Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity. , it manages 24 nature reserves around the United Kingdom. HM
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
is patron of the charity.
History
Plantlife was founded in 1989. Its first president was Professor
David Bellamy.
Peter James was also a founder member and early vice-president.
Its president is
Philip Mould OBE and its chairman is Professor David Hill CBE. English gardener and television presenter
Rachel De Thame is their vice-president. The chief executive is Ian Dunn, who took over from Marian Spain in 2020.
Function
Plantlife's principal activities in Britain include the management of of rare and important plant habitats as
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
s, lobbying and campaigning in support of wild plant conservation, and organising surveys aimed at generating public interest in wild plants. Plantlife helps run an annual National Plant Monitoring Survey, and a rare species conservation programme, "Back from the Brink". It was a lead partner of
HRH the Prince of Wales'
Coronation Meadows project.
Although much of Plantlife's work is centred on plants, it is also involved in the conservation of fungi. Its work in this area includes surveying
waxcap grasslands and publishing a strategy for conserving fungi in the UK.
The group also has an international programme which includes projects on medicinal plant conservation and sustainable use in the Himalayas and East Africa.
Plantlife Nature Reserves

Plantlife own the following nature reserves:
*
Long Herdon and Grange Meadows, Buckinghamshire
*
Munsary Peatlands, Caithness
*
Cae Blaen-dyffryn,
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
*
Greena Moor, Cornwall
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Augill Pasture, Cumbria
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Deep Dale, Derbyshire
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Ryewater Farm, Dorset
*
Caeau Tan y Bwlch,
Gwynedd
Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
*
Davies Meadows, Herefordshire
*
Joan's Hill Farm, Herefordshire
*
The Lugg Meadows, Herefordshire
*
Moaney and Crawyn's Meadows,
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
*
Queendown Warren, Kent
*
Ranscombe Farm, Kent
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Thompson Meadow, North Yorkshire
* Three Hagges Woodmeadow, North Yorkshire
*
Winskill Stones, North Yorkshire
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Seaton Meadows,
Rutland
Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town.
Rutland has a ...
*
Skylark Meadows, Somerset
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Side Farm Meadows, Staffordshire
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Winks Meadow, Suffolk
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Furnace Meadow and Brick Kiln Rough, West Sussex
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Stockwood Meadows, Worcestershire
County Flowers competition
In 2002 Plantlife ran a competition to select
county flowers for all counties of the UK. The general public was invited to vote for the bloom they felt most represented their county. The list was declared in 2004.
Although sometimes contested, all have, to date, stuck. The one exception was the
county flower of
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
: originally
Alexanders won the vote. However, a campaign led by the ''
Eastern Daily Press
The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...
'' was successful in requesting a change to the
poppy
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...
, which was felt to be more representative.
The Back from the Brink programme
Plantlife's "Back from the Brink" programme was initiated in 1991. Its intention was to focus conservation efforts on some of the rarest plant species in Britain. It initially concentrated on
vascular plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...
s but was extended to cover
non-vascular ("lower") plants and fungi. As of 2006, 101 species were covered by the programme. The programme included survey work to establish information about populations of these species, monitoring of populations to identify change over time and the factors relating to this, research into ecological requirements of the species, and site management work aimed at maintaining or restoring habitat conditions suitable for these species.
Since 2008 the programme has gradually expanded to include a much larger list of species, this is in response to the publication of both the
UK Red List and
UK Biodiversity Action Plan. To effectively deliver conservation of an ever expanding list of rare species the work will be directed at habitats, where it is hoped that suites of species will respond.
Important Plant Areas
In 2007, Plantlife announced the establishment of 150
Important Plant Areas (or IPAs) across the UK. These areas were nominated for their internationally important wild plant populations. Since then they have been actively raising awareness of these ecologically important habitats and encouraging their long-term protection and improvement through the adoption of an 'ecosystem-based' conservation approach.
The IPA programme is endorsed by national conservation organisations including the
RSPB
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
and
the Wildlife Trusts, and also by UK government bodies including
Natural England,
Scottish Natural Heritage and the
Countryside Council for Wales
The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; ) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access in Wales.
It merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form ...
.
Plantlife's international team has had some success in spreading the concept abroad.
No Mow May
The
No Mow May initiative encourages gardeners in the UK to not mow their lawn in the month of May so that plant diversity is increased and
nectar
Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
can be produced for insects.
See also
*
List of extinct plants of the British Isles
References
External links
Plantlife websiterECOrd (Local Biological Records Centre for Cheshire)
{{authority control
Environmental charities based in the United Kingdom
Conservation in the United Kingdom
Native plant societies
Organizations established in 1989
Organisations based in Wiltshire
Protected areas of the United Kingdom