Strapwort (Corrigiola litoralis)
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: | Corrigiola litoralis |
| 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: | CR in GB & EN in England. Species confined to a single native site, plus a single reintroduction site |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Highly localised at two British sites, & requiring targeted management to maintain open, poolside 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: | 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: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Formerly in 2 or 3 British localities but confined to one by 2000 (Slapton Ley, Devon). The plant was widespread & sometimes dominant around Slapton Ley (c. 1960), but since 2010 has been recorded from just two short stretches of ley-side. Here loss of open habitat (ideally 2-4 cm high) through succession to reedbed & willow carr are largely to blame for loss, though water quality may be contributory. Reintroduced to Loe Pool (Cornwall) in 2015 - with 100 plants recorded in 2019, but only c. 3 plants seen in 2022. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Maintain & restore open, shaley margins at both sites, through tree clearance & mechanical scraping of sallow root plates & emergent vegetation (reeds etc).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Slapton Ley SSSI
Comments: Corrigiola litoralis likely to recolonise lost ground rapidly if suitable conditions provided. There may be a need to bolster populations if the plant has failed to recolonise after 5 years.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure survival & spread of species at both Slapton Ley & Loe Pool by ensuring / reinstating lost grazing regimes from water's edge & resolving issues relating to water quality
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Slapton Ley SSSI. Loe Pool SSSI
Comments: Adequate levels of grazing provides the long-term & sustainable means of ensuring that stretches of margin of the two localities remain open & suitable for growth of C. litoralis.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Ensure adequate stock of material from Slapton Ley maintained ex-situ both in cultivation & within seed banks, to enable future bolstering of wild populations if needed. There is a need to assess issues around loss of habitat due to sea level rise in future decades.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Slapton Ley 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.