Fen Ragwort is the rarest and most impressive of native British ragwort species. It can grow to an impressive 200cm (6' plus) height, and bears a bright yellow flower head.
Unlike those ragworts with which farmers are most familiar, this is not an invasive plant, in fact quite the reverse! For a long time it was thought to be extinct in Britain until a single population was discovered near Ely, at a site subsequently designated an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) by English Nature.
Formerly this species could have been found throughout the Fenland area of eastern England, in fens, marshes and other suitable wet habitats. Most of these have long since been drained for agriculture.
Fortunately, a small number of wetland habitats, including Wicken Fen, were able to survive these pressures. Through careful management these now represent the very best of their kind. This means that it is now possible to reinstate this species into these habitats within its former range. So far it has been reinstated at two sites, one of which is Wicken Fen. The surviving plants at Wicken were flourishing in summer 1995, with up to 22 very tall specimens flowering profusely.
The Species Recovery Programme is funding studies by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology into the detailed ecological requirements of this species. These are at present poorly known. The results of this work will enable us to determine the most suitable sites and how best to manage them such that this plant may once again be seen and enjoyed in its native Fenland setting. Studies at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve play a key role in achieving this objective.
The final report on the project, the results of which are still being discussed, was produced in March, 1994. It can be inspected at Wicken Fen NNR.
Species Recovery Programme: Fen Ragwort (Senecio paludosus L.) and Ribbon-leaved Water-plantain (Alisma gramineum Lej.) Final Report. Wells, T C E et al., Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Monks Wood 1994
The wild violet is a much cherished part of the British countryside. Of this group of plants, Fen Violet is probably the rarest and most elusive species, and consequently has been seen by very few.
Habitat loss along with effects of drainage and lack of management on many of its former sites have doubtless all had a major part to play in the dramatic decline of this species. Although once found at a scattering of fenland sites in southern Britain, it is now restricted to only two locations, both on National Nature Reserves, at Wicken Fen and Woodwalton Fen in Cambridgeshire.
In some years, thriving populations can be seen at its remaining sites, but its occurrence remains sporadic and unpredictable. Now you see it, now you don't! Visits at many times reveal a disappointing show; the plant largely absent' and surviving mainly by seed. It is the resilient nature of the Fen Violet seed that has been the key to its survival, and explains, for example, why the plant was able to make a dramatic show at Wicken Fen after an absence of many years.
Detailed ecological work on this species is being carried out by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, funded by the Species Recovery Programme. The work aims to unravel some of the mysteries of the Fen Violet. This will allow us to explain the unpredictable nature of the plant, and maybe help us understand how best to manage it. We hope that the results will enable us to ensure that the Fen Violet becomes a more lasting part of the Fenland scene, both in the short and the long term.
An interim report on this work has been produced by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.
Species Recovery Programme: Fen Violet (Viola persicifolia Schreber) 2nd Progress Report. Wells, T C E et al. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Monks Wood 1995
The Swallowtail is one of Britain's most spectacular butterflies. It was once found in several areas of Eastern England where the foodplant its caterpillar depends on, Milk Parsley (Peucednum palustre) occurred amongst the sedge fens.
On the continent of Europe, other subspecies of Swallowtail exist, and have larvae with much more catholic tastes, eating plants of many different species. This makes the continental Swallowtails more adaptable. The British subspecies, however, depends entirely on the last remaining sedge fens in Britain.
Swallowtails were common in Wicken Fen up until the 1950s, and it was partly this spectacular species which, at the beginning of the century, attracted the attention of the many dedicated entomologists and insect collectors who helped to expand and protect the new Nature Reserve at Wicken.
With the decline in demand for sedge for thatching, and with the lowering of water tables due to agricultural drainage, the Swallowtail has disappeared from many of its former haunts, including Wicken, and is now only found naturally in the Norfolk Broads.
An attempt to reintroduce the Swallowtail at Wicken in the early 1980s failed, probably due to a shortage of food plant and an inadequate understanding of the required management regime. The ecology of the species is now better understood, and the condition of the Fen, the water levels and the sedge management, is now much more suitable for the Milk Parsley and thus the Swallowtails.
Management of certain parts of the Reserve has been carefully organised to encourage the Milk Parsley. It is not enough that the plant is present, it must also be the right sort of plant. The plant needs to protrude above the surrounding sedge for the female to lay her eggs on it. To encourage this the Milk Parsley fields are cut once every four years, allowing the biennial plant to gain a foothold before it is cut back. If the fields were not cut back the sedge community would soon be invaded by willow and alder buckthorn scrub, and the Milk Parsley would be unable to compete with the woody shrubs, and die off anyway.
In 1993 Jack Dempster and Marnie Hall started a reintroduction project funded jointly by Butterfly Conservation and the Species Recovery Programme, supported by the National Trust. A number of butterflies were released onto the Fen. Although there have been some problems, the number of flying adults in 1995 was the highest yet. After the long hot summer we expect numbers next year to be similar or slightly down, but the species has now survived a whole season without outside assistance. The best time to see the adults is in late June or early July. They tend to feed on the fields opposite the Windpump. As yet there has been no second brood, although the Norfolk butterflies do sometimes successfully produce a few adults in September. In future years this could be seen at Wicken if all goes well.