ONE of Scotland’s rarest plants is thriving in the Ochils, according to a survey which found its numbers have trebled.

Around 10,000 flowering stems of sticky catchfly were counted by volunteers on the craggy slopes of Dumyat during a three-day survey this summer.

The numbers are up from around 3,000 flowering stems found in 2013 and represent around a fifth of the known British population.

The plant has a long-recorded history in Scotland but is rare nationally with fewer than 18 populations scattered across Britain.

The crags and screes of the Ochils remain the national stronghold for the plant, which can be identified by its showy pink flowers and sticky stem that prevents herbivorous insects such as aphids from climbing up.

It is thought that these trapped insects act as fertiliser for the roots, falling to the ground when the flowers die back.

Clacks MSP Keith Brown has been a species champion for sticky catchfly since teaming up with the Scottish Wildlife Trust in 2017.

Reacting to the results from the survey, he said: “I am absolutely delighted that this pretty, but rare, little flower – which I was pleased to become species champion for – is not just showing really positive signs of a substantial increase in the numbers to be seen, but that population numbers are particularly blossoming on the slopes of the Ochils, in my own constituency.

“This growth in numbers has not happened by chance, of course, and real praise is due to the efforts of all those involved in the land management changes that have brought about this recovery and, indeed, to the many volunteers who have made the survey possible.”

The plant, once admired by James VI on the crags of Arthur’s Seat, has sadly declined and disappeared from many of its former locations as overgrazing and gorse encroachment pushed surviving colonies onto inaccessible cliff faces.

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The latest survey of the plants was led and co-ordinated by the Future Forest Company on its land at Dumyat.

It went ahead in collaboration with NatureScot, naturalists from the area, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, TCV Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.

Stuart Bence, NatureScot operations officer who surveyed Dumyat for the plants in 2013, added: “These are absolutely amazing results.

“When we carried out the previous survey, we never thought we would see such high numbers and it is great news that the population seems to be spreading.”

It is hoped the species will continue to expand across the Ochils and indeed, Alva Glen Heritage Trust and TCV have already successfully re-established a population at the popular beauty spot.

The Stirling and Clackmannanshire Scottish Wildlife Trust group and the Stirling University Wildlife Conservation Society have also been involved in monitoring and surveying the plant.