Essex Biodiversity Project has been working with Dr Zoe Ringwood of Writtle College to ensure that Sea Hogs Fennel and Fisher’s estuarine moth will continue to thrive on the Essex coast.
Hog's Fennel (Peucedanum officinale) is a long-living umbellifer that can grow to over 2 m in height. In Britain, the distribution of the plant is restricted to two main localities: northeast Essex around the Walton Backwaters area and the north Kent coast between Faversham and Reculver. In these areas the plant generally grows within species-poor coastal grassland habitats that are threatened by rising sea levels and scrub encroachment.
The plant is not tolerant of high levels of soil salinity and therefore will not survive in areas that are inundated by the sea. In mainland Europe the plant is not coastal and grows within a diversity of grassland habitats and at altitudes of up to 1800 m.
In addition to being of conservation priority itself, two rare species of moth, Fisher’s Estuarine Moth (Gortyna borelii lunata) and Agonopterix putridella (a micro-moth), are completely reliant on Hog’s Fennel as their sole caterpillar food plant. Work being conducted to conserve Fisher's Estuarine Moth on a landscape-scale is directly benefiting Hog’s Fennel.
Work is continuing on Skippers Island, off Thorpe-le-Soken, an Essex Wildlife Trust Reserve, the key site for both the plant and moth. The work includes clearing scrub so that space is created for Sea Hogs Fennel to expand into the centre of the island away from the sea.
Progress report on research trials to establish Sea Hog's Fennel
Download the full report (PDF 212KB)