As the early morning sun flooded Scilly in wintery light, the team landed on the shores of St Agnes, prepared for a day of kneeling in the dirt in search of the least adder’s-tongue fern. The plant is aptly named – not only is it as small as a snake tongue, but its miniature flower is strange and otherworldly, resembling a draconic tooth. Growing at a maximum of two centimetres, the search for this rare plant seemed an impossible task. How to you find a plant that, alongside being the height of a fingernail, looks the same as everything else from a distance?
The fern is identifiable by the waxy texture of its leaves, which have rounded edges and lack a midrib. Each of the leaves seemed to grow in its own little patch of soil, instead of circulating from a distinct focal point (the underground root system joining them all was quite hidden from above). The key was to get down into the dirt and carefully scan each blade of grass until you found something that might be a least adder’s-tongue.
Whilst searching, I often found myself distracted by the beauty of St Agnes; the view of Rosevear and the Western Rocks, with the Bishop Rock Lighthouse lurking behind, never fails to steal my breath away. I don’t think there is a more magnificent place to spend an afternoon plant-spotting, even if the cold December air nipped at my hands and face all afternoon. I believe the collective joy of finding a least adder’s-tongue in flower was enough to warm everyone up.
Because of how this fern grows, each leaf was counted individually, which makes the one hundred specimens the team found seem considerably smaller. There might have been hundreds more ferns emerging across Wingletang’s stony heathland, but sadly several of the previously discovered sites were overgrown with gorse. Hopefully these sites can be cleared, and the timid least adder’s-tongue will return in greater numbers. With Wingletang Down being the only known place in the UK where this fern grows, it is more important than ever to help it thrive.
