Pulsatilla vulgaris is a rare and endangered flagship species of dry meadows in Central Europe. The species decreased both in the number of populations as well as the respective sizes of the remaining populations in the last century. Fourtyfour populations were studied in north-eastern Switzerland between 1996 and 1998. Today they are rather small, hardly exceeding 100 individual plants. The size of a population positively depends on the intensity of light and the supply of essential nutrients, while there is little evidence that size has a negative effect on the fertility of the populations of P vulgaris. Vegetation analysis indicates that P. vulgaris is found in diverse habitats ranging from areas edging woodland to sun-baked rocky hills. The largest populations of P. vulgaris are found in meadows on steep slopes facing south, traditionally mown and rich in species. Field experiments have indicated that increasing the sizes of local populations by transplanting ex situ grown seedlings or by sowing seeds is hardly ever successful. The change of habitats and low seedling recruitment now endanger many of the P. vulgaris populations. Rigorous conservation of the remaining populations and their habitats is very important for the survival of this flagship species. It may also be beneficial to a number of other rare and endangered "xeric" plant species accompanying P vulgaris in north-eastern Switzerland. Cultivation of regional genotypes of P. vulgaris ex situ and transplanting them to restored semi-natural habitats such as gravel pits or banks along motorways may be another means of conservation.