Our highest mountains are home to many rare plants, which flourish on the cold north-facing cliffs, especially where snow lies late in the year in sheltered snow-beds. Here are three of the best in the UK.
1. Ben Lawers, Perth and Kinross
The tenth highest peak in the Scottish Highlands, Ben Lawers (1,214m) is a botanical paradise and the number-one mountain for rare alpine plants in the British Isles (right). Of almost mythical status, its slopes are home to plants whose names conjure up their lush mountain paradise: alpine forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris), Highland saxifrage (S. rivularis), woolly willow (Salix lanata), mountain saffron lichen (Solorina crocea) and rusty alpine psora (Psora rubiformis).
2. Helvellyn and Nethermost Pike, the Lake District, Cumbria
The northern slopes of the Helvellyn (950m) and Nether most Pike (891m) peaks in the Helvellyn Range in Cumbria are home to some of the richest arctic-alpine and hanging garden habitats in England. Rare plants, such as downy willow (Salix lapponum) and alpine ladys mantle (Alchemilla alpina) are found no further south in Britain. Other specialities include alpine cinquefoil (Potentilla crantzii) and alpine mouse-ear (Cerastium alpinum).
3. Cwm Idwal, Snowdonia
A luxuriant hanging valley on the slopes of the Glyderau Mountains in Snowdonia (1,001m), Cwm Idwal is probably the most accessible site for rare alpine plants (below). Reached by a short circular walk around its breathtaking valley lake, Llyn Idwal, Cwm Idwal is home to the fabled Snowdon lily (Lloydia serotina), found only on the slopes of Snowdonia. The hanging gardens are crammed with other rarities, such as Welsh poppies (Meconopsis cambrica), saxifrages and scarce ferns, including tufted saxifrage (S. cespitosa) and holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis).
Source: Channel 4 – Wild Things – Three Arctic Alpine Paradises
