Nature-lovers are supporting a national bid to save some of the UK's rarest wild flowers by collecting seeds from the Brecks on the Norfolk-Suffolk border.
Volunteers from the Breckland Flora Group and Kew’s Millennium Seedbank are striving to ensure the survival of plants such as tower mustard, spring speedwell, bur medick and military orchid – an orchid so rare it is found at only two other sites in the UK.
The Brecks' unique dry and sandy "continental climate" means it can provide a home to some very rare plants.
Trained volunteers from the Breckland Flora Group - coordinated by Plantlife - have been licensed to carefully collect the seeds of 15 priority local wild flowers which can be found on remnants of heathland habitat between Mildenhall, Thetford and Brandon.
The collections are part of the Millennium Seed Bank’s UK Threatened Flora Project which aims to save UK plants at risk of national extinction due to environmental change and the small or fragmented nature of their populations.
Because the plants are so rare, the volunteers have to undergo training to ensure their seed collections do not affect the viability of the local populations. The plants are closely monitored as part of a year-round ongoing Breckland conservation programme.
Anna Saltmarsh, member of the Breckland Flora Group and seed-collecting volunteer said “ Each species of plant throws up different challenges when planning and making collections and the timing is often crucial.
"Some, like Rare Spring Sedge, may be inconspicuous and tricky to identify, and all need to be collected once the seeds are mature, but before they are naturally dispersed – or munched by hungry creatures! It is fascinating to focus attention on this critical stage of a wild flower’s life which is perhaps often overlooked, after the flowers fade and as the seeds and fruits develop.
"To know that our collections will be stored and cared for under optimal conditions in the vaults of the Millennium Seed Bank, to be made available as and when they might be needed in the future, makes every effort worthwhile.”
For the past 20 years, Plantlife has been working alongside partners in the Brecks to help restore its former heathland habitat - 86% of which was lost in the middle of the last century.
Vast areas were turned into conifer plantations or ploughed for arable crops which means large areas are now densely vegetated - which crowds out local Breckland species - which need bare soil to grow and survive.
As part of the conservation effort, landowners are reintroducing grazing to help control the vegetation and stripping back the turf to encourage wild flowers to regenerate.
Plantlife’s Breckland project officer Jo Jones said “The Brecks has simply astonishing flora and wildlife of national importance – including local birds, and invertebrates dependent on this restored and healthy habitat such as woodlark, and the brush-thighed seed-eater beetle, some of which are found nowhere else in the UK.
"Plantlife’s partnerships in the local area whether with local councils, landowners and volunteers are key to the success of restoring and preserving the Breckland landscape and its nationally important wildlife for everyone to enjoy now and in the future. We hope to ensure the legacy of these special plants by entrusting the seeds to the seedbank for safe keeping.
"The seeds are also available for our current work, for growing to better understand the ecology of species or reintroducing species to areas from which they have been lost, once their habitat has been restored.”
Stephanie Miles, head of UK collections at Kew, said: "The success of the Millennium Seed Bank's UK Threatened Flora Project depends on strong links with organisations such as Plantlife and their volunteers as they have such detailed knowledge of these rare species locally.
"An ex-situ 'back up' seed collection in long term storage provides options for the future and is particularly important for species that are declining nationally or are regionally significant."
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