In a groundbreaking move, a plant thought to be extinct in the UK has been reintroduced to its native soil after several decades of absence. Pioneering horticulturist Robbie Blackhall-Miles led the mission, with the support of conservation charity Plantlife, as well as the National Trust and Natural Resource Wales. The plant is the rosy saxifrage, a member of a family of mountain plants that thrived in the UK during the Ice Age, but which fell victim to habitat loss and the predations of plant collectors, who mined the hills of the UK for specimens to add to private collections. The last time the rosy saxifrage was seen in the wild in the UK was 1962.
Blackhall-Miles runs a nursery for threatened plants in North Wales, but is wary of revealing the location of the nursery for fear of illegal collectors. In the nursery, Blackhall-Miles cares for plants that are so valuable he cannot get them insured. He keeps thermometers hanging from the roof to monitor the temperature and humidity of the environment. Blackhall-Miles has been working on the reintroduction of the rosy saxifrage to the Eryri mountain region of Snowdonia for some time.
Most reintroductions aim to bring back animals, rather than plants, and high-profile plant reintroductions are rare, but Blackhall-Miles’ work with the rosy saxifrage has been instrumental in conducting a successful reintroduction of a native plant species to the UK. The rosy saxifrage is not only a reminder of how much of the UK’s indigenous plant life has been lost but it is also a sign of hope and a flagship for further conservation efforts
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More