Nowhere Else

Over the next year I will be searching high and low to find a fascinating cross-section of Britain's endemic species - the species found nowhere else but right here! Follow me as the endemic quest unfurls... Photo is of the endemic Backs Goldilocks Buttercup

... So if @AlexCarlTurner, @phoeb0 or @pgreenfielduk could just correct that then I'd be delighted 😊 As there's no shrew emoji (shameful!) I'll symbolise it with:🦔+🐁 5/5

...Obviously, this shouldn't change anyone's opinion on Scilly Shrew conservation - just because it's not a unique, endemic taxon doesn't mean we shouldn't safeguard its future - but I would like to stop the myth from spreading (we have enough endemic myths already)... 4/5

I read a great piece on rat eradication on Scilly; removal of rats from islands has hugely positive impacts on populations of native species, such as Manx Shearwaters and Puffins on Lundy (both of which I saw whilst searching for endemic Lundy Cabbage earlier this year)... 1/5

Fortunately there is work going on to try and safeguard the future of the Menai Strait Whitebeam. Trees are being grown in cultivation to ensure an ‘ark’ population, and translocations to suitable wild sites are being considered. Find out more: fossilplants.co.uk/menai-strait-w…

This blew my mind. We have a critically endangered endemic species threatened by climate change – how have I not hear this story before? How is this not the poster-species of the impact of climate change in Britain? Why are we not all shouting about it all the time!

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be shown the endemic Menai Strait Whitebeam (or Cerddin Menai) by the amazing @fossilplants

This is so beautiful and fascinating - and as one of the parents is endemic so is the resulting hybrid. Hybrids might seem like strange one-offs or dead-ends, but many modern species have emerged from hybrid pairings and found their own niche.

One thing I found really fascinating about False-toothed Lady's Mantle was how it favoured the edges of paths, seemingly liking the trampled sides (which presumably create bare ground for it to colonise?). Nice to think that there's a species that thrives off human activity!

False-toothed Lady's Mantle has only been recently described as a new species; it spent about a century being confused with other lady's mantles before being finally settled by @AlchemillaMan. It does make you wonder though - how much is still out there to discover?!

Of course, it does make it easier having the brand new Alchemilla book to hand... as well as having @AlchemillaMan, the guy who literally described the species, standing next to you and pointing out the features. (By the way, get the book, it's fantastic!)

I had an amazing day with @AlchemillaMan yesterday where I got to meet the endemic False-toothed Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla falsadenta. It's not only a British endemic, it's a Yorkshire endemic too! The entire global population is found in just two woods in the Yorkshire Dales!