Arable plants - where to find them

Suitable management should take place where uncommon species are known to grow, or a good variety of more common species have been seen in previous years. Local botanists, the Plantlife Arable Plants Officer or your local Wildlife Trust will know of some sites but perhaps the best advice will come from people who know the farm. Ask anyone who has worked on the fields to try to remember where Poppies, Pansies, Corn Marigold or other 'weeds' used to grow.

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
©Kate Still/Plantlife

Alternatively, taking a plough deep into soils where arable crops have been cultivated in the past can sometimes bring up long-buried seeds, which are often very long-lived. In most cases, less common species will be confined to the outer 6m of the field and are often concentrated in corners or near to banks where farm machinery cannot reach. This means that the middle of the field can be managed conventionally, with just a 6m marginal strip or conservation margin managed for arable plants.

Other conditions to consider when choosing sites for conservation:

• Light, free draining chalk or sand soil
• Low fertility soil – therefore no heavy applications of manure or fertiliser
• Sunny open position, not shaded by adjoining trees or woodland
• Been in cultivation for a long time (over 100 years)
• No significant weed burden that has led to heavy applications of broad spectrum herbicide
• Common broadleaved indicator species that suggest rarer species could be in the seed bank if suitable conditions occurred:
• Characteristic indicators on sandy soils include Thyme-leaved Sandwort, Corn Spurrey, Purple Viper's-bugloss, Common Stork’s-bill and Loose Silky-bent.
• On chalky soils, Venus's-looking-glass, Small Toadflax, Fluellen species and Dwarf Spurge are good indicators of a potential rich arable flora.
• Sites with scarce species such as Prickly Poppy, Dense Silky-bent, Pheasant’s-eye or Shepherd’s-needle will be especially suitable.