Wedge-leaved Screw-moss (Tortula cuneifolia)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Non-vascular plant (incl. chromists) > moss > Moss |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: | Tortula cuneifolia |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Dicks.) Turner |
| 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 |
| 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 - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | GB RL criteria: D1. Mediterranean Oceanic species. |
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: Sunny Corner, Talland Barton Farm SSSI, Mouthstone Point
Comments: A species with low recovery potential where the main aim is to maintain/protect populations
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If monitoring confirms extinction at Talland Barton Farm and Mouthstone Point, undertake trial reintroduction by direct translocation of spores from Sunny Corner
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Talland Barton Farm, Mouthstone Point
Comments: Measures to restore habitat at Talland Barton Farm were agreed with the landowner (National Trust) in 2021, but there has been no subsequent monitoring. The species was not refound at Mouthstone Point in 2017, but the habitat was assessed as favourable and worth further survey effort, which has not yet been undertaken.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider the potential for the designation of Sunny Corner as a SSSI to protect the future of this species
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Sunny Corner
Comments: Sunny Corner is unprotected and supports the strongest surviving population of this species in England
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.