Scarce Tufted-sedge (Carex cespitosa)

Key Details

Taxonomic Groups: Vascular plant > flowering plant > Sedge
Red List Status: Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: Carex cespitosa
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: CR;
Question 2: Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions?
Response: Yes
Justification: One site - need to track fortunes of population at very least
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: Only one site ever known and that not for very long

Species Assessment

Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): 2. Biological status assessment exists
Recovery potential/expectation: Low - Combination or other (detail in comments)
National Monitoring Resource: Opportunistic - insufficient
Species Comments:

Key Actions

Key Action 1

Proposed Action: Assess status of population annually

Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented

Action type: Targeted monitoring

Duration: Unknown

Scale of Implementation: 1 site

High priority sites: Braughing Meads

Comments: Status needs to include condition of tufts across the population and whether recruitment taking place

Key Action 2

Proposed Action: Prepare management plan for Braughing Meads that supports population of the plant

Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled

Action type: Habitat management

Duration: 1 year

Scale of Implementation: 1 site

High priority sites: Braughing Meads

Comments:

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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.