Rare flower Toothwort found at Dollar Glen
New colonies of an extremely rare flowering plant have been found in woodland at Dollar Glen.
Toothwort, a rare parasitic flower, was found by National Trust for Scotland ecologists who were checking the condition of the glen.
The flower was last seen there more than 10 years ago and it was thought to have disappeared altogether.
Ecologists also found another uncommon flower - the Meadow Saxifrage - at House of the Binns, near Linlithgow.
Toothwort has no chlorophyll and survives only by living off elm and hazel roots.
Mr Lindsay Mackinlay, National Trust for Scotland Nature Conservation Adviser said: "This is a really exciting find.
"For years, we have kept an eye out for this species but with no joy, then when we were wandering down one of the paths checking the condition of the woodland, there it was, happily growing feet from one of our footpaths."
The Meadow Saxifrage - which was found at House of Binns - is an increasingly rare flower of lowland grasslands, which flowers between April and June.
It used to be widespread in the countryside but has since disappeared from large areas of central Scotland.
Mr Mackinlay added: "Part of the work of the National Trust for Scotland is to protect our wild flowers.
"It's always great when we find new areas for uncommon and beautiful plants and we make sure our management tries to conserve them into the future."