Small-Flowered Catchfly Silene gallica
Small-flowered Catchfly (Silene gallica) is a slender, sticky-hairy annual of open, disturbed sandy and chalky soils, with small pale pink or white flowers that are easily overlooked. Once a widespread arable weed, it has declined severely across Britain through herbicide use and agricultural intensification. Suffolk’s Breckland – with its light, open sandy soils and tradition of low-intensity arable cultivation – is one of the most important remaining areas for this species in England. Like several Breckland arable annuals, it depends on regular soil disturbance and sympathetic farming practices, including conservation headlands, for its continued survival in the county. Image: © Martin Sanford.
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, 2007