![Cuddington Meadows 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Cuddington_Meadows_1.JPG)
Cuddington Meadows is a 1.4 hectare
Local Nature Reserve and
Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, in
Belmont in the
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...
. It is owned by Sutton Council and managed by the council together with Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers.
The site was shown as two enclosures on the open Banstead Downs on an early nineteenth-century map, and it was later part of Walnut Tree Farm, which became Cuddington Hospital in 1897. The hospital closed in 1984, and in the late 1990s the land was transferred to Sutton Council to be managed for nature conservation.
It is mainly
chalk grassland
Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clove ...
with some
scrub. Its most important feature is a variety of unusual flowering plants, including
greater knapweed
''Centaurea scabiosa'', or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus ''Centaurea''. It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads.
Greater knapweed is found growing in dry grasslands, hedgerows and cliffs on lime-rich soil. Upri ...
,
lady's bedstraw
''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...
and
field scabious
''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
Description
It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...
. Sixteen species of butterflies have been recorded, such as the rare
small blue
The small blue (''Cupido minimus'') is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Despite its common name, it is not particularly blue. The male has some bluish suffusion at the base of its upper wings but is mostly dark brown like the fem ...
and
green hairstreak
The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Etymology
The genus name '' Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (bramb ...
.
[
There is access from Cuddington Park Close.][
]
References
{{coord, 51.3348 , -0.2135, type:landmark_region:GB-BNE, display=title
Local nature reserves in Greater London
Meadows in Greater London