Barrington Hill Meadows

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Barrington Hill Meadows
Area of Search Somerset
Grid Reference ST300170
Interest Biological
Area 16.1 hectares (39.5 acres)
Notification 1987
Location Map English Nature

Barrington Hill Meadows (grid reference ST300170) is a 16.1 hectare (39.5 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1987.

Green-winged Orchid
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Green-winged Orchid

Barrington Hill Meadows, 2 km west of the A358, midway between the villages of Windmill Hill and Bickenhall, is a English Nature National Nature Reserve.

This site is an outstanding example of a traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland of a type now rare in Britain. Additional interest lies in the occurrence of an extremely rare grass species. The meadows belong to a type characterised by the widespread occurrence of Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), Crested Dog's Tail (Cynosurus cristatus), Cowslip (Primula veris) and Green-winged Orchid (Orchis morio). A total of 74 different species have so far been recorded. This site is one of only 3 localities in Britain in which the grass Gaudinia fragilis is a prominent feature of the sward. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barrington Hill Meadows. English Nature. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.