Cleaves Wood () is a 40.38

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Wellow in

Bath and North East Somerset Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. Th ...

, notified in 1988. Cleaves Wood is an ancient, semi-natural deciduous woodland on oolitic

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. It has a high diversity of tree and shrub species and a large population of the nationally scarce plant

spiked star-of-Bethlehem ''Ornithogalum pyrenaicum'', also called Prussian asparagus, wild asparagus, Bath asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem, or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young flower shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, similar to asparagus Aspa ...

(''Ornithogalum pyrenaicum''). There are also areas of grassland which is lightly grazed by rabbits and is a mosaic of close grazed and rough swards, and wetter areas.English Nature citation sheet for the site
Retrieved 16 July 2006. The scarce plants found here include the

fly orchid ''Ophrys insectifera'', the fly orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus ''Ophrys''. It is remarkable as an example of the use of sexually deceptive pollination and floral mimicry, as well as a highly selective and highly ...

and

wild daffodil ''Narcissus pseudonarcissus'' (commonly known as wild daffodil or Lent lily) (Welsh: Cennin Pedr) is a perennial flowering plant. This species has pale yellow tepals, with a darker central trumpet. The long, narrow leaves are slightly greyis ...

.Myles, Sarah (2000) ''Flora of the Bristol Region'' page 247 The habitat diversity of the site has resulted in a rich

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 ...

fauna, including two nationally rare insects: the

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

'' Osphya bipunctata'' and the

hoverfly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

Cheilosia nigripes ''Cheilosia nigripes'' is a Palearctic hoverfly. Description Very similar to ''Cheilosia vicina'' with a black body bare eyes, black legs and fused antennal pits. The central prominence of the face gently slopes downwards (not retrousse). Male ...

''. Twenty-seven butterflies have been recorded from the site including the nationally scarce species, Duke of Burgundy (''Hamearis lucina''). The nationally scarce moth, Blomer's rivulet (''Discoloxia blomeri'') has also been recorded on the site. Other nationally scarce species include the snail ''

Ena montana ''Ena montana'' is a species of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Enidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Ena montana (Draparnaud, 1801). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Spec ...

'', the hoverfly '' Xanthogramma citrofasciatum'', and a number of beetle species.

References

{{SSSIs Avon biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon Bath and North East Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1988 Woodland Sites of Special Scientific Interest Forests and woodlands of Somerset