THE bluebell is to be put on the nation's list of endangered species , John Gummer, the Environment Secretary, said yesterday.
The flower is still widespread across Britain but is under threat from a growing trade in blooms and bulbs harvested from woods.
Proposed protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act would outlaw trade in wild bluebells.
Also in danger of extinction are the water vole, the basking shark and the stag beetle.
The water vole is one of the most rapidly declining of British mammals. It has suffered from changes to rivers and canals and is hunted by mink. New legislation will make it illegal to disturb its habitat.
The basking shark has been hit by fishing, and the Wildlife Trusts describe it as "our African elephant".
The new law would make it unlawful to disturb its habitat, kill, injure, sell or transport it.
The stag beetle has declined because of a shortage of its natural habitat, dead wood, and a growing trade in the species. The trade is being outlawed.
Mr Gummer proposed that 29 species should be given special protection. The others include the fiery clearwing and Fisher's estuarine moths. Protection is to be increased for the marsh fritillary and large copper butterflies.
The vipers bugloss moth is the only species which Mr Gummer proposes to remove from the list.
The Midlands Meres and Mosses, a series of open water and peatland areas, which stretch through Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, were yesterday designated as a wetland of international importance, as too were the River Spey-Insh Marshes and the Moray and Nairn coast in Scotland.
