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Hollingbourne Downs
Hollingbourne Downs is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Maidstone in Kent. This escarpment has unimproved chalk grassland and beech woodland. The dominant grasses are tor-grass, upright brome and sheep's fescue ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ..., and shrub species on woodland margins include the wayfaring-tree and traveller's-joy. The site is crossed by several public footpaths. References {{SSSIs Kent Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Site Of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I". Selection and conservation Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSIs (or ASSIs), and those notified for geological or physiographic interest are Geological SSSIs (or ASSIs). Sites may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological Biological SSSI/ASSIs may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester, Kent, Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services. Toponymy Anglo-Saxon period of English history, Saxon charters dating back to ca. 975 show the first recorded instances of the town's name, ''de maeides stana'' and ''maegdan stane'', possibly meaning ''stone of the maidens'' or ''stone of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone. It is the fifth most populous county in England, the most populous non-Metropolitan county and the most populous of the home counties. Kent was one of the first British territories to be settled by Germanic tribes, most notably the Jutes, following the withdrawal of the Romans. Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, the oldest cathedral in England, has been the seat of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the conversion of England to Christianity that began in the 6th century with Saint Augustine. Rochester Cathedral in Medway is England's second-oldest cathedral. Located between London and the Strait of Dover, which separates England from mainla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escarpment''. Some sources differentiate the two terms, with ''escarpment'' referring to the margin between two landforms, and ''scarp'' referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term ''scarp'' also describes a zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau. Formation and description Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by movement of the Earth's crust at a geologic fault. The first process is the more common type: the escarpment is a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engleriana'' subgenus is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known ''Fagus'' subgenus beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The European beech (''Fagus sylvatica'') is the most commonly cultivated. Beeches are monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating catkins. They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tor-grass
''Brachypodium pinnatum'', the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches tall. The flowerhead is open, with 10 to 15 erect spikelets. Distribution The plant can be found in such US states as California, Massachusetts, and Oregon. Ecology The caterpillars of some Lepidoptera use it as a food plant, e.g. the Essex skipper (''Thymelicus lineola''). It is also one of the most important host grasses for Auchenorrhyncha in central Europe.Nickel, H. (2003). ''The Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha): Patterns and Strategies in a Highly Diverse Group of Phytophagous Insects''. Sofia, Moscow: Pensoft and Keltern: Goecke & Evers. See also *''Brachypodium distachyon ''Brachypodium distachyon'', commonly called purple false brome or stiff brome, is a grass species native to southern Europe, northern Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upright Brome
''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The Botanical name#Components of plant names, specific epithet ''erectus'' is Latin, meaning "erect". The diploid number of the grass is 56. Description ''Bromus erectus'' is a perennial, tufted grass with basal tufts of cespitose leaves that is Rhizome, nonrhizomatous. The culms grow between in height. The Internode (botany), internodes are typically glabrous. The flattened cauline leaves have pubescent or glabrous sheaths. The leaf blades are long and wide. The grass lacks Auricle (botany), auricles and the ligule is blunt but finely serrated, sometimes with hairy edges. The contracted and ellipsoid panicle is usually upright, rather than nodding, measuring long. The lanceolate spikelets are long and have five to twelve flowers. The glumes are acute, with the lower glumes one-nerved and lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheep's Fescue
''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pasture, throughout Europe (with the exception of some Mediterranean areas) and eastwards across much of Asia; it has also been introduced to North America. It is one of the defining species of the British NVC community CG2, i.e. ''Festuca ovina'' – ''Avenula pratensis'' grassland, one of the calcicolous grassland communities. However, the species has a wide ecological tolerance in the UK, occurring on both basic and acid soils, as well as old mining sites and spoil heaps that are contaminated with heavy metals. Sheep's fescue is a densely tufted perennial grass. Its greyish-green leaves are short and bristle-like. The panicles are both slightly feathery and a bit one-sided. It flowers from May until June, and is wind-pollinated. It has no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayfaring-tree
''Viburnum lantana'', the wayfarer or wayfaring tree, is a species of ''Viburnum'', native to central, southern and western Europe (north to Yorkshire in England), northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . The vigorous deciduous European treelike shrub is common along waysides. Description It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to tall. The leaves are opposite, simple oval to lanceolate, Long and broad, with a finely serrated margin; they are densely downy on the underside, less so on the upper surface. The hermaphrodite flowers are small, around , and creamy-white, produced in dense cymes width at the top of the stems; they are produced in early summer, and pollinated by insects. The fruit is an oblong drupe long, green at first, turning red, then finally black at full maturity, and contains a single seed. The seeds are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clematis Vitalba
''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family Ranunculaceae. Description ''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flowers with fluffy underlying sepals. The many fruits formed in each inflorescence have long silky appendages which, seen together, give the characteristic appearance of ''old man's beard''. The grooves along the stems of ''C. vitalba'' can easily be felt when handling the plant. This species is eaten by the larvae of a wide range of moths. This includes many species which are reliant on it as their sole foodplant; including small emerald, small waved umber and Haworth's pug. Range ''C. vitalba'' has a preference for base rich alkaline soils and moist climate with warm summers. The species is native to Eurasia and North Africa. United Kingdom In the UK it is a native plant and is common throughout England south of a line from the River M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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