Lesser Tussock-sedge (Carex diandra)

Key Details

Taxonomic Groups: Vascular plant > flowering plant > Sedge
Red List Status: Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(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 diandra
UKSI Recommended Authority: Schrank
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 at England level;
Question 2: Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions?
Response: Yes
Justification: Needs action directed at sites where it grows
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: Restricted to specific sites

Species Assessment

Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): 2. Biological status assessment exists
Recovery potential/expectation: Medium-high
National Monitoring Resource: Opportunistic - insufficient
Species Comments:

Key Actions

Key Action 1

Proposed Action: Devise a national monitoring plan and apply

Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented

Action type: Targeted monitoring

Duration: Unknown

Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites

High priority sites:

Comments: Difficult plant to monitor - seasonality, small size, many sites - coordinated effort by local recorders?

Key Action 2

Proposed Action: Research needs of this species - requires complex hydrochemistry

Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood

Action type: Scientific research

Duration: 3-5 years

Scale of Implementation: National

High priority sites:

Comments: Will need water sampling and testing

Key Action 3

Proposed Action: Implement management plans at sites to address need to maintain hydro-geological conditions necessary and appropriate annual management

Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled

Action type: Habitat management

Duration: Unknown

Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites

High priority sites:

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.