Equal-toothed Hawkweed (Hieracium aequiserratum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: | Hieracium aequiserratum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | P.D.Sell |
| 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: | Critically Endangered NW England endemic, very precarious and management at Barras required. Only 46 individuals are known from Barras (6 plants) and Cam Fell (40 plants), no population data at Caperby (2002). Gone from two sites. Regarded in 2022 as stable in both extant sites (owner aware at Barras). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Ex situ conservation action under way since 2016 with a small scale seed cultivation project by B. Burrow/Natural England (no detailed conservation action plan seen). Seed held in Millennium Seed Bank. |
| 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: | Given small population, wind-dispersed seeds and specific niche on limestone cliffs, unlikely to spread as surrounding areas largely grazed. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | few specialist hawkweed surveyors |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Continue funding existing Natural England recovery project
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Barras
Comments: Seed in Millennium Seed Bank; medium priority for action amongst hawkweeds
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Action at Barras Station for in situ conservation could be to remove trees and scrub from old railway line to increase open rock habitat and ensure site is not grazed during flowering/fruiting season, and remove invasive Hieracium grandidens. Cam Fell cliffs are probably OK but might benefit from reduction in sheep grazing (to be assessed).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Barras
Comments: Seed in Millennium Seed Bank; medium priority for action amongst hawkweeds
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Promote awareness of the group amongst landowners, understanding of conservation requirements amongst conservation professionals and identification skills amongst field botanists e.g. via BSBI training resources and workshops
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 100 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: generic action
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.