Raisby Hill Grassland
Encyclopedia
Raisby Hill Grassland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
in east County Durham
, England
. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Coxhoe
.
The site consists of a small disused quarry and the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill, as well as a small area of wetland alongside Raisby Beck. It formed part of the Raisby Hill Quarry
SSSI until 1984 when it was removed and, with some expansion of the area, notified as a separate SSSI.
In the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill primary magnesian limestone grassland is the main vegetation type. Blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, is abundant, and there is a rich assemblage of species characteristic of calcareous
soils, such as quaking grass, Briza media
, meadow oat grass, Avenula pratensis, glaucous sedge, Carex flacca
, and fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea.
The skeletal soils in the abandoned quarry at the southwestern end of the site support the largest population of dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens, in County Durham. Other species found here include rock rose, Helianthemum nummularium
, frog orchid, Coeloglossum viride, and pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis.
The site supports a breeding population of Durham Argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, a form which is only found in the magnesian limestone areas of Durham.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in east County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Coxhoe
Coxhoe
Coxhoe is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated between Bowburn and Cornforth, a few miles south of Durham.Coxhoe is also a civil parish which also includes nearby Quarrington Hill....
.
The site consists of a small disused quarry and the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill, as well as a small area of wetland alongside Raisby Beck. It formed part of the Raisby Hill Quarry
Raisby Hill Quarry
Raisby Hill Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in east County Durham, England. It lies just under 2 km east of the village of Coxhoe....
SSSI until 1984 when it was removed and, with some expansion of the area, notified as a separate SSSI.
In the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill primary magnesian limestone grassland is the main vegetation type. Blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, is abundant, and there is a rich assemblage of species characteristic of calcareous
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
soils, such as quaking grass, Briza media
Briza media
Briza media is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae and is a species of the genus Briza.Common name includes Quaking-grass, Cow-quake, Didder, Dithering-grass, Dodder-grass, Doddering Dillies, Doddle-grass, Earthquakes, Jiggle-joggles, Jockey-grass, Lady's-hair, Maidenhair-grass, Pearl Grass,...
, meadow oat grass, Avenula pratensis, glaucous sedge, Carex flacca
Carex flacca
Carex flacca, with common names blue sedge, gray carex, glaucous sedge, or carnation-grass, , is a species of sedge native to parts of Europe and North Africa....
, and fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea.
The skeletal soils in the abandoned quarry at the southwestern end of the site support the largest population of dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens, in County Durham. Other species found here include rock rose, Helianthemum nummularium
Helianthemum nummularium
Helianthemum nummularium is a species of rockrose , native to most of Europe.-Description:It is an evergreen trailing plant with loose terminal clusters of bright yellow, saucer-shaped flowers...
, frog orchid, Coeloglossum viride, and pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis.
The site supports a breeding population of Durham Argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, a form which is only found in the magnesian limestone areas of Durham.