Polruan to Polperro is a coastal

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 ...

(SSSI) and

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC) in south-east

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, UK, noted for its

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

interest. It contains a wide variety of plant species and is a site for populations of breeding birds.

Geography

The site, notified in 1951, is located on the south-east coast of Cornwall along the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, east of the town of

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

. It starts in the west outside the fishing village of

Polruan Polruan ( kw, Porthruwan) is a coastal village in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is bounded on three sides by water: to the north by Pont Creek, to the west by the River Fowey and to the south by the ...

and ends at the start of the fishing harbour and village of

Polperro Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554. Polperro, through which runs the River P ...

to the east, all within the civil parishes of Lanteglos and Polperro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' The

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...

runs through the SSSI and the majority of the coastline is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Wildlife and ecology

Flora

The SSSI and SAC supports various different habitats, including

shingle beach A shingle beach (also referred to as rocky beach or pebble beach) is a beach which is armoured with pebbles or small- to medium-sized cobbles (as opposed to fine sand). Typically, the stone composition may grade from characteristic sizes ranging ...

es, maritime grassland,

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

, abandoned field systems and several cliff communities. For this reason this SSSI falls within Plantlife's ''Polruan to Looe Cliffs''

Important Plant Area Important Plant Areas (IPA) is a programme set up in the UK, by the organisation Plantlife, to provide a framework for identifying and maintaining the richest sites for plant life, possibly within existing protected areas; though the protection of ...

. The shingle beach habitat contains some flora that has a very limited coverage within Cornwall, as well as the rest of the UK. Examples include Babington's orache ('' Atriplex glabriuscula''), Ray’s knotgrass ('' Polygonum oxyspermum''), sand couch (''

Elymus farctus ''Thinopyrum junceum'', commonly named sand couch-grass, is a species of Poaceae, grass in the family Poaceae. It is found in Europe and temperate Asia, and grows from rhizomes. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. In ...

''), sea bindweed (''

Calystegia soldanella The morning glory ''Calystegia soldanella'' (syn. ''Convolvulus soldanella'') is a species of bindweed known by various common names such as sea bindweed, seashore false bindweed, shore bindweed, shore convolvulus and beach morning glory. Descri ...

''), sea kale (''

Crambe maritima ''Crambe maritima'', common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus ''Crambe'' of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isl ...

''), sea spurge (''

Euphorbia paralias ''Euphorbia paralias'', the sea spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. The species is widely naturalised in Australia. It invades coastal areas, displacing local ...

'') and sea sandwort (''

Honckenya peploides ''Honckenya peploides'', the sea sandwort (UK) or seaside sandplant (Canada), is the only species in the genus ''Honckenya'' of the plant family Caryophyllaceae. Other common names include sea chickweed, sea pimpernal, sea-beach sandwort, and sea ...

''). The nationally scarce ivy broomrape (''

Orobanche hederae ''Orobanche hederae'', the ivy broomrape, is, like other members of the genus ''Orobanche'', a parasitic plant without chlorophyll, and thus totally dependent on its host, which is ivy. It grows to , with stems in shades of brown and purple, some ...

''), lanceolate spleenwort ('' Asplenium billottii'') and maidenhair fern (''

Adiantum capillus-veneris ''Adiantum capillus-veneris'', the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, maidenhair fern, and venus hair fern, is a species of ferns in the genus ''Adiantum'' and the family Pteridaceae with a subcosmopolitan worldwide distribution. I ...

'') can be found in within rock crevices along the cliff habitats. Various

calcicole A calcicole, calciphyte or calciphile is a plant that thrives in lime rich soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown ...

and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in c ...

''), also present within rock crevices and rocky ledges. Other areas of maintained grassland contain flora such as common bent (''

Agrostis capillaris ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial ben ...

''), common bird'sfoot trefoil (''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

''), common cat's-ear (''

Hypochaeris radicata ''Hypochaeris radicata'' (sometimes spelled ''Hypochoeris radicata'') – also known as catsear, flatweed, cat's-ear, hairy cat's ear, or false dandelion – is a perennial, low-lying edible herb often found in lawns. The plant is native to Eu ...

''), common dog-violet (''

Viola riviniana ''Viola riviniana'', the common dog-violet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae, native to Eurasia and Africa. It is also called wood violet and dog violet. It inhabits woodland edges, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is f ...

''), common milkwort (''

Polygala vulgaris ''Polygala vulgaris'', known as the common milkwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus ''Polygala'' in the family Polygalaceae. Description The biological form of ''Polygala vulgaris'' is '' hemicryptophyte'' ''scapose'',Pignatti S. - ...

''), common knapweed (''

Centaurea nigra ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads. It is native to Europe but it is known on other ...

''), common restharrow (''

Ononis repens ''Ononis repens'', the common restharrow, is a plant species of the genus ''Ononis''. Description It is a prostrate (maximum height 60cm) woody perennial, spreading by rhizomes. It has hairy stems and small oval leaves with toothed edges. ...

''), ribwort plantain (''

Plantago lanceolata ''Plantago lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on c ...

''), sweet vernal-grass, yarrow (''

Achillea millefolium ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...

''), woodrush (''

Luzula campestris ''Luzula campestris'', commonly known as field wood-rush, Good Friday grass or sweep's brush is a flowering plant in the rush family Juncaceae. It is a very common plant throughout temperate Europe extending to the Caucasus. This species of ''Lu ...

''), wild thyme (''

Thymus serpyllum ''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is ...

'') and

Yorkshire fog ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive sp ...

(''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

''). Also present in the grassland and grassy embankments are the nationally scarce slender bird'sfoot trefoil ('' Lotus angustissimus'') and hairy bird's-foot trefoil (''

Lotus subbiflorus ''Lotus subbiflorus'', hairy bird's-foot trefoil, is a flowering plant of the pea family Fabaceae. It is a finely hairy annual plant, growing in dry, sandy ground, often near the sea, and producing sprawling stems with clusters of two to four le ...

''). Large areas of unimproved grassland can also be found within the site. These contain a very wide variety of species within the good-quality, neutral grassland and are considered very nationally scarce as well as being exceptionally rare for Cornwall.

Fauna

The site contains many

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s including the uncommon

scarlet tiger moth The scarlet tiger moth (''Callimorpha dominula'', formerly ''Panaxia dominula'') is a colorful moth belonging to the tiger moth subfamily, Arctiinae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae ...

(''Callimorpha dominula'') and the nationally scarce

pearl-bordered fritillary The pearl-bordered fritillary (''Boloria euphrosyne'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found in Europe and through Russia across the Palearctic to the north of Kazakhstan. Description The adult butterfly is orange with black spots on ...

(''Boloria euphrosyne''). Pasture areas within the site supports the scarce

hornet robberfly The hornet robberfly, ''Asilus crabroniformis'', is a species of predatory insect in the family Asilidae. Reaching more than 25 mm in body length, it is one of the largest flies in the United Kingdom.Express and Echo, ''More info needed abo ...

(''Asilus crabroniformis''). Numerous breeding bird colonies can be found, with examples of the

Red Data Book The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

species

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

(''Sylvia undata'') and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

(''Falco peregrinus'') being recorded on the site.

References

{{SSSIs Cornwall biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall National Trust properties in Cornwall Cornish coast Polperro