Arenaria norvegica subsp. norvegica was re-discovered in Ireland in 2008 after an absence of
47 years. A detailed survey in 2009 revealed a small population restricted to skeletal soils on the
edges of limestone pavement. A. norvegica subsp. anglica occurs in an almost identical habitat in
Northern England. Irish plants also appear to flower at least a month earlier and produce more
infloresences than in Britain. These differences warrant further investigation given the isolation of
the Irish population. That it remained undetected for so long is remarkable and cautions against
declaring a species as ‘extinct’ even in such a well botanized locality as the Burren
