Bristol Channel Hawkweed (Hieracium eustomon)
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: | Hieracium eustomon |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (E.F.Linton) Roffey |
| 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: | Requires a survey to assess threats and priorities in England where it has certainly declined. Once known from 13-15 sites on North Somerset and North Devon coasts but with only 4 post-2000 records. Also recorded in perhaps 16 sites in Wales where it is still locally plentiful on the coast but rare in the Brecon Beacons. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Targeted survey of North Somerset and North Devon required to determine population sizes and ecological requirements. Welsh 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | May have declined in North Somerset and North Devon due to increase in scrub and rhododendron, opening up sites would probably help |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | few specialist hawkweed surveyors |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Survey of North Somerset and North Devon sites to assess possible reasons for decline, and collect autecological data where still present (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: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: North Somerset and North Devon
Comments: Could be coordinated with surveys in Wales
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.