Plants

Yellow Marsh Saxifrage (Saxifraga hirculus)

Yellow Marsh Saxifrage is a plant that occurs in base-rich flushes in blanket bogs. It is a weak stemmed plant with small leaves and flowering shoots about 15 to 20 cm tall. There is usually a single terminal large yellow flower, but up to three flowers can occur. Yellow Marsh Saxifrage is threatened and declining throughout much of Europe and in the UK it is now restricted to about 20 localities in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland. It also occurs at several locations in north western counties of the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland, a prominent botanist called Praegar, first discovered Yellow Marsh Saxifrage at three locations on the Garron Plateau in County Antrim in 1920. Recent surveys have only found the plant at one remaining flush in this site.

In Northern Ireland the Yellow Marsh Saxifrage is specially protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife Order. It is also one of the few plants in the Irish flora that is listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive for conservation action because of the European importance of the UK populations. It is also listed in Appendix I of the Bern Convention. Because the plant is rare and declining, it has been identified as a Priority Species for conservation in the UK and in Northern Ireland. A UK Species Action Plan has been produced for Yellow Marsh Saxifrage to ensure the future protection and conservation of this special plant throughout the UK.

Click here to view a distribution map of the Yellow Marsh Saxifrage in Northern Ireland.