A report published today by Plantlife, the wild plant conservation charity, highlights the plight of Britain’s rare cornfield flowers, such as the Cornflower, Corn Marigold and Prickly Poppy, and the failure of current nature conservation policies to conserve them effectively.

The conservation charity finds the Environmental Stewardship scheme to be failing.  Plantlife reports because it fails to ensure that farmers receiving payments are directed to the best management options for their land.

Bushcraft UK has discovered that arable plants – many of which were once regarded as all-too-common ‘weeds’ - are the most threatened group of plants in Britain, with 54 species rare or threatened and seven already extinct within arable environments. Examples of critically endangered species are the Red Hemp-nettle and Corn Cleavers – a species now only reliably found at one site. 

Less than 0.2 % of the total area of cropped farmland in England is being managed under the options known to be of highest value for plant conservation, equating to only 1 field in 500.
 
‘The low level of uptake of the best management options means the scheme is wasting money on options which are not as effective at conserving plants or improving the overall health of the farmland environment,’ said Andy Byfield, Plantlife’s Landscape Conservation Manager and co-author of the new report.