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Ulverscroft Valley
Ulverscroft Valley is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Markfield in Leicestershire. The site is in five separate blocks, and two areas are nature reserves managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). Lea Meadows is owned by the LRWT and it is also a scheduled monument. Part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve is owned by the LRWT and part is owned by the National Trust and leased to the LRWT. SSSI The Ulverscroft Valley was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is described by Natural England as being one of the best wildlife sites in the county, with grassland, heath, woodland and wetlands. Over 200 plant species have been recorded on the site, with an especially rich flora in wet areas. The nature reserves are open to the public, but others parts are private land with no public access. The drier habitats are dominated by sweet vernal grass, creste ... [...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] |
Dactylorhiza Maculata
''Dactylorhiza maculata'', known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia. Etymology The name of the genus ''Dactylorhiza'' is formed from the Greek words δάκτυλος 'daktylos' meaning 'finger' and ρίζα 'ridza' meaning 'root' and refers to the tubers of this plant, which are split into several tubercles. The specific epithet 'maculata', meaning 'spotted', refers to the stained leaves. The scientific binomial name of this plant was initially ''Orchis maculata'', proposed by the Swedish naturalist and botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name was changed to the one currently accepted (''Dactylorhiza maculata'') by the Hungarian botanist Károly Rezső Soó in 1962. In German this plant is called ''Geflecktes Knabenkraut'', in French ''orch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulex Europaeus
''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves modified into green spines, long. Young seedlings produce normal leaves for the first few months; these are trifoliate, resembling a small clover leaf. The solitary flowers are yellow, long, with the pea-flower structure typical of the Fabaceae; they are produced throughout the year, but mainly over a long period in spring. They are coconut-scented. The fruit is a legume (pod) long, dark purplish-brown, partly enclosed by the pale brown remnants of the flower; the pod contains 2–3 small blackish, shiny, hard seeds, which are ejected when the pod splits open in hot weather. Seeds remain viable for 30 years. Like many species of gorse, it is often a fire-climax plant, which readily catches fire but re-g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salix Cinerea
''Salix cinerea'' (common sallow, grey sallow, grey willow, grey-leaved sallow, large grey willow, pussy willow, rusty sallow) is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Christensen, K. I., & Nielsen, H. (1992). Rust-pil (''Salix cinerea'' subsp. ''oleifolia'') - en overset pil i Danmark og Skandinavien. ''Dansk Dendrologisk Årsskrift'' 10: 5-17. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10, with a ranking of second place, for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. Plant It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing 4–15 metres (13–50 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, 2–9 cm (1– in) long and 1–3 cm (– in) broad (exceptionally up to 16 cm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Petraea
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emblem in Wales and Cornwall. Description The sessile oak is a large deciduous tree up to tall, in the white oak section of the genus (''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') and similar to the pedunculate oak (''Q. robur''), with which it overlaps extensively in range. The leaves are long and broad, evenly lobed with five to six lobes on each side and a petiole. The male flowers are grouped into catkins, produced in the spring. The fruit is an acorn long and broad, which matures in about six months. Comparison with pedunculate oak Significant botanical differences from pedunculate oak (''Q. robur'') include the stalked leaves, and the stalkless (sessile) acorns from which one of its common names is derived. It occurs in upl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cirsium Dissectum
''Cirsium dissectum'', also known as meadow thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in England, Wales, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Norway, etc. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas. Description ''Cirsium dissectum'' grows 15 to 50 cm tall. It resembles a more slender version of '' Cirsium heterophyllum'' in having a grooved cottony stem and lanceolate shaped leaves, that have prickles and not spines. However the leaves are narrower (under 3 cm), less hairy underneath, and hairy on top. The flower heads are 2 to 3 cm long, the florets being dark red/purple, flowering from June until August. The plant has runners. Similar species ''Cirsium tuberosum'' or tuberous thistle, has tuberous roots rather than runners, and the leaves are twice pinnated. It is found in Calcareous grasslands but very rare. It has been recorded in Britain in the counties of Cambridgeshire, Glamo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bilberry
Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' L., but there are several other closely related species. Etymology and common names The name "bilberry" appears to have a Scandinavian origin, possibly from as early as 1577, being similar to the Danish word ''bølle'' for whortleberry with the addition of "berry". In Scandinavian languages bilberries have names that translate to "blueberry": ''blåbär'' in Swedish and ''blåbær'' in Danish and Norwegian. The bilberry (especially ''Vaccinium myrtillus'') is also known by a number of other names including blaeberry in Scottish and Northern English regional dialects and the Scots language, whortleberry in southern England, and w(h)imberry or w(h)inberry in Derbyshire, Lancashire, along the Anglo-Welsh border, and south Wales, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calluna
''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade. It is the dominant plant in most heathland and moorland in Europe, and in some bog vegetation and acidic pine and oak woodland. It is tolerant of grazing and regenerates following occasional burning, and is often managed in nature reserves and grouse moors by sheep or cattle grazing, and also by light burning. ''Calluna'' was separated from the closely related genus ''Erica'' by Richard Anthony Salisbury, who devised the generic name ''Calluna'' probably from the Ancient Greek (), "beautify, sweep clean", in reference to its traditional use in besoms. The specific epithet ''vulgaris'' is Latin for 'common'. ''Calluna'' is differentiated from ''Er ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juncus
''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superficially resemble grasses or sedges. They have historically received little attention from botanists; in his 1819 monograph, James Ebenezer Bicheno described the genus as "obscure and uninviting". The form of the flower differentiates rushes from grasses or sedges. The flowers of ''Juncus'' comprise five whorls of floral parts: three sepals, three petals (or, taken together, six tepals), two to six stamens (in two whorls) and a stigma with three lobes. The stems are round in cross-section, unlike those of sedges, which are typically somewhat triangular in cross-section. In ''Juncus'' section ''Juncotypus'' (formerly called ''Juncus'' subg. ''Genuini''), which contains some of the most widespread and familiar species, the leaves are reduced t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deschampsia Cespitosa
''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts of South America, Eurasia and Australia. The species is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant, and numerous cultivars are available. The cultivars 'Goldschleier' and 'Goldtau' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is a larval host to the Juba skipper and the umber skipper. Description A distinguishing feature is the upper surface of the leaf blade which feels rough and can cut in one direction, but is smooth in the opposite direction. The dark green upper sides of the leaves are deeply grooved. It can grow to tall, and has a long, narrow, pointed ligule. It flowers from June until August. It can be found on all types of grassland, although it prefers poorly drained soil. It forms a major componen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molinia Caerulea
''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid soils, ideally pH values of between 3.5 and 5, however, it can continue to live under more extreme conditions, sometimes to as low as 2. It is common on moist heathland, bogs and moorland throughout Britain and Ireland. Introduced populations exist in northeastern and northwestern North America. The specific epithet ''caerulea'' means "deep blue" and refers to the purple spikelets. Description ''Molinia caerulea'' is a herbaceous perennial bunchgrass (tussock-forming), growing up to tall (taller when sheltered by gorse and heather), with many closely packed stems. The leaves are coarse, green, taper to a point, long, flat and sometimes slightly hairy on top. Due to the dense tussock it is very resistant to heath fires. Its ligule is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophioglossum Vulgatum
''Ophioglossum vulgatum'', commonly known as adder's-tongue, southern adders-tongue or adders-tongue fern, is a species of fern in the family ''Ophioglossaceae''. The adder’s tongue fern is generally believed to have the largest number of chromosomes wit1262 compared to the human’s 46. Distribution It is native to many regions with a wide scattered distribution: throughout temperate through tropical Africa and throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere in Europe, northeastern North America, temperate Asia, and Eurasia. This small, hard-to-spot plant can occur singly in unimproved pastures, rock crevices and grassy path-sides, but also can occur in colonies of hundreds of plants in sand dunes. Description ''Ophioglossum vulgatum'' grows from a rhizome base to 10–20 cm tall (rarely to 30 cm). It consists of a two-part frond, separated into a rounded diamond-shaped sheath and narrow spore-bearing spike. The spike has around 10-40 segments on each side. It repro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
