Hesledon Moor East 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 the Easington

Easington (district)

Easington was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in eastern County Durham, England. It contained the settlements of Easington, Seaham, Peterlee, Murton, Horden, Blackhall, Wingate and Castle Eden...

 district 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 is located on the southern edge of the village of Murton

Murton, County Durham

Murton is a village in County Durham, England. Lying six miles east of the city of Durham and seven miles south of Sunderland, it has a population of 7,339....

, 10 km south of Sunderland and a little under 2 km north-east of Hesledon Moor West

Hesledon Moor West

Hesledon Moor West is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Easington district in east County Durham, England. It is located 1 km east of the village of South Hetton, some 12 km south of Sunderland and a little under 2 km south-west of Hesledon Moor East SSSI.Within this small...

 SSSI.

The site consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land. Most of the larger portion is covered by unimproved neutral grassland, a habitat that was once common on the magnesian limestone

Magnesian limestone

Magnesian limestone can refer to:* For the rock made of magnesium carbonate ie Magnesian limestone see dolomite or dolostone* For the traditional name of a specific suite of Permian age rocks in north-east England see Magnesian Limestone...

 plateau of east Durham but is now reduced to scattered fragments, of which this is the best surviving example. The dominant grassland species include common bent, Agrostis capillaris

Agrostis capillaris

Agrostis capillaris is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family . It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world...

, sweet vernal-grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum

Anthoxanthum odoratum

-Introduction:Anthoxanthum odoratum, known as sweet vernal grass, holy grass, vanilla grass or buffalo grass, is a short-lived grass found wild in acidic grassland in Eurasia. It is also grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures...

, and crested dog's-tail, Cynosurus cristatus

Cynosurus cristatus

-Introduction:Crested Dog’s-tail is an ornamental plant, but also found in the wild typically in species rich grassland. It is a perennial short-lived plant characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It thrives in a variety of soil types but avoids the acid and calcerous extremes of...

. In places the grassland displays a weakly developed acidic character; common bent and sheep's fescue, Festuca ovina, are the dominant species.

A short distance to the south, the smaller parcel supports a base and nutrient-rich soligenous fen

Fen

A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...

-type vegetation in which the dominant species varies between purple moor-grass, Molinia caerulea, and meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria.