Shropshire - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Coeloglossum virideCoeloglossum viride432109872 3 4 5 6 7 8Another current site is Craig-llwyn Quarry(SJ2327), where it was first recorded in 1992by Ros Gore. There were hundreds of plants,but by 2003 there was just one remaining (TinaTeearu & Ruth Dawes).There are currently just six known sites for it inthe county. The biggest population is in ameadow in Pant (SJ2723) where there were171 plants (R.A. Dawes) in 2003. Anothermeadow, in Trefonen (SJ2526) was firstreported in 2004 (S. Swindells). It is aninconspicuous plant, and there may well beother undiscovered sites for it, but there iscause for concern, as it has declined sodramatically.Cryptogramma crispa (L.) R.Br ex Hook.Parsley FernNative. Rare.This upland fern, which is fairly common inthe mountains of northern England, Wales andScotland, reaches its south-easterly limit on thehills of Shropshire. It was first recorded onBrown Clee (SO5986) by Joseph Babington in1803, and was seen there again by theReverend Prebendary W.G. Clark-Maxwell in1926, who wrote ‘in fair quantity, but in dangerfrom the extension of the quarries.’ It has notbeen seen there since.The only other place where it has beenrecorded is at Titterstone Clee (SJ5978), whereit was found by Edward Newman in 1854 ‘infour stations amongst the masses of basalt.’ Ithas been recorded many times since, mostrecently by Clive Jermy in 2002.Cuscuta epithymum (L.) L.DodderNeophyte. Extinct (1984).This is a parasitic plant with a wide range ofhosts, often gorse or heather. Its range hascontracted considerably in recent decades, andit is now restricted to the southern counties ofEngland. In Shropshire it has been recorded ascasual on crops and in gardens.William Phillips first recorded it in a field atBurcotgate (SJ6110) in 1870. Beckwith &Rare Plants of Shropshire 45