Town Kelloe Bank is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

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 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 is situated to the south of The Bottoms

The Bottoms (SSSI)

The Bottoms is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. It lies just south of the A181 road, roughly midway between the villages of Cassop and Wheatley Hill, some 10 km south-east of Durham city....

 SSSI and just north of the village of Town Kelloe

Town Kelloe

Town Kelloe is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the east of Kelloe....

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The site has an important expanse of primary magnesian limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 grassland, in which the dominant blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, is associated with species 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,...

, 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 meadow oat-grass, Avenula pratensis.

The site holds the largest known population of bird's-eye primrose, Primula farinosa

Primula farinosa

Primula farinosa, the bird's-eye primrose, is a small perennial plant in the family Primulaceae, native to northern Europe and northern Asia, and farther south at high altitudes in the mountains of southern Europe. This primrose thrives on grazed meadows rich in lime and moisture.-Growth:This...

, in County Durham. Other plants that are largely confined to northern limestone areas include butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris, the Common butterwort, is a perennial carnivorous plant in the Lentibulariaceae family. It grows to a height of 3–16 cm, and is topped with a purple, and occasionally white, flower that is 15 mm or longer, and shaped like a funnel. This butterwort grows in damp...

, maidenhair spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes

Asplenium trichomanes

Asplenium trichomanes is a small fern in the spleenwort genus Asplenium. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats. It is a variable fern with several subspecies.-Description:It grows in tufts from a short rhizome...

, and grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris

Parnassia palustris

Parnassia palustris, commonly called Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus, Northern Grass-of-Parnassus, and Bog-star, is a species of the genus Parnassia....

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The site has a breeding population of the Durham argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis.