Windsor Hill is a biological

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 ...

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Aylesbury and north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. It lies within the Chilterns

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

, and it is featured in the

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initial ...

. A small part is managed by the

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It sh ...

, and access to this area requires a permit.

Site Description

The wood consists of an extensive tract of the Chiltern escarpment. It contains

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 ''Engle ...

woodlands, scrub and

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 ...

. It is one of three extant British locations for the

red helleborine ''Cephalanthera rubra'', known as red helleborine, is an orchid found in Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this Cephalanthera has always been one of the rarest orchids in Britain. Descrip ...

orchid.Species distribution map for Cephalanthera rubra

NBN Gateway NBN or nbn may refer to: Broadcasting networks * National Black Network, US radio network * National Broadcasting Network (Lebanon) * National Broadcasting Network (Trinidad and Tobago) * Nagoya Broadcasting Network, Japan * Nanjing Broadcastin ...

, retrieved 25 February 2010Ratcliffe, D. A. (1977) ''A Nature Conservation Review Volume 2. Site Accounts'' p. 53 The beech woodlands incorporate

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

characteristic of soils on the Clay-with-flints of the Chiltern plateau and the chalky deposits of the scarp slopes. Associated with the beech on the plateau are

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and occasional

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

whilst on the slopes, the associated species are

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...

. Both even-aged and more mixed stands are represented, the latter typically with a shrub layer including

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

and

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

on the plateau, and elder and

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

on the slopes. On the plateau,

bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

and

rosebay willowherb ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...

occupy extensive patches, but a more mixed ground flora occurs between these, including

creeping soft-grass ''Holcus mollis'', known as creeping soft grass or creeping velvet grass, is a species of grass, native to Europe and western Asia. Description ''Holcus mollis'' is a rhizomatous perennial grass found in woods and hedgerows, growing to tall. ...

(''Holcus mollis''),

hairy brome ''Bromus ramosus'', the hairy brome, is a bunchgrass in the grass family Poaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The name ''Bromus'' comes from the term brome, meaning oats. Unlike most other bromes (''Bromus'' sp.), it gr ...

(''Bromus ramosus''),

tufted hair-grass ''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 ...

(''Deschampsia cespitosa''),

wood millet ''Milium effusum'', the American milletgrass or wood millet, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to damp forests of the Holarctic Kingdom. The Latin specific epithet ''effusum'' means "spreading loosely". Habit ...

(''Milium effusum'') and

wood melick ''Melica uniflora'', commonly known as wood melick, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is native to much of Europe, and to parts of South West Asia and North Africa. Description The species rhizomes are elongated. The culms are ...

(''Melica uniflora'').

Pill sedge ''Carex pilulifera'', the pill sedge, is a European species of sedge found in acid heaths, woods and grassland from Macaronesia to Scandinavia. It grows up to tall, with 2–4 female spikes and 1 male spike in an inflorescence. These stalks ben ...

(''Carex pilulifera''),

hairy wood-rush ''Luzula pilosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the rush family Juncaceae with the common name hairy wood-rush. The plant is native to northern Europe and western Asia. Description ''Luzula pilosa'' is a short, tufted, grass-like perennia ...

(''Luzula pilosa'') and slender St. John's-wort (''Hypericum pulchrum'') are found in more heathy areas, and the rushes ''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution ' ...

'' and '' J. conglomeratus'' are present in damper areas. On the slopes dog's-mercury (''Mercurialis perennis'') and woodruff (''Galium odoratum'') are abundant, while more local species include

nettle-leaved bellflower ''Campanula trachelium'', the nettle-leaved bellflower, is a species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the large ...

(''Campanula trachelium''),

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(''Cephalanthera damasonium''),

broad-leaved A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with ne ...

(''Epipactis helleborine'') and narrow-lipped (''E. leptochila'')helleborines, yellow bird's-nest (''Monotropa hypopitys'') and scaly male-fern (''Dryopteris affinis'').

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

scrub occurs on Windsor Hill itself, where it is associated with various other typical chalk shrubs and chalk grassland with an abundance of the moss ''Pseudoscleropodium purum'' and

common valerian Valerian (''Valeriana officinalis'', Caprifoliaceae) is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. In the summer when the mature plant may have a height of , it bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attrac ...

(''Valeriana officinalis''). There are patches of bare chalk with

forget-me-not ''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots ...

s (''Myosotis'' species) and common mullein (''Verbascum thapsus''). On Kop Hill,

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

dominates the scrub, and the grassland is less mossy. Several localised plant species such as

squinancywort ''Asperula cynanchica'', the squinancywort or squincywort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. Its common name is derived from its former use as a medicinal herb to cure quinsy. It is native to much of southern and central ...

(''Asperula cynanchica'') chalk eyebright (''Euphrasia pseudokerneri''),

horseshoe vetch ''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps ...

(''Hippocrepis comosa''),

autumn gentian ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States ...

(''Gentianella amarella'') and

clustered bellflower ''Campanula glomerata'', known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Campanula'', belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England. Etymology ...

(''Campanula glomerata'') occur. A further small area of chalk grassland dominated by wood false-brome (''Brachypodium sylvaticum'') and

glaucous sedge ''Carex flacca'', with common names blue sedge, gray carex, glaucous sedge, or carnation-grass, (syn. ''Carex glauca''), is a species of sedge native to parts of Europe and North Africa.

(''Carex flacca'') occurs at the foot of Pink Hill. 23 species of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

have been recorded, including

brown hairstreak The brown hairstreak (''Thecla betulae'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The range includes most of the Palaearctic. Description The following description of this butterfly was written by Adalbert Seitz in 1909: ''Z. betulae'' L. B ...

(''Thecla betulae''), which requires scrub thickets and

woodland edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to hu ...

habitats. The juniper colony supports several species of insects specific to this host plant. The snail fauna includes '' Abida secale'', ''

Helicella itala ''Helicella itala'' is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Helicella itala (Linn ...

'' and ''

Pomatias elegans ''Pomatias elegans'', common name the round-mouthed snail, is a species of small land snail with an operculum, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Pomatiidae within the superfamily Littorinoidea, the winkles and their allies. This spe ...

''. There is access from Kop Hill Road and Peters Lane.

References

{{SSSIs Buckinghamshire Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Buckinghamshire Nature Conservation Review sites Chiltern Hills