The Wilderness SSSI, Isle of Wight
Encyclopedia
The Wilderness is a 12.6 hectare Site of special scientific interest
which is west of Godshill
on the Isle of Wight
. The site was notified in 1951 due to its status as one of the only surviving pieces of peatland vegetation that remain on the Isle of Wight, and the boundary was slightly modified in 1984 to incorporate some nearby grassland
. The majority of the site is composed of unmanaged woodland, dominated by a canopy of oak
and sallow trees, sheltering large areas of bramble
and tussock sedge
.
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...
which is west of Godshill
Godshill
Godshill is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight with a population of 1,465 according to the 2001 census. It is located between Newport and Ventnor in the southeast of the Island.-History:...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The site was notified in 1951 due to its status as one of the only surviving pieces of peatland vegetation that remain on the Isle of Wight, and the boundary was slightly modified in 1984 to incorporate some nearby grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
. The majority of the site is composed of unmanaged woodland, dominated by a canopy of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and sallow trees, sheltering large areas of bramble
Bramble
Brambles are thorny plants of the genus Rubus, in the rose family . Bramble fruit is the fruit of any such plant, including the blackberry and raspberry. The word comes from Germanic *bram-bezi, whence also German Brombeere , Dutch Braam and French framboise...
and tussock sedge
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
.