A rare plant once said to hold the secret of eternal youth has been discovered in the North-East. Jim McTaggart reports.

ONCE upon a time it was looked upon with awe because of its supposed magical restorative powers.

The Lady's Mantle held a special place among apothecaries because of the way the early morning mist collected in the cup of its grey-green leaves.

According to them, the dew - and especially the dew in May - had magical powers.

Any woman who washed her face in the moisture would find her former beauty restored. Washing regularly would hold back the ageing process indefinitely.

Whoever collected the dew had to go out alone, in full moonlight, naked and with bare feet as a sign of purity to ward off any lurking evil forces.

Over the years the plant's natural habitat in Britain has been eroded to the extent that one species - known as the Dwarf Lady's Mantle, or alchemilla monticola - has all but died out.

But now the plant with the supposed rejuvenating powers may be about to make a miraculous recovery itself.

Experts carrying out a roadside survey on the verges of Teesdale were amazed to find the plant growing alongside more common species.

Another plant traced and logged, the alchemilla acutilova, or full-sized Lady's Mantle, is also rare, being found only in parts of Wear-dale and Northumberland.

The two were among 240 plant species pinpointed when 70 kilometres of verges between Barnard Castle and Middleton were studied by a team of six experts from the Durham Wildlife Trust.

Now, those sites which have rare plants are being classed as Category Red, meaning they should be protected and not disturbed by roadworks or grass cutting.

Other sites with plants not so rare are being classed as Orange, meaning care should be taken with them, while those with no rarity value are being called Green and are getting no special treatment.

A lengthy report on the survey, part of the Durham Biodiversity Action Plan, was released yesterday. The work was carried out over a three months last summer.

Keith Bowey, implementation officer for the action plan, said yesterday, "It was an extremely useful survey as so many rich wildlife areas were found on the verges.

"Often verges are ignored by people who drive straight past them, but they can hold a very special range of rare plants and that has happened in Teesdale. Parts of it are very special indeed."

Help in finding the alchemilla monticola, which is a tall plant with green lobes and very small yellow flowers, was given by Dr Margaret Bradshaw, a botanist who lives in Eggleston. "We are very grateful to her," said Mr Bowey.

The survey, the Teesdale Roadside Flora Report, was supported by GlaxoSmith-Kline. Teesdale Council also lent support and Durham County Council has said it will co-operate in giving sites protection where necessary.

The team doing the survey went from Barnard Castle to Middleton via Eggleston, then back to the town via Mickleton, Romaldkirk, Cotherstone and Lartington.

A roadside verge survey was previously carried out in Weardale.