Wood Calamint (Clinopodium menthifolium)
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: | Clinopodium menthifolium |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Host) Stace |
| 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: | Assessed as VU in England by Storh (2014) & confined to single location |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Formerly in grazed coppice/scrub on downland margin. Now entirely dependent on conservation management to maintain favoured open conditions |
| 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: | Only known from single site in UK, so spread unlikely (& unwarranted) |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Species responds well to disturbance of scrub & road verge at sole location. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Monitor existing single population, incl. introduced plants, to ensure changes in population size noted in timely manner.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Rowridge Valley SSSI
Comments: Species fluctuates markedly depending on site conditions, & could easily disappear without appropriate management
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure appropriate management of its woodland edge/roadside habitat (through tree removal, reinstatement of coppicing, & introducing intermittent cattle grazing) across its sole locality.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Rowridge Valley SSSI
Comments: Described as "In the greatest profusion and luxuriance" at discovery in 1843, & decline associated with loss of active/ frequent coppicing & occasional running of stock through thin woodland.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Ensure maintenance of adequate ex-situ material both in Millenium Seed Bank and live horticultural collections.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Rowridge SSSI
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.