Culm grassland, a rapidly-declining grassland limited in England to just a few remaining fragments in Cornwall and Devon, is now increasingly-rare. A staggering 92% has been lost in the past 100 years, with 48% disappearing between 1984 and 1991 alone - partly as a result of the rapid intensification of farming.

However, conservation of Culm grassland is to be stepped up by Plantlife, thanks to £55,700 of National Lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The unique ancient grassland is found in The Culm, a remote and sparsely-populated region where high rainfall and heavy clay soils overlaying carboniferous rocks combine to create an internationally-rare habitat. In this boggy grassland a spectacular diversity of plants including saw-wort, meadow thistle, water mint and marsh violet flourish amongst rushes and tussocks of purple moor-grass.

Plantlife's 46-acre extension of the Greena Moor nature reserve, home to one of the largest surviving fragments of Culm grassland in England allows Plantlife and partner Cornwall Wildlife Trust to restore this species-rich habitat on an expansive scale. The cash injection from the National Lottery allows for much-needed infrastructure improvements to the site that will make the reserve more accessible to local communities.

Joe Costley, reserves manager for Plantlife, said: "This National Lottery investment provides a real lifeline for a unique and special grassland that has survived for centuries nestled between the more celebrated areas of Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin but is now disappearing from view.

"The inland area between Launceston and Bude may not boast the pizzazz of Polzeath and Padstow but behind the wind-clipped hedgerows off the beaten track lie hidden botanical gems that warrant very special attention.

"At first glance these grassland moors may look unremarkable but closer inspection unearths sparkling diamonds in the rough. Peer into the damp ditches at Greena and you might spot wavy St-John’s-wort while three-lobed crowfoot lurk in the muddy hollows."

Six of the wild plants recorded at Greena Moor are listed as threatened on the England Red List. These are three-lobed crowfoot, petty whin, pale dog violet, wood bitter-vetch, hay-scented buckler fern and lesser butterfly orchid. The latter, a plant of sparkling beauty with spikes of white, night-scented flowers, has not been recorded for over a decade at Greena and is currently the subject of concerted conservation action at a national level. Plantlife hopes to resurrect its fortunes at Greena. Also at Greena are three species rare in Cornwall: whorled caraway, meadow thistle, and upright vetch.

Greena's special plantlife supports a wider array of wildlife. Devil’s-bit scabious is important as the food plant for caterpillars of the rare marsh fritillary butterfly, which is active on the reserve in late May and June. Reed buntings and meadow pipits are two of the many bird species that enliven the reserve.