Chiltern Gentian (Gentianella germanica)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Gentianella germanica |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Willd.) Börner |
| 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 VU by Stroh et al. (2014) due to a decline in Extent of Occurrence (EOO). Plant Atlas 2020 also reported a severe decline over the long- and short-term, largely as a result of the loss/reduction of grazing on downland many sites. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Like many species of short-grazed downland, this species has declined due to a loss or relaxation of livestock grazing on many sites that has been compounded in some areas due to a decline in rabbit numbers in recent decades. |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | This species is still widespread in some areas and so could benefit from scrub clearance and the reintroduction of grazing to create open ground for a range of species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Life history factor/s |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Carry out a species review/status assessment, repeating the survey undertaken in the early 2000s, to establish the number of sites, populations sizes and habitat condition.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: The results of the status survey/review should be use to inform the reintroduction of grazing regimes at key sites where threatened by overgrowth of grasses/scrub.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 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.