Important Freshwater Areas Important Freshwater Landscapes

Recovering England’s Rarest Freshwater Plants – Species Recovery project

Species Project Starfruit Project Greater Water-parsnip Project Round-fruited Rush Project Frogbit Project

Our ambitious three-year Species Recovery project will restore some of England's rarest freshwater plants and the habitats they depend on.

Spiky aquatic plant with small white and yellow flowers emerging from water. Leaves float on the surface.

Work will focus on saving priority freshwater plant species, including Starfruit (Damasonium alisma) – one of the UK’s rarest aquatic plants (pictured above) – and the UK’s only native population of Scarce Tufted-sedge (Carex cespitosa).

Reversing the decline in freshwater plant diversity

The project forms part of our strategy to build the Freshwater Network. Together with our partners, we’re creating a wilder, wetter, cleaner, more connected landscape so populations of rare and threatened species can recover.

Combining restoration of ponds, wetlands and floodplains with scientific research and practical conservation, the project will help rebuild resilient populations of priority freshwater plants across Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey, while also developing national guidance to support species recovery across England.

Saving eight priority freshwater species

These projects focus on eight priority freshwater species, all of which are at risk of extinction.

The programme will create and restore ponds and floodplain wetlands, reinstate natural hydrology, improve grazing management and undertake innovative research into the ecological conditions needed for long-term species recovery.

1. Starfruit

This project combines habitat restoration with applied ecological research to secure the future of one of Britain’s rarest freshwater plants: Starfruit (Damasonium alisma).

Restoration work will focus on Stoke Common and Headley Heath through pond creation, pond restoration, grazing management and seed reintroductions.

Alongside this, controlled experiments, genetic analyses, germination studies and monitoring will investigate why populations exhibit dramatic “boom and bust” cycles and identify the conditions needed to establish naturally self-sustaining populations. Historic sites will also be reviewed to determine whether any remain suitable for future restoration.

Spiky aquatic plant with small white and yellow flowers emerging from water. Leaves float on the surface.
Starfruit

Starfruit
Damasonium alisma

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2. Scarce Tufted-sedge

At the site of the UK’s only remaining native population of Scarce Tufted-sedge (Carex cespitosa) in Hertfordshire, this project will restore the natural hydrology through earthworks, groundwater monitoring and management planning.

We will measure recovery by carrying out population monitoring using drones and field surveys while producing management plans to provide a long-term framework for grazing and habitat management. Existing reintroduced populations elsewhere in Hertfordshire will also be monitored to improve understanding of successful establishment techniques.

3. Greater Water-parsnip

This work focuses primarily on developing a national evidence base for Greater Water-parsnip (Sium latifolium). We will synthesise published and unpublished information, capture practitioner knowledge from previous conservation work, undertake targeted field investigations where evidence gaps remain, and produce the first comprehensive national recovery strategy for the species.

We will also develop a standardised framework for documenting conservation translocations that can be adopted more widely across UK plant conservation.

water-parsnip
water-parsnip

Greater Water-parsnip
Sium latifolium

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4. Oxfordshire Floodplain Flora

This project will restore floodplain habitats for five threatened freshwater species:

  • Marsh Stitchwort (Stellaria palustris)
  • Lesser Water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides)
  • Round-fruited Rush (Juncus compressus)
  • Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)
  • Frogbit Smut fungus (Tracya hydrocharidis)

Work includes habitat surveys, management planning, grazing improvements, creation of new floodplain ponds and scrapes, Frogbit propagation and translocation, and restoration of habitat connectivity across Oxfordshire’s floodplains. Together these actions aim to rebuild resilient floodplain plant communities rather than conserving isolated populations.

Frogbit
round fruited rush

Round-fruited Rush
Juncus compressus

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Frogbit

Frogbit
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

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Our other Species Recovery projects

The Species Recovery programme is helping us achieve our vision of building the Freshwater Network. One of the key aims of the Freshwater Network is to increase populations of rare and threatened freshwater species.

Find out more about how we’re saving threatened freshwater species in three other Species Recovery projects.

Blue and black damselfly resting on a stem.
Fen invertebrates

We’re working with BBOWT to save rare invertebrates that live in Oxfordshire’s alkaline fens.

Aerial view of two Glutinous Snails (Myxas glutinosa).
Glutinous Snail

Led by BIAZA, this project will develop an integrated conservation programme for this vanishingly rare freshwater snail.

Tadpole Shrimp

This Natural England-led project will bring partners together to save this ancient crustacean from extinction.