), Rachel Nicholson (1), Tony Spiers (10), Nick Sturt (35), Rod Stern (25), Dennis Vinall (5) and Belinda Wheeler (1). Charophytes: (Stoneworts): Frances Abraham. Bryophytes: (Mosses and Liverworts): Rod Stern. Lichens: Simon Davey. Acknowledgements Seldom is it possible to produce a publication such as this without the input of a team of volunteers, backed by organisations sympathetic to the subject-matter, and this report is no exception. The records which form the basis for this work were made by the dedicated fieldwork of the members of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society (SBRS), The Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI), the British Bryological Society (BBS), The British Lichen Society (BLS) and other keen enthusiasts. This data is held by the nominated County Recorders. The Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC) compiled the tables of the Sussex rare Bryophytes and Lichens. It is important to note that the many contributors to the text gave their time freely and with generosity to ensure this work was completed within a tight timescale. Many of the contributions were typed by Rita Hemsley. Special thanks must go to Alan Knapp for compiling and formatting all the computerised text. West Sussex County Council provided much appreciated financial support during the production phase, East Sussex County Council has contributed to the production costs and the Sussex Wildlife Trust has undertaken the publication. Cover design by David Grech. Cover photograph of Petrorhagia nanteuilii (Childing Pink) © Michael and Olwen Hollings. Published by Sussex Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society and the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre ISBN 1 898388 16 4 1 2 Contents Page No. Acknowledgements 1 Contents 3 Introduction 5 Conservation categories 5 The species accounts 6 Records 6 Species accounts Vascular Plants 8 Charophytes (Stoneworts) 110 Bryophytes (Mosses & Liverworts) 113 List of Sussex Scarce Liverworts 115 List of Sussex Scarce Mosses 115 Lichens 117 List of Sussex Scarce Lichens 119 Wild Plants and the Law 122 Sussex Bryophytes, Charophytes and Lichens protected under 122 Schedule 8 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) Sussex Vascular Plants protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife & 123 Countryside Act (1981) Bibliography 124 Key to recorder initials used in the text 125 Key to abbreviations used in the text and the records 126 Key to tetrad lettering used for records 126 3 4 Introduction The primary objective of this publication is to provide a list of the rarest wild plants currently known in Sussex. The publication covers vascular plants (including Ferns), Stoneworts, Mosses, Liverworts and Lichens. Through systematic recording by members of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society (SBRS) and local members of the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) we have an overall picture of the distribution of vascular plants and, from this information, it has been possible to identify those species which now occur in less than four localities in either of the two Watsonian vice counties of W. and E. Sussex. The vice county boundaries were mapped by the botanist H.C.Watson in 1873 and divide Britain into 112 vice counties of which W. Sussex and E. Sussex are VC13 and VC14 respectively. These same boundaries are still used today and this has enabled us to trace the continuity of plant records for more than a century while over the same period the administrative boundaries have changed several times. All references to W. and E. Sussex in the text refer to the Watsonian vice counties. In almost all of Sussex these are the same as the administrative counties, the main exception being an area extending approximately 10km to the east of the A23 road. Much of this area is in the Watsonian vice county of E. Sussex but is in the administrative county of W. Sussex. For records in this area, if it is important to know in which administrative county the locality lies, the grid reference should be checked against the appropriate Ordnance Survey maps or the county recorders should be consulted. The numbers “13” and “14” in the header line of the account of each plant refer to W. Sussex and E. Sussex vice counties respectively and show if the species is known or has been known from that vice county. A few species have no vice county number in the header line. This indicates that the species was recorded from Sussex in the past but those records are now known to be errors and the species is no longer believed to be a Sussex plant. Also included are the relevant records from the British Bryological Society (BBS) and the British Lichen Society (BLS) of the Mosses, Liverworts and Lichens. It has become apparent that many of these taxa are decreasing so this list has been compiled by the County Recorders with a sense of urgency to assist the conservation bodies in their work to protect our threatened flora. The need for this register is illustrated by the fact that our records show that over 40 vascular plant species and a number of lower plant species formerly recorded in Sussex have become extinct in the last 60 years. Special thanks are due to Dr.Tony Whitbread of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Henri Brocklebank of the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre and Ann Griffiths of West Sussex County Council for their support and encouragement for this project. Conservation categories In the last ten years the Rare and Scarce plants have been re-assessed nationally and their status is summarised in two new publications, Scarce Plants in Britain (Stewart et al. 1994) and British Red Data Books 1 Vascular plants 3rd edition (Wigginton 1999). This has resulted in a change in status for a number of plants. The Red Data plants are now selected to conform with the wider European distribution of these species. Some species originally selected as scarce nationally and included in Stewart et al. (1994) were later found in more than the 100 10km squares set as the upper limit for Nationally Scarce status and are shown in Stewart et al. (1994) as “Not scarce”. However, as many of these are species about which there is still concern, we have decided to include them in this register for future reference. They are indicated by the code (NS) in the header line at the start of the species account. The conservation status and status with regard to protection under legislation for each species is given in the header line of each species using one or more of the following codes: SS: Sussex Scarce. Occurring in less than four sites in either vice county. EXS: Extinct in Sussex. Believed to be extinct (see definition in key to [ ] below) in both vice counties. R: Nationally Rare. Appearing in the Red Data Book of Vascular Plants, ed. 3 (Wigginton 1999). This category includes some species which occur in more than four sites in either vice county. For these species the threat category (see p.6) is also given in brackets, e.g. R (EN). NS: Nationally Scarce. Appearing in Scarce Plants in Britain (Stewart et al. 1994) and occurring in sixteen or more and not more than one hundred 10km squares throughout Britain. This category includes some species which occur in more than four sites in either vice county. BC: Bern Convention (Appendix 1). Appearing in Appendix 1 of the Bern Convention and the EC directive on the conservation of wild fauna and flora. ECH: EC Habitats Directive. The appropriate annex codes are given in brackets. Sch.8: Appearing in Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which provides legal protection for endangered wild plants (see p.122 for more details). [ ]: Presumed Extinct. Species not seen for many years in the county or counties numbered within the brackets and whose last known sites have been destroyed or have been carefully searched and nothing found. 5 In addition the header also includes information on the IUCN threat category. For a description of these categories see Wigginton (1999), p.10-11. The codes for these categories are given below. The number of species refers only to vascular plant species. EX = Extinct - 3 species in Sussex EW = Extinct in the wild - 3 species in Sussex CR = Critically endangered - 5 species formerly in Sussex (all now extinct) EN = Endangered - 15 species in Sussex (3 definitely & 1 probably extinct. 2 are non-native populations) VU = Vulnerable - 25 species in Sussex (9 extinct & 3 are non-native populations) DD = Data deficient - No vascular plant species in Sussex LR = Lower Risk - 13 species in Sussex (4 extinct & 2 are non-native populations) The Lower Risk (LR) category is further divided into 3 sub-categories: cd = Conservation Dependent nt = Near Threatened lc = Least Concern A list of Sussex species protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) is given on pages 122 and 123. In W. Sussex we currently have eight vascular plant species and four lower plant species protected under Schedule 8 while in E. Sussex we have ten vascular species and six lower plant species. The species accounts Accounts are given for all native species which now occur in less than four localities in either of the two Watsonian vice counties of W.