ONE of the country's rarest plants is set to return to Dorset in an impressive comeback.

Starved wood-sedge, typically found in woodland glades, is famed for being one of the rarest sedges in the UK and was feared extinct in the early 1980s when its British population fell to just one plant.

Another population reappeared in Surrey shortly after the 1986 storms, and conservationists have worked tirelessly ever since to bring its population up to more than 100 plants.

The final piece of this project is set to happen this month when plants reared at Kew Gardens will be re-introduced to their former site in Dorset. Starved wood-sedge was last seen in Cranborne Chase in the 1920s.

Dominic Price, director at the Species Recovery Trust, said: “Despite our success with increasing the numbers of this plant in recent years, it still remains at perilously low levels, and bringing it back to Dorset represents a key step in saving the species in the long-term."

Starved wood-sedge was given its name due to the few seeds it produces, despite being the largest seed of any native sedge. Its decline is linked with high levels of commercial forestation and neglect of woodland areas.

Julia Smith, owner of the Edmondsham Estate where the plants are to be released, said: "We are delighted to play a role in saving this remarkable plant and we hope to see it thriving once again in its new woodland home."

The site has been chosen due to its valuable combination of light and soil conditions. It is also one of Dorset Wildlife Trust’s (DWT) Sites of Nature Conservation Importance.