Rare Kentish plant makes extraordinary comeback from brink of extinction

This recovery is the result of a long-term conservation project led by Kent Wildlife Trust in partnership with The Species Recovery Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and local volunteers. The programme was established after the species declined to just a handful of plants across three sites in Kent.

A species on the edge 

Teetering on the verge of extinction, Kentish milkwort became the focus of urgent conservation action more than a decade ago. The recovery project began in 2013 with a steering group formed to secure the future of the species. At the time, what was then known as dwarf milkwort existed as two separated populations in northern England and Kent. By 2010, the plant was only found at three Kent sites.

Subsequent taxonomic work recognised the Kent population as a distinct subspecies, increasing the urgency of conservation action. To prevent total loss, seeds were carefully collected from the strongest surviving population and cultivated at Kew, establishing a secure seed stock for future restoration without further pressure on wild plants.

From trial site to success story 

Between 2018 and 2019, further seed collections enabled the production of plants for reintroduction. In 2021, trial introductions were carried out at Fackenden Down and Queendown Warren - both chalk grassland sites where the species had been absent for over 50 years. While Fackenden Down did not succeed, Queendown Warren has gone from strength to strength. Numbers rose from 17 plants in 2021/22, to 47 in 2023, 86 in 2024 and 177 in 2025.

This year marks a dramatic turning point, with 1,245 self-sown plants recorded - a seven-fold increase on last year - establishing the strongest population of Kentish milkwort in the UK.

The work has also revealed key insights into the species’ ecology, showing it thrives in open, disturbed ground created by grazing and natural soil disturbance from animals such as rabbits and badgers.

Rob Pennington, Area Warden, Medway Grasslands at Kent Wildlife Trust, said:

“The scale of this year’s increase has been incredible to see. The plants are clearly thriving at the site and last year’s population must have produced a huge amount of seed that has now successfully germinated.

“We hope the population will continue to spread in the coming years and eventually become a donor site, allowing us to collect seed for future restoration work at other suitable locations.”

Next steps for the project will focus on maintaining the open conditions the species depends on, including the use of pigs at Queendown Warren to create and sustain areas of disturbed ground. It will also include further introductions to suitable chalk grassland sites to strengthen and expand the species’ long-term future in Kent.