Pillwort Pilularia globulifera
Pillwort (Pilularia globulifera) is one of Britain’s most unusual plants – a diminutive aquatic fern that resembles a fine-leaved grass, forming low mats at the margins of shallow, acidic, nutrient-poor pools and lakes. Its characteristic small, pill-shaped spore cases are diagnostic. It has declined substantially across Britain due to habitat loss, water enrichment, and improvements to ponds. In Suffolk, it is associated with the shallow, acidic pools and pond margins of the Sandlings heathland and similar acid habitats. It requires open, undisturbed, low-nutrient water margins and is sensitive to scrub shading and poaching. Good Suffolk records exist from the heathland nature reserves. Image: © Len Worthington, Flickr.
Find out more: iNaturalist, Plantlife, Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
Suffolk’s Priority Fern and Flowering Plant Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
Archived action plan, 2000