Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(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: | Dianthus armeria |
| 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: | Assessed as EN in England (Stroh et al. 2014) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Species often associated with ruderal / disturbed habitats, requiring conservation 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): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Annual species that responds well to disturbance |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake a full survey of all extant & recently lost sites (perhaps post 1987) to assess extent of colonies & current condition of sites. Surveys should be undertaken every 10 years minimum
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: The scattered nature of colonies of this species, combined with its erratic appearances make this a difficult taxon to survey - but a full understanding of its current distribution is urgently required
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Continue to implement appropriate management at all extant sites to provide favourable habitat conditions to sustain populations (requires removal of competitive vegetation and creation of bare ground on a periodic basis).
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Undertake an assessment of nativeness at purportedly native locations, ideally using molecular methods, to define the contribution to the population from garden escapes.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
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.