Native wild flowers in Scotland

While animals and birds are often quite rightly singled out for conservation projects, endangered plants often tend to be overlooked when it comes to preserving our natural wildlife. The Cairngorms Rare Plants Project aims to redress that balance and has already gone some way towards protecting
some of Scotland’s rarest native flora.

The project was launched in March 2010 to take action to help protect four threatened plants in the Cairngorms National Park, and one part of the project, aimed at protecting the twinflower - one of Scotland’s most endangered and iconic wildflowers - was even shortlisted for a RSPB Nature of Scotland Award in 2013.

The twinflower, which thrives in native pine woodlands, has been declining in number for some time, mostly because the patches of plants are too far apart for them to successfully pollinate. The plan, quite simply, was to move them closer together and let nature take its course.

The team used a pioneering new translocation method, developed by the team behind the Cairngorms Rare Plants Project which involved very carefully moving selected plants closer together, making it easier for them to cross pollinate and produce seeds. It’s hoped that moving the existing plants closer together will help to ensure the long term survival of this pretty native bloom.

Justin Prigmore, Cairngorms Nature Officer explained: "The twinflower may only be small but it is one of Scotland’s most charismatic plants and the Cairngorms National Park is a stronghold for the remaining population”

The Rare Plants project was well supported locally and involved land managers working alongside ten key conservation partners, rangers and local volunteers.

"It is an excellent example of how groups and individuals can come together to make a positive difference, which is what Cairngorms Nature is all about," said Andy Wells, Chair of the Cairngorms Nature Strategy Group.

Signs were good last summer, as the first transplants survived the winter – some of them even flowered at the beginning of July 2013. The transplanted plants may not have produced a large number of flowers, but quite a few of them were showing signs that they had set seed, so things are looking good for this summer!