- Conservationists have launched a rescue mission for the starved wood-sedge, one of the UK's rarest plants, after it began growing on a public footpath in Somerset.
- The critically endangered species, found at only two native UK sites, was at risk of being trampled, prompting intervention from the Species Recovery Trust.
- The plants have been moved to a specialist nursery for propagation, where they will be 'bulked up' before being used to recolonise the original site.
- The Species Recovery Trust also plans to establish two new populations of the starved wood-sedge within the Mendip Hills National Landscape to ensure its long-term safety.
- This rescue is part of the trust's broader commitment to remove 50 species from the brink of extinction in the UK by 2050.
IN FULL
One of UK’s rarest plants brought back from brink of extinction
