A plant that has been extinct in the wild in Great Britain for more than 60 years has been reintroduced at a secret location. The rosy saxifrage, a small mountain jewel plant, was last seen in the wild in 1962 in the Cwm Idwal nature reserve in Eryri. It is listed as extinct.
The horticulturist Robbie Blackhall-Miles, who helped to reintroduce the plant, said: "The rosy saxifrage is about as a native as you can get in the UK." His goal, working with the National Trust and Natural Resources Wales, is to restore some of the "missing" biodiversity to Britain by reintroducing the extinct rosy saxifrage to Eryri, or Snowdonia. It is part of a family of mountain plants that thrived when northern Britain was frozen over during the ice age.
When the glaciers melted, the saxifrages flourished in the mountain environment. The plant's delicate appearance and beautiful flowers eventually made them popular among plant..
. Mabel Banfield-Nwachi.
