Doward Hawkweed (Hieracium dowardense)
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: | Hieracium dowardense |
| 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: | Once known from about eight locations mostly in Herefordshire but currently only two, this rare endemic has shown a clear decline , and is assessed as EN. Basic data collection is required to asses threats and priorities. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Targeted survey required to determine current status and requirements for conservation. 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: | Mainly wood edges and banks |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | few specialist hawkweed surveyors |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Survey of all sites to assess possible reasons for decline, and collect autecological data (vegetation niche, management) to assess conservation requirements.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Medium priority for continued action amongst hawkweeds
Key Action 2
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.