Olive Earthtongue (Microglossum olivaceum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Fungus or lichen > fungus > Fungus |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Microglossum olivaceum agg. |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (not specified) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Assessed as LC (Annexed) in 2006 - Distribution appears widespread with core populations in the North, but this will be affected by the likely division of the species complex. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This appears to be a species complex, so assessing the taxonomy will be vital to assessing any conservations action needs. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | There is no evidence that an increase in the structural diversity of the habitat will directly benefit this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 1. Taxonomy established |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | As a species complex, it is not currently possible to fully understand its status or conservation action needs. This species occurs in unimproved, grazed grasslands. Records from damp woodland habitats may be misidentified (M.viride) or may relate to as yet undescribed species from this complex that have a preference for that habitat. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: A program of sequencing all specimens should be undertaken to determine taxonomic status.
Action targets: 1. Taxonomy established
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Once the taxonomy is resolved, an assessment of sequenced national species records should be made according to IUCN guidelines to provide a recognised redlist status for this species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: As no IUCN recognised assessment exists for this species, this action should be prioritised. The assessment should be based on sequenced voucher specimens.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Recognition of waxcap grasslands as a priority habitat
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Legal protection
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Not applicable
Comments: Majority of waxcap grassland where this species is found are outside of SSSIs and not protected. Tree planting is the greatest threat to this spp, but rarely considered
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.