Scorzonera Rust (Puccinia scorzonerae)
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: | Puccinia scorzonerae |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Schumach.) Juel |
| 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 Critically Endangered (2006) - restricted by range of host plant, so known only from Dorset in England, and most recently discovered at Arne in 2022. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | It is reliant on the success/distribution of a specific plant species, (Scorzonera humilis) which is also part of the TSRA project. |
| 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): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | A rust fungus on Scorzonera spp. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: It is possible that this species is under recorded on existing populations of the host plant in England, so thorough, targeted surveys should be carried out at every population of S.humilis at different points in the year to observe each of the sexual stages of the rust. This information will be lead to a better understanding of fungus distribution within a population and its dispersal success.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Wareham Meadows and Arne
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: An assessment of the necessary national species records should be made according to IUCN guidelines to provide a recognised redlist status criteria 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: Dorset
Comments: As no IUCN recognised assessment exists for this species, this action should be prioritised.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: For this fungus to recover, existing populations of its host plant need to be managed correctly and expanded. The host is a TSRA species, so that will be covered by actions given for that species. Once that is complete, a pilot study on translocating the rust fungus into other populations should be undertaken.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Wareham Meadows and Arne
Comments: See S.humilis TSR actions for details on host plant recovery. Trials on assisting the recovery/distribution of the rust fungus may benefit from ex-situ propagation of infected host plants.
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.