Large Yellow-sedge (Carex flava)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Sedge |
| 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: | Carex flava |
| 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: | Assessed as VU in England (Stroh et al., 2014) due to its restriction to just 2 sites where it is vulnerable to regional extinction. There are <50 plants at Malham Tarn Moss and c.1000 at Roudsea Wood. A third small population has recently been discovered at Gaitbarrows NNR (Lancs) but this is now known to have resulted from a deliberate introduction. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | At both Malham Tarn Moss and Roudsea Wood, C. flava is localised and reliant on the maintenance of high water-levels and the grazing of fen vegetation to reduce competition from tall grasses and scrub. |
| 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 has a highly restricted distribution and is unlikely to colonise new sites. |
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: Maintain fens where C. flava occurs, ideally autumn/winter grazing and woodland management.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Malham Tarn Moss, Roudsea Wood
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Maintain fens where C. flava occurs, ideally autumn/winter grazing and tree management.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Malham Tarn Moss, Roudsea Wood
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Periodic structured monitoring (<5 years) of historic sites to establish population sizes, regeneration and habitat condition.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Malham Tarn Moss, Roudsea Wood
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.