Field Eryngo (Eryngium campestre)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Eryngium campestre |
| 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, NT in England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Confined to about 12 established sites in England, some of very limited extent & apparently comprising single clones |
| 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: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Grazing tolerant species of dry grassland (calcareous & mildly acid) that often survives in species-poor semi-improved grassland or on road verges etc. Forms large, persistent patches, though apparently has died out at one coastal site through excessive growth of coarse grasses. Viability of seed perhaps poorly understood, but species may increasingly flourish with a warming climate, particularly in heavily grazed grassland, parched in summer. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Monitor all populations on <5 year basis, recording number of plants, flowering/seed production success, presence of seedlings, vegetation condition & structure, management etc. Review future management in light of findings.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: All
Comments: Understanding whether populations are clonal, and how successful they are at both flowering & setting viable seed critical to developing effective management plan
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure that all sites receive effective management through maintenance/introduction of heavy grazing regime and/or annual cutting regime, to maintain short, open & nutrient poor dry grasslands favoured by species. In sites where no grazing possible, work to clear scrub & maintain effective annual mowing regime is important. Research needed to review best types of stock for grazing.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: All.
Comments: The species unfortunately appears to have become extinct at a SSSI notified solely for this species. Eryngium campestre can withstand the heaviest levels of grazing (& is adapted for surviving in 'overgrazed' conditions), with undergrazing & pasture reclamation posing its greatest threats.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Endeavour to expand the area of low fertility, dry grassland available to species through no input of fertiliser/herbicide & restoration of high levels of grazing.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: All
Comments: With increasing summer temperatures it is thought that E. campestre may be more successfully setting viable seed. As a species capable of surviving in semi-improved grassland, allowing development of such low input grassland next to extant populations should allow species to spread.
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.