Breast-toothed Hawkweed (Hieracium mammidens)
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 mammidens |
| 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: | Recently surveyed and action needed at three sites to maintain this declining ‘Endangered’ English endemic. 2024 survey found 162 plants in four populations; not refound in seven sites and unconfirmed in another four sites (Rich 2025 in press). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Three sites can be easily managed to maintain and enhance existing populations. Impractical to manage Colt’s Hill crossroad site due to road traffic. |
| 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: | Remaining populations probably too fragmented and small to benefit |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | few specialist hawkweed surveyors but full survey available: Rich (2024). |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Waltham Park, Sussex site declining and needs woodland opening up by removal of two large conifers
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Waltham Park
Comments: exact details available from Tim Rich; Barlavington Estate conservation-minded
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Caesar's Camp, Hampshire - removal of dense scrub from path sides and north face of hill where become too shaded
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Bourley and Long Valley SSSI
Comments: MOD site; exact details available from Tim Rich
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Pembury Hall Road - coppicing of chestnut woods at north end of lane where there are very shaded, vegetative plants on a bank
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites: Pembury Hall Road
Comments: RSPB reserve on west side; exact details available from Tim Rich
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.