Species Profiles. Some of the species we hold in cultivation are showcased below and are listed in alphabetical order by scientific name. This rare perennial herb is found in shaded woodlands and limestone pavements in northern England. The black berries contain toxins that have a sedative effect on humans. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death. Perhaps surprisingly this toxic plant is used as a homeopathic remedy for various ailments, particularly rheumatism.
The berries are harmless to birds which are the primary seed dispersers. This delicate little fern has an annual life cycle which is unusual in European ferns. In the British Isles it is only known from Jersey and Guernsey where it grows on shady hedge banks and stone walls. This rare arctic alpine was discovered new to Britain in by Henry Hart, an Irish botanist and mountaineer. It is restricted to a small number of rocky ledges high up in the Cullin Mountains on the Isle of Skye.
A rare northern plant of open habitats such as cliff faces, river shingle and scree. It has a wide altitudinal range, from near sea level in Shetland to metres on Braeriach, South Aberdeen. Bristol Rock-cress is a famous rarity associated with the Avon Gorge near Bristol.
It grows on exposed south facing limestone rocks, scree and crags. It is extremely drought tolerant and will sit out desiccating summer droughts as a small compact tuft of leaves. It was first documented by the pioneering botanist John Ray who found it growing in the gorge at St. It is gratifying that over three hundred years later it can still be found in the same location.
This inland subspecies of the familiar coastal plant was once widespread in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire but declined rapidly as a result of agricultural intensification. It is now restricted to just two sites, Ancaster Cemetery in Lincolnshire and a nearby pasture.
