Rare plant bounces back at world’s smallest Site of Special Scientific Interest - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

10,000 field cow-wheat plants counted at St Lawrence Field Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is celebrating a strong year for one of the UK’s rarest plants, field cow-wheat, at St Lawrence Field Nature Reserve - one of the smallest Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Approximately 10,000 plants have been recorded this summer, marking the best year since the population peaked in 2021.

This resurgence is a positive sign that the Trust’s dedicated habitat management work is paying off, despite increasing challenges from climate change.

Field cow-wheat (Melampyrum arvense) was once widespread across southern England but has declined sharply due to habitat loss and agricultural intensification. Today, it survives at just four sites – and only one of those, St Lawrence Field, is considered a native population that has persisted without reintroduction.

The population count, carried out by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Species Recovery Trust as part of an annual survey, shows the population is responding well to targeted habitat management of the site. This includes rotational cutting and careful control of scrub to maintain the open, species-rich grassland the plant depends on.

Dominic Price, Director of The Species Recovery Trust coordinates the national conservation programme for this species: ‘Field cow-wheat is not only a spectacular plant but is also now one of our rarest wild blooms, with this site now considered to be the only surviving native site. So, to see it growing this well, especially in a year where many sites have been stricken by drought and high temperatures, is just amazing.’