Filago pyramidata L. Broad-leaved Cudweed ASTERACEAE Status Endangered UK BAP Priority Species since 1998 Schedule 8 Wildlife & Countryside Act Lead partner: Plantlife International 16 10km squares post 1986 UK Biodiversity Action Plan Proposed targets following the 2005 Targets Review: T1 - Maintain viable populations of this species at all extant sites. T2 - Establish two metapopulations by 2010. Progress on targets as reported in the UKBAP 2002 reporting round can be viewed online at: http://www.ukbap.org.uk/2002OnlineReport/mainframe.htm The full Action Plan for Filago pyramidata can be viewed on the following web site: http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=304 Contents 1 Morphology, Identification, Taxonomy & Genetics.................................................... 2 1.1 Morphology & Identification ............................................................................ 2 1.2 Taxonomic Considerations .............................................................................. 4 1.3 Genetic Implications ...................................................................................... 4 2 Distribution & Current Status ............................................................................... 4 2.1 World .......................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Europe ........................................................................................................ 4 2.3 United Kingdom ............................................................................................ 5 2.3.1 England ................................................................................................. 6 2.3.2 Northern Ireland...................................................................................... 8 2.3.3 Scotland................................................................................................. 8 2.3.4 Wales .................................................................................................... 8 Work on Filago pyramidata is supported by: 1 3 Ecology & Life Cycle............................................................................................ 8 4 Habitat Requirements ......................................................................................... 9 4.1 The Landscape Perspective............................................................................. 9 4.2 Communities & Vegetation ........................................................................... 10 4.3 Summary of Habitat Requirements ................................................................ 11 5 Management Implications .................................................................................. 12 6 Threats / Factors Leading to Loss or Decline or Limiting Recovery............................ 12 7 Current Conservation Measures .......................................................................... 13 7.1 In Situ Measures........................................................................................ 13 7.2 Ex Situ Measures ....................................................................................... 14 7.3 Research Data ............................................................................................ 14 7.4 Monitoring Filago pyramidata & the Common Monitoring Standard .................... 14 8 References ...................................................................................................... 14 9 Acknowledgments............................................................................................. 16 10 Contacts....................................................................................................... 16 11 Links............................................................................................................ 16 1 Morphology, Identification, Taxonomy & Genetics 1.1 MORPHOLOGY & IDENTIFICATION Broad-leaved Cudweed Filago pyramidata (see Figures 1, 2 & 3) is a short-lived annual herb with a slender taproot and from one to several decumbent or ascending flowering stems up to 40cm long. All stems are branched above, frequently with branches below the terminal inflorescence on the main stem. Size varies greatly depending on soil type. On the poorest soils, plants may have single stems as little as a few mm high. Leaves of seedlings and young plants before flowering are in a basal rosette, which dies off as the flowering stems develop. Stem leaves are 3-4mm wide and up to 20mm long. The shape of these is characteristically spathulate, entire, with slightly undulate margins. The stems and leaves are covered with a dense felt of short greyish-white hairs. The flower heads are up to 12mm in diameter, each containing up to 20 capitula of approximately 5mm length. Three to five subtending leaves usually overtop these. The smallest plants can have just a single capitulum. Each capitulum contains a number of tiny florets, with 4-7 hermaphrodite florets in the centre of each, the rest being female. Each capitulum has overlapping rows of 4-6 scarious, cuspidate bracts (“phyllaries”), extended into yellowish awns. There are no obvious petals. Each flower produces a single achene of approximately 0.6mm in length. Those produced by the outermost florets have a pappus longer than the seed (Clapham et al, 1987). This species can be easily confused with the related Common Cudweed Filago vulgaris and Red-tipped Cudweed Filago lutescens. Red-tipped Cudweed has claret-red tipped phyllaries and parallel-sided, pointed leaves. Common Cudweed has only 2-3 hermaphrodite florets in the centre of each capitulum, and lanceolate leaves with strongly undulate margins (Rich & Jermy, 1998; Wilson & King, 2003). 2 Figure 1 – Line drawing of Filago pyramidata (Drawing by Fred Rumsey). Figure 2 – Filago pyramidata (© Plantlife). 3 Figure 3 – Filago pyramidata (© Plantlife). 1.2 TAXONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS None. 1.3 GENETIC IMPLICATIONS No studies on genetic diversity within this species have been carried out. Such a study would be desirable to elucidate relationships between populations. 2 Distribution & Current Status 2.1 WORLD Filago pyramidata occurs in West Asia, North Africa and the Canary Islands (Clapham et al, 1987). 2.2 EUROPE Filago pyramidata is found in south and west Europe, northwards to East England and the Netherlands and eastwards to Bulgaria and the Crimea (Clapham et al, 1987; Table 1). There are two records for Filago pyramidata as a casual from the Channel Islands in 1881 and 1910. Filago pyramidata has never been recorded in Ireland. 4 Table 1 - Country by country status of Filago pyramidata across Europe. IUCN COUNTRY* STATUS NOTES SOURCE(S) LISTING AL ALBANIA Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) AZ AZORES ? present Tutin et al (1976) BE BELGIUM WITH LUXEMBOURG Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) BL ISLAS BALEARES Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) BR BRITAIN EN Declined in response to Wigginton (1999) INCL ORKNEY, ZETLAND & arable intensification over the ISLE OF MAN first half of 20th century. Now restricted to just 9 sites. BU BULGARIA Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) CO CORSE Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) CR KRITI Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) WITH GAVDHOS, KARPATHOS & KASOS GA FRANCE Not listed Olivier et al (1995) GE GERMANY Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) GR GREECE Not listed Phitos et al (1995) EXCL. KRITI & ISLANDS OUTSIDE EUROPE HE SWITZERLAND Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) HO NETHERLANDS Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) HS SPAIN Not listed Lozano (2000) WITH GIBRALTAR & ANDORRA, EXCL BL IT ITALY Not listed Conti et al (1997) JU YUGOSLAVIA SERBIA Not critically endangered Stevanović (1999) LU PORTUGAL Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) RS(K) KRYM (CRIMEA) Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) SA SARDEGNA Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) SI SICILIA Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) TU TURKEY Present but status not known Tutin et al (1976) *Country codes are taken from Flora Europaea as of 1964 with red data book listings where available [Definitions of the red list categories]. 2.3 UNITED KINGDOM OVERVIEW Filago pyramidata has never been a widespread or common species in Britain, and its past distribution may have been partly obscured by confusion with other closely related species. Before 1970 it was recorded in 114 10km squares (Preston et al, 2002), while between 1987 and 1999 it was only recorded in 16 10km squares. It is now known in only nine sites in nine 10km squares (see Figure 4). While this appears to be a massive decline, some caution must be observed in the interpretation of these figures, as this is a species with a history of erratic appearance at many localities. There have never been more than 32 records for this species from any decade (Rich, 1995). It is always difficult to interpret past distributions from herbarium and published records. Common plants will be relatively under-collected, while rare species will be over-collected. The frequency of multiple collections from the same sites suggests that it may have been less abundant in the past than the distribution maps indicate. The great majority of losses from vice-counties occurred in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century (Wilson, 5 1999), but losses from within its range have continued to the present day. Nevertheless this species does appear to have been lost from many parts