Norfolk Flapwort (Mesoptychia gillmanii)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Non-vascular plant (incl. chromists) > liverwort > Liverwort |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Mesoptychia gillmanii |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Austin) L.Söderstr. & Váňa |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Callaghan, 2023 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | At risk of extinction in England due to small population size and small number of sites |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A species with low recovery potential where the main aim is to maintain/protect populations |
| 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: | The species has a restricted distribution and so is unlikely to benefit from untargeted actions |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | GB RL criteria: n/a. Boreo-arctic Montane Circumpolar species. Recovery potential low due to climate change and natural rarity. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Develop and implement national monitoring plan to ensure comprehensive and up-to-date information is available on range size, population size, occupied sites and threatening factors in England
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Potter & Scarning Fens, East Dereham SSSI
Comments: A species with low recovery potential where the main aim is to maintain/protect populations
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake species distribution modelling to understand vulnerability to projected climate change over the next 50 years
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: A Boreo-arctic montane species that may be particularly vulnerable to climate warming
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: In consultation with landowners, assess habitat management requirements at surviving locations and produce a costed plan for any new actions required
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Potter & Scarning Fens, East Dereham SSSI
Comments: At Scarning Fen, various habitat management measures have been undertaken and some monitoring of the species has been undertaken, which needs assessment. What new management may be required in the North Pennines is unknown due to a lack of monitoring.
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.