Spiked speedwell is a small, purple and incredibly rare wildflower found only in a few locations, including the Yorkshire Dales. A small but significant cluster of these plants clings to an exposed cliff ledge high on the Ingleborough massif, away from grazing sheep but still extremely vulnerable as a small, isolated population.
To secure the plant’s future, and as part of the Wild Ingleborough programme to restore plant and wildlife diversity across the Ingleborough area, seeds were collected last year with a special licence that allowed the team to safely collect the seeds from the exposed cliff edge. Some of the seeds were sent to Kew Gardens’ Millenium Seedbank, and are the most northerly spiked speedwell seeds in their collection.
Around 600 spiked speedwell plants were successfully germinated, grown and potted on in a dedicated upland plant nursery in the foothills of Ingleborough. 75 plants were then planted at Ingleborough this autumn, where the programme is protecting and restoring wildflowers and shrubs across the mosaic of habitats in this upland landscape.
The Wild Ingleborough team intends to plant out even more spiked speedwell plants and other species in 2025 across Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s reserves in the area and Natural England’s Ingleborough National Nature Reserve.
Other species carefully cultivated in the nursery this year include bloody cranesbill, globeflower, and a variety of montane willows; with purple saxifrage, baneberry, grass-of-Parnassus and roseroot hopefully germinating from collected seed next year. Hardworking volunteers at the first of the nursery’s dedicated work parties potted on 4509 seedlings in just 3 days.
Dr Tim Thom, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Programme Manager for the Wild Ingleborough Programme said;
“It has been incredible to reach this point, where we are saving and increasing populations of rare wildflowers that we’ve nurtured and grown from seed. Loss of habitat and a changing climate makes some species particularly vulnerable, and it was significant to be able to collect the seeds from this beautiful rare flower, which has until this point been so isolated at Ingleborough that we were in danger of losing it altogether.
“We’ve had amazing support from volunteers, other environmental organisations and Yorkshire businesses, it’s been a fantastic year for Ingleborough’s wildflowers and we’re looking forward to seeing what spring brings – always late in this area of the Dales - but expect colour, more diversity and a growing carpet of wildflowers.”
The Trust also welcomed the partnership of award-winning Yorkshire bed company Harrison Spinks, who provided a generous investment to help set up the upland plant nursery in the Ingleborough foothills.
Nick Booth, Managing Director at Harrison Spinks said;
“We have been supporting the Wild Ingleborough programme for just over a year now and it’s fantastic to see the progress made in such a short time. As a company, we are proud to have invested in a local conservation project, rather than offsetting carbon emissions abroad. By receiving regular updates on how our investment is contributing to the local habitat and restoring rare and endangered species, we can see firsthand the positive difference we are making and the increase in biodiversity within the local area. We are looking forward to attending some volunteer initiatives next year, so our employees can experience Wild Ingleborough for themselves.”
The Wild Ingleborough programme covers 1,300 hectares of the Yorkshire Dales around Ingleborough, with a focus to reconnect and restore the remaining patches of limestone pavement, limestone grassland and montane scrub, and saving the incredibly rare species that cling on there – many of which, including Yorkshire sandwort, bird’s-eye primrose and purple saxifrage, are found in very few other places in the UK. Hardy cattle have been introduced, which are content to chew away at rank grasses, preventing them from outcompeting wildflowers and creating a range of different grass heights that are ideal for ground nesting birds and insects.
The Wild Ingleborough programme is the focus of a major campaign by the Trust launched in Spring 2024, raising money to help continue the work.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust launch the first-ever State of Yorkshire’s Nature report in June, which for the first time gives an accurate insight into how the whole of Yorkshire’s nature is faring – and, crucially where action is now needed to create healthier, resilient and more abundant landscapes. It emphasised the vital national importance of Yorkshire’s limestone habitats, including its limestone grasslands and limestone pavements.
