I was saddened to read that the grass of Parnassus (also known as the bog star) is close to extinction (UK’s smallest bird of prey among 200 species at risk of extinction, study finds, 31 March). It is the county flower of both Cumberland in England, and Sutherland in Scotland.
As a pre-teen, en route to a Scottish holiday in the late 1950s, I discovered it growing at Langdon Beck in Upper Teesdale, and was enchanted by its beauty. That area was championed by the botanist David Bellamy, who led campaigns to protect the unique high moorland flora when the Cow Green reservoir was being planned. He was teaching botany at Durham University when I was a botany student in the 1960s. What a shame that, 60 years later, climate change is probably the cause of its demise.
Jean Wilson
Carshalton, London
