Charity grows hope for rare native fern

A UK charity is dedicated to conserving a rare species of fern found only in two locations: Kent and the edge of Dartmoor National Park. 

The Species Recovery Trust, with its head office based in Salisbury, has observed the population of this unusual rock-dwelling fern on the brink of extinction in southern England, with only a handful of plants remaining for the last three decades.

The Species Recovery Trust is a charity dedicated to the preservation of some of the UK’s rarest species. 

ABOVE: The rare species of fern

The journey to conservation began in 2022 when botanists from The Species Recovery Trust were surveying healthier populations in the Lake District. 

During their efforts, they discovered a semi-dried plant on a footpath that had been dislodged from a scree slope. 

Remarkably, this fern was still fruiting, sparking hope for the species. 

Two years later, experts at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh successfully cultivated the spores, resulting in over 50 new plants; approximately five times the existing number in southern England.

This autumn, specialists from The Species Recovery Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust, Dartmoor National Park Authority, and Natural England will attempt to reintroduce these plants to the wild in Dartmoor.

Dominic Price, Director of The Species Recovery Trust and project lead, said: “After years of

surveying population across the entire UK we have a good understanding of the habitats that are likely to support the plants, and we believe we have found these on Dartmoor. The planting is going to be extremely challenging, often using minute fissures in a range of rock faces, scree slope and walls, and as this has never been tried before this is new territory for rare plant conservation”

The reintroduction site is situated within Dartmoor National Park. 

National Park Authority Ecologist Kerry White welcomed the collaborative effort, saying: “We welcome the opportunity to participate in this partnership project to bolster the population of this rare fern and hope that the sites we’ve identified can support a healthy population in the future”

Key to the project’s success is the involvement of Devon Wildlife Trust, which manages two of the sites where the plants are set to be reintroduced. 

Peter Burgess, Director of Nature Recovery at the Trust, expressed his excitement about the initiative.

He said: “I’ve spent many weekend walks unsuccessfully exploring remote and rocky locations where populations of this very rare fern might still be found. Forked spleenwort is on the brink of extinction in southern England with just a tiny number of plants left on one rock face in Devon. We’re thrilled to be working alongside expert botanists at the Species Recovery Trust, and providing new locations where we hope this plant can thrive and have a secure future.”