Spanish Catchfly Silene otites
Spanish Catchfly (Silene otites) is one of Britain’s most geographically restricted native plants, found almost exclusively in the Breckland of Suffolk and Norfolk. This delicate, wiry perennial produces slender stems bearing tiny, pale yellowish-green flowers, and favours open, short grass-heath on dry, sandy soils. Suffolk is central to the national population, with key sites in the Lakenheath and Icklingham areas. It is highly sensitive to vegetation competition and depends on open, rabbit- or livestock-grazed Breckland turf. The species flowers in summer but is easily overlooked, and careful habitat management to prevent the encroachment of rank grass and scrub is essential. Image: © Stuart Read, 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.
