Viper's-grass (Scorzonera humilis)
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: | Scorzonera humilis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | L. |
| 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: | In England Viper's Grass is restricted to three sites in Dorset (The Moors, Arne Triangle, Corfe Common) where it has a total population size >60,000 individuals. The Moors is the most extensive population whereas it is much more localised at Corfe Common . It has not been seen at Arne Triangle since 1989. It was assessed as VU (D2) due to its restricted number of populations (Stroh et al., 2014). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Viper's Grass has a tenuous hold in England and is threatened with regional extinction without adequate management of its two sites. Coastal realignment works at The Moors could also impact the population due to changes in water-levels. |
| 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: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: As a priority, work with stakeholders to protect The Moors site from coastal realignment works currently planned for the immediately adjacent areas of Poole Harbour. This should ensure that the hydrological integrity of the site is maintained and that there is no ingress of brackish water to the site (which sits in the coastal grazing marshes behind the sea-defences). Under the current advice this will be achieved by moving the sea-wall inland but taking care not to change the hydrology of the existing grazing marshes.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: The Moors (Wareham Meadows)
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure adequate grazing levels and timings, ideally extensive cattle in the autumn/winter/spring but avoiding the flowering/fruiting season.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Corfe Common, The Moors
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Restoration of the grassland vegetation on Arne Triangle through removal of scrub, fencing and introduction of grazing.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites: Arne Triangle
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.