Small-white Orchid (Pseudorchis albida)
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: | Pseudorchis albida |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve |
| 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: | VU in England; a very rare orchid of flushed grassland and mires overlying calcareous substrates in northern England (Yorkshire, Cumbria, Durham). the number of sites is unknown but probably in the region of 40, many of which are very small and erratic in appearance. It has declined due to agricultural improvement, in particular the drainage of upland pastures. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A specialist of flushed grassland and mires within wet heaths, in particular those dominated by Molinia, overlying calcareous substrates such as glacial gravels/clay and limestone. It requires open conditions (for recruitment) within otherwise tall swards and so relies on flushing to reduce the dominance of its associates. |
| 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 would benefit from widespread conversion from intensive sheep grazing to more extensive cattle grazing in suitable upland landscapes, as potentially encouraged by CS |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Although this species has been the subject of targeted surveys (e.g. the BSBI's Threatened Plants Project) its distribution is still poorly known. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake targeted surveys to assess population sizes, habitats, condition and threats
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Identify key populations in England and seek to ensure that they are adequately protected and managed (light grazing in winter, spring, autumn).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Raise the profile of this species as an umbrella species for good grazing on limestone uplands - one that farmers want to be the custodians of
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 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.