Dwindling plant given a lift from Highlands
A THREATENED upland flower is to get a boost to its Lake District population with seeds collected from a Scottish estate.
The mountain avens – an alpine plant with eight white petals and a yellow centre – is classed as “vulnerable” to extinction in England and endangered in Wales.
But the plant is found more widely in the Scottish Highlands.
The project aims to boost the fortunes of the mountain avens on Helvellyn, one of the few places further south it has a marginal foothold.
Vulnerable
Seeds from an area looked after by Jahama Highland Estates in the Western Highlands will be collected, propagated and planted on the slopes of Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in the Lake District.
The plant, which grows in cold, sunny locations, has been found on lime-rich ridges at a height of 2,800ft on Beinn na Socaich, a mountain in the Grey Corries near Fort William.
Julia Stoddart, chief operating officer at Jahama Highland Estates, said: “It’s a privilege to have such a rich range of plants and wildlife on the estate and we take our management responsibilities as stewards of the landscape seriously.
“We’re delighted to help with this project, which we hope will strengthen the precarious populations of mountain avens across the border in England.”
It is part of a wider project – that involves the Scottish Natural Heritage and Natural England – which aims to support vulnerable alpine Arctic plants in the Lake District whose populations have reduced over time.