Helping a rarity in nature

Next stop after Kabli was the largest island in Estonia, Saarema. Of 185 vascular plants currently included in the national list of protected species, 122 can be found in Saaremaa and on the neighboring islands, and 17 of them are unique in these islands. The rarest plant species here is Saaremaa yellow rattle (Rhinanthus osiliensis), the only endemic species of Saaremaa.

And this little plant that grows in calcareous spring fens and meadows, was the target of our efforts. We worked in Viidumäe Natural Reserve, which was established in 1957 in order to protect rare species of flora and communities, and this consisted of improving habitat to promote growth of Rhinanthus osiliensis. For this purpose three areas were cleared of vegetation, the first was a fen and the two remaining, less wet, were located in the heart of the forest, which by the way, is more beautiful than ever with autumn colors.

It was certainly a wonderful landscape to work, we enjoyed it so much and we´re happy to have helped this singular plant. 🙂