The fen ragwort, Senecio paludosus, is a robust perennial that formerly occurred in wet ditches and fens in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. It was never very common and gradually disappeared from all of its known sites in East Anglia as a result of drainage and was thought to become extinct by about 1857.

Some 30 years ago, a single fen ragwort plant, thought to be the only one known to exist in the wild, was discovered in a ditch beside a busy main road in Cambridgeshire. It was one of the first species selected for study as part of the Species Recovery Programme and has been the subject of detailed ecological research since 1991 by botanists at CEH Monks Wood.

Natural England is continuing this work by ensuring existing populations are monitored and suitable new sites are found for new introductions.

Plants have been cultivated from seeds of the original plant and re-introduced to five fenland sites in East Anglia, e.g. Woodwalton Fen and Wicken Fen NNR and the Cam Washes.

Standing around two metres tall, this striking plant likes extremely wet conditions for part of the year, and can withstand complete flooding for up to six months.