Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis)
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: | Spergula arvensis |
| 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: | VU in England and undergoing continued strong decline |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | As an annual with localised populations, this species will require species-focussed habitat management to maintain populations. |
| 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 the periodic creation of bare and disturbed ground as part of a range of habitats on sandy soils. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake research into the autecology of the species and its response to management regimes. This research should be carried out on a series of sites representing the geographic and habitat range of the species. Research should cover the factors controlling/affecting germination, seed longevity and dormancy, seed production and seed dispersal, associated plant communities, effect of soil type and should include experimental management aimed at local population increase.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Advice and support for land managers at recent and historic locations to encourage and enable targeted management.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: Annual action
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Review translocation best practice for this species and roll it out across suitable sites across its natural range.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 100 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Requires sourcing suitable material for translocation, probably necessitating ex-situ propagation to bulk up seed. Ongoing monitoring of translocation sites needed after the duration of the 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.