Hucclecote Meadows () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest divided into two areas on each side of the M5 road in the

Severn Vale , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, Gloucestershire. It was notified in 1984.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The western area is also a Local Nature Reserve.

Location and use

The site is on the outskirts of Gloucester City, and is made up of a series of lowland meadows overlying

Lower Lias The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the Low Countries and the north of Germany. It consists of marine limestones, ...

clays. They are one of the few remaining areas of ''herb rich'' ancient pastures in Gloucestershire. They have been traditionally managed for hay, and cattle and sheep grazing.

Flora

The species are abundant with variations from one meadow to the next. At the time of citation the meadows were reported as supporting some 75 meadow species, including some rarities such as

corky-fruited water dropwort ''Oenanthe pimpinelloides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name corky-fruited water-dropwort. It is a plant of damp or dry grassland and more ruderal tall herb communities. Description Corky-fruited w ...

. The main grasses found are

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 ...

meadow fescue ''Festuca pratensis'', the meadow fescue, is a perennial species of grass, which is often used as an ornamental grass in gardens, and is also an important forage crop. It grows in meadows, roadsides, old pastures, and riversides on moist, rich ...

, crested dog's-tail and meadow foxtail. The general meadow species found include great burnet, cowslip,

devil's-bit scabious ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

, saw-wort, lady's bedstraw and yellow rattle. The meadows are bordered by very old hedges of

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 ...

and blackthorn, which include some hedgerow trees such as oak.

Invertebrates

The range of butterflies recorded includes meadow brown, marbled white, common blue,

grizzled skipper ''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera '' Burnsius'' and '' ...

and the small heath butterfly.

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Hucclecote Meadows units
*

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information) Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1984 Local Nature Reserves in Gloucestershire Meadows in Gloucestershire {{England-SSSI-stub