Kempley Daffodil Meadow () 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 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

, notified in 1986.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Location and regional interest

The site is one of a limited number of similar meadows and woods in the

Dymock Dymock is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles south of Ledbury. In 2014 the parish had an estimated population of 1,205. Dymock is the origin of the Dymock Red, a cider appl ...

and

Newent Newent (; originally called "Noent") is a market town and civil parish about 10½ miles (17 km) north-west of Gloucester, England. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, The population was 6,777 at the 2021 Census. ...

areas which support the flowering of wild daffodil. The meadows are unimproved neutral grassland. Dymock Woods is a nearby Site of Scientific Interest and supports flowering of wild daffodil, and there is a Daffodil Trail which incorporates a number of local nature reserves which support the conservation of the species.

Flora and conservation

Natural England, in its report of May 2011, reports the coverage and density of the flowering as being 75% of the whole field and between 40% to 60% cover. Other species recorded in the meadow are

lesser celandine ''Ficaria verna'' (formerly ''Ranunculus ficaria'' ), commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dar ...

common sorrel Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...

cuckooflower ''Cardamine pratensis'', the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial herb native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia. The specific name ''pratensis'' is Latin ...

and

creeping buttercup ''Ranunculus repens'', the creeping buttercup, is a flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa. Habitat It is a very common weed of agricultural land and gardens, spreading quickly by it ...

. The presence of a significant number of

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s was noted.Natural England SSSI information on the Kempley Daffodil Meadow unit
/ref>

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Kempley Daffodil Meadow unit

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information) Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1986 Meadows in Gloucestershire {{England-SSSI-stub