Rosenannon Downs is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in mid

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, being designated Rosenannon Bog and Downs

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), 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 ...

characteristics. The site supports a wide variety of flora and fauna and includes Bronze Age barrows. Conservation work is carried out on the site by the owners, the

Cornwall Wildlife Trust The Cornwall Wildlife Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1962 that is concerned solely with Cornwall, England. It deals with the conservation and preservation of Cornwall's wildlife, geology and habitats managing over 50 nature reser ...

Geography

The SSSI, notified in 1979, is located north of the hamlet of

Rosenannon Rosenannon ( kw, Ros an Onnen) is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is within the civil parish of St Wenn, south-west of the town of Wadebridge.Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet 106 ''Newquay & Padstow'' Rosenannon Downs is ...

within the civil parish of St Wenn, south-west of the town of Wadebridge. The streams rising on this site feed into the

River Camel Valley and Tributaries The River Camel ( kw, Dowr Kammel, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Cel ...

SSSI.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The nature reserve is owned and managed by the

. The Downs have been leased by the Trust from 1999 and were bequeathed to them in 2009 by Theresa Knowles.

History

To the north of the site are three

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

barrows, dated to around 2500 BC. The SSSI was previously named ''Rosenannon Bog'', but was renamed after the site was expanded to its current limits. The Downs have not been

grazed In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other f ...

since the 1960s, although a proposal to reintroduce this is going ahead.

Wildlife and ecology

Flora

The two main types of habitat on the site are heathland and

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

land, which support a wide variety of species. The dry heath comprises five main species of plant, of which the common heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

'') is the most prolific with bell heather (''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

'') and western gorse ('' Ulex gallii'') also dominant; bristle bent (''

Agrostis curtisii ''Agrostis curtisii'', the bristle bent, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to Eurasia. It is densely tufted, with hair like leaves and stems that grow up to 60 cm. Its spikelets are yellow-green in colour, and its lemmas ...

'') and purple moor-grass (''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

'') to a lesser extent. Other species found in this habitat are heath milkwort (''

Polygala serpyllifolia ''Polygala serpyllifolia'', the heath milkwort, is a European native perennial of heaths and grassy places. Description It grows to a height of 25 cm. The lower leaves are in opposite pairs. It flowers from May to August. References *''W ...

''), lousewort ('' Pedicularis sylvatica''), saw-wort (''

Serratula tinctoria ''Serratula tinctoria'', commonly known as dyer's plumeless saw-wort or saw-wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a native of Europe with a thistle-like flower head. It grows in moist soil, full sun to part shade, ...

''), deer grass (''

Trichophorum cespitosum ''Trichophorum cespitosum'', commonly known as deergrass or tufted bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It was originally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as ''Scirpus cespitosus'', but was trans ...

'') and the heath spotted-orchid ('' Dactylorhiza maculata''). The wet heath areas also contain purple moor-grass along with bog myrtle ('' Myrica gale'') and cross-leaved heath (''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe ...

'') as the three most prolific species. Black bogrush (''

Schoenus nigricans ''Schoenus nigricans'' is a species of sedge known by the common names black bog-rush''Schoenus ni ...

'') are prominent in the wetter, more base-rich parts, whereas bog mosses ('' Sphagnum spp.'') and the

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

round-leaved sundew ('' Drosera rotundifolia'') can be found in the wet hollows. Along with cross-leaved heath and purple moor-grass the valley bog habitat supports bog asphodel (''

Narthecium ossifragum ''Narthecium ossifragum'', commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nartheciaceae. It is native to Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about in eleva ...

''), bog pimpernel (''

Anagallis tenella ''Anagallis tenella'', known in Britain as the bog pimpernel, is a low growing perennial plant found in a variety of damp habitats from calcareous dune slacks to boggy and peaty heaths in Eurasia. In the United Kingdom it is mostly restricted ...

''), common cottongrass (''

Eriophorum angustifolium ''Eriophorum angustifolium'', commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Northern Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soil ...

''), lesser skullcap (''

Scutellaria minor ''Scutellaria minor'', the lesser skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. Description ''Scutellaria minor'' grows to tall, with narrowly ovate leaves arranged oppositely. Flowers are borne in the leaf axil, axils of t ...

''), pale butterwort (''

Pinguicula lusitanica ''Pinguicula lusitanica'', commonly known as the pale butterwort, is a small butterwort that grows wild in acidic peat bog areas along coastal atlantic western Europe from western Scotland and Ireland south through western England and western Fr ...

'') and white beak-sedge (''

Rhynchospora alba ''Rhynchospora alba'', the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial around 50 cm tall, with white inflorescences that flower in August. The fruit of the sedge is a small achene with a ...

''). Royal fern ('' Osmunda regalis'') and wavy St. John's-wort (''

Hypericum undulatum ''Hypericum undulatum'', the wavy St Johns Wort, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to western Europe and northern Africa. The specific name ''undulatum'' is Latin, meaning "wavy" or "undulated", referring, just as the common name, ...

''), species which are not common within Britain, can also be found in the bogland. A broad-leaved woodland surrounds the valley bog which mainly contains sessile oak ('' Quercus petraea''), and willows ('' Salix spp.''). An area of scrub is present on the southern edge of the Downs, which supports Cornish bladderseed (''

Physospermum cornubiense ''Physospermum'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae. Its native range is Europe to Iran, Algeria. Species: *''Physospermum cornubiense'' *''Physospermum verticillatum'' References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1034929 ...

'').

Fauna

Heathland birds which feed, nest and breed on the site include the common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago''), curlew (''Numenius arquata''), and the meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis''), as well as the

European stonechat The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relativ ...

(''Saxicola rubicola''), which is in national decline. Other birds recorded on the reserve include the

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

(''Circus cyaneus''),

Montagu's harrier Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish na ...

(''Circus pygargus'') and the skylark (''Alauda arvensis'').

Conservation

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been given permission by the

Secretary of State for Environment The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Tr ...

to allow the site to be fenced in order to re-introduce

cattle grazing Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, ar ...

on the site for management purposes. This is to be carried out in order to reduce the chance of uncontrolled fires and to benefit the

small pearl-bordered fritillary ''Boloria selene'', known in Europe as the small pearl-bordered fritillary and in North America as the silver-bordered fritillary, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found across Europe, Asia and North America, and feeds ...

butterfly (''Boloria selene''), whose larva feed mainly on marsh violet (''

Viola palustris ''Viola palustris'' (marsh violet, or alpine marsh violet) is a perennial forb of the genus ''Viola''. It inhabits moist meadows, marshes, and stream banks in northern parts of North America and Eurasia. The species epithet ''palustris'' is Latin ...

'') on the mid–Cornwall moors; a low–growing plant which is out competed by the more vigorous purple moor-grass. Fencing to enable cattle grazing was started in December 2011. For the third year in the last four there has been an uncontrolled fire on the reserve which is thought to be

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

; the latest in March 2012 burnt .

References

{{SSSIs Cornwall biological Nature reserves of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Bogs of England