Red Helleborine (Cephalanthera rubra)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| 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: | Cephalanthera rubra |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (L.) Rich. |
| 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: | Known from fewer than 10 sites in England, with overall population numbering <100 plants (possibly considerably less). Number of flowering plants annually <10 spikes. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This Critically Endangered species survives in Fagus woodland with exacting ecological requirements (notably light levels). All populations very small. Flowering & seed production very poor. |
| 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: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Extinction debt |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Performing poorly at present, though some 'lost' populations rediscovered in recent years. A species of dappled high beech woodland & beech coppice, with exacting requirements relating to light levels, density of ground vegetation, levels of leaf litter deposition, geology and plant-insect relationships (re pollination). Subject of existing species-specific steering group. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Monitor all populations annually, recording total number of plants, no. of flowering spikes, effective seed pod production, & site conditions (likely to be carried out by site wardens or local volunteers). Ensure monitoring is suited to data analysis.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: All sites
Comments: Close annual monitor will ensure that necessary action can be undertaken in a timely manner, providing analysis shows what actions are required.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Investigate genetics, and ecological parameters at all sites, including geology; aspect; light levels through day & associated temperature; predation by deer, molluscs etc; beneficial or detrimental role of leaf litter etc. Analyses results & share with other site managers.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: All sites
Comments: Urgent need to better understand how management activities influence both production of above-ground stems and flowering success.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Manage all sites with aim to gently increase light levels; manage ground vegetation & leaf-litter build up (through annual hay cuts/rakes); protect plants from damage/destruction by predators (or clumsy visitors); & undertake sustainable hand pollination to ensure effective seed-set. Suitable microhabitats should be expanded where possible to ensure that all suitable ground is in a favourable state for the species. Any ex-situ work to better understand germination of this intractable species should ideally use trial material from larger European populations, and should adhere to agreed guidelines if limited quantities of seed are removed from English sites.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: All sites
Comments: Management intensity (e.g. light levels) should be gradually increased giving time for response from plants to take place & the efficacy of management assessed
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.