Lindisfarne Helleborine (Epipactis sancta)
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: | Epipactis sancta |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (P.Delforge) P.Delforge |
| 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 due to its restriction to a single site and with a small population size (Stroh et al., 2014). This endemic is restricted to a few dune slacks on Lindisfarne where the population is less than a few hundred plants. There is no evidence of a decline but it is threatened by regional extinction due to its restriction to a single site. It should be noted, however, that current taxonomic consensus is that it is only a variety of E. dunensis but its conservation has been kept separate here as part of the TSRA. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The persistence of E. sancta in slacks on Lindisfarne is reliant on grazing to maintain the open vegetation structure that the plant needs. |
| 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 has a highly restricted distribution and is unlikely to colonise new sites. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | As already noted, E. sancta is now treated as a variety of E. dunensis which itself has recently been split from E. leptochila s.s. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Maintenance of appropriate grazing levels on sand dunes on Lindisfarne, including removal of stock during the main flowering period (May-July).
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Lindisfarne (Holy Island)
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake control of piri-piri bur across the dune systems on Lindisfarne as this INNS threatens the habitat for Epipactis sancta
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Lindisfarne NNR
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.