Conservationists relocate 3,400 one-flowered wintergreens, a species estimated to have lost more than half its UK population in the past 50 years
Thousands of one of Britain’s rarest wildflowers have been moved to safety from an eroding Scottish shoreline where they were at risk of falling into the sea.
Conservationists rescued 3,400 one-flowered wintergreen plants at Culbin Forest in Moray, in an effort to protect a species estimated to have lost more than half its UK population in the past 50 years.
“We don’t yet know how many plants will survive at their new home in Culbin Forest, but we do know that it was only a matter of time before they would have all been lost to the sea if we’d left them where they were,” said Iain Macdonald, a biodiversity adviser at NatureScot.
In the UK, the tiny, star-shaped wildflower is found only in pine woods in north-east Scotland. It survives at just seven sites, only three of which support healthy populations, according to Plantlife Scotland.
The charity worked with Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot and volunteers to relocate the plants after 2-3 metres of land collapsed into the sea over recent years.
Sam Jones, senior ecological adviser at Plantlife Scotland, said: “This type of groundbreaking conservation work will help ensure endangered species like the one-flowered wintergreen are…
