Common Cudweed (Filago vulgaris)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(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: | Filago germanica |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | L., non Huds. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Filago germanica |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Although latest atlas shows apparent expansion in the distribution of this species, until reassessment its Red List status is NT. It should therefore remain a species of concern until it is reassessed as LC. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Apparent recovery suggests that reassessment of status is required, together with monitoring to ensure apparent increase is sustained. |
| 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 benefit from the periodic creation of bare and disturbed ground as part of a range of habitats on a variety of soils. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 8. Species recovering |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Carry out a review of the species' England Red List status, to determine whether it can be considered Least Concern on the basis of the latest atlas data.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Should the status review carried out under action 1 be inconclusive, carry out periodic monitoring of a sample of sites, based (for example) on the BSBI's Threatened Plants Project in order to gauge whether apparent increase in Area of Occupancy is being maintained.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 100 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: To be repeated at five-year intervals.
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.