Coralroot Orchid (Corallorhiza trifida)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Corallorhiza trifida |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Châtel. |
| 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 due to a small number of sites and ongoing decline (Stroh et al., 2014). Historically it has been recorded from around a dozen sites in England but is currently only extent at Gosforth Park and Lindisfarne in Northumberland and Sandscale Haws and Hay Bridge in Cumbria. The reason for its decline at other sites is unknown but it may be a sporadic colonist at some sites. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Two of the four extant populations are confined to dune slacks where it is reliant on grazing to reduce competition; the other two sites are in very boggy woodland with no apparent management. |
| 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): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: At Sandscale Haws and Lindisfarne maintain/reinstate autumn/winter grazing by livestock to maintain open conditions in dunes slacks, and in particular control of potential competitors most notably Salix repens.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Sandscale Hawes, Lindisfarne
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Maintain high water levels in woodlands at Gosorth Park and Hay Bridge to provide optimal conditions for the species.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Hay Bridge, Gosforth Park
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.