Suffolk Lungwort (Pulmonaria obscura)
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: | Pulmonaria obscura |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Dumort. |
| 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: | Assessed as VU in England by Stroh et al. (2014) due to a small population size of <1,000 individuals and its presence in <5 locations. However, since the publication of the England List, potentially damaging forestry works have been undertaken that are likely to lead to the loss (or major reduction) of the species at two of the three extant sites. As such, it will be assessed as CR for the forthcoming revision of the GB Red List (Stroh et al. in prep.). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | It is probable that remedial work will need to take place at the sites where forestry work has been undertaken. A species recovery project is underway focusing on growing plants collected from Gittin and Stubbings Woods ex-situ and then planting out in suitable receptor sites. |
| 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 has always been a very rare species, restricted to three sites (none of which is a SSSI) in recent years (with a historic fourth site known from south Suffolk). Effective deer management in the wider landscape would enable Burgate Wood SSSI to be appropriately managed for notified features and for this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Survey the three sites where the species is known to establish the condition of the population; the fourth (historic) location at Millfield Wood was lost when part of the wood was destroyed in the 1950s during construction of new power lines (Sanford & Fisk, 2010).
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Gittin Wood & Stubbings Wood; both in Suffolk (privately owned, and not SSSI)
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake a species recovery project, growing plants collected from Gittin and Stubbings Woods ex-situ, and planting at suitable receptor sites.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Gittin Wood & Stubbings Wood; both in Suffolk (privately owned, and not SSSI)
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider the potential to notify all locations as SSSI, with this species as a feature.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Site protection
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites: Receptor sites not yet identified
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.