Darnel (Lolium temulentum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Grass |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Lolium temulentum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | L. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Darnel was assessed as CR in England due to a massive historic decline (Stroh et al., 2014) but its recent distribution appears to have been confused by deliberate introductions as part of formal and informal conservation programmes. Of the three confirmed English records since 2000, two were attempted recovery projects and the third was just a casual occurrence on a field margin. It is therefore likely to be regionally extinct as a long-established (archaeophyte) introduction in England but may persist as a neophyte. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The conservation of Darnel will require reintroduction to carefully selected sites as is already being carried out by the Species Recovery Trust. |
| 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: | N/A |
| Justification: |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | The Species Recovery Trust are being funded by Natural England to undertake this work and have already established it in 4 sites. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Collect seed from extant populations in Ireland and cultivate material for reintroduction to sites which specialise in the conservation of arable weeds such as Butser, College Lake (Tring), Ranscombe Farm, etc.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: NA
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Extend the number of sites on which Darnel has been reintroduced and continue to augment/monitor populations until they are self-sustaining.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: To be determined as part of the recovery project
Comments:
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.