Windsor Hill Marsh
Encyclopedia
Windsor Hill Marsh is a 0.84 hectare
biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, north of the town of Shepton Mallet
in Somerset
, and adjacent to the Windsor Hill Quarry
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was notified in January 1972.
Windsor Hill Marsh is a marshy silted pond, with adjacent damp, slightly acidic grassland. Adjoining the marsh are a limestone bank, and a short stream which flows into a swallet
. This species occurs at no other site in Somerset. Slender Spike-rush was discovered in 1972 by Florence Gravestock, and is only found at one other site in Somerset, West Sedgemoor
. Both species were still present in 2004. Other marshland plants found here include Purple Loosestrife
, Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus), Hard Rush (Juncus inflexus), Soft Rush
(J. effusus), Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), three species of Horsetail Equisetum spp. and seven sedge
s Carex
spp.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, north of the town of Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and adjacent to the Windsor Hill Quarry
Windsor Hill Quarry
Windsor Hill Quarry is a 0.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, adjacent to the Windsor Hill Marsh biological Site of Special Scientific Interest...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was notified in January 1972.
Windsor Hill Marsh is a marshy silted pond, with adjacent damp, slightly acidic grassland. Adjoining the marsh are a limestone bank, and a short stream which flows into a swallet
Biological interest
The site is of interest for its diverse flora, in large part down to the varied habitats present within the small area. English Nature's SSSI citation sheet states that 114 species have been found at the site. Two species are present which are rare in Somerset: Flatsedge (Blysmus compressus) and Slender Spike-rush (Eleocharis uniglumis). Flat-sedge was discovered here in 1946 by Humphry BowenHumphry Bowen
Humphry John Moule Bowen was a British botanist and chemist.Bowen was born in Oxford, son of the chemist Edmund Bowen. He attended the Dragon School, gaining a scholarship to Rugby School and then a demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford...
. This species occurs at no other site in Somerset. Slender Spike-rush was discovered in 1972 by Florence Gravestock, and is only found at one other site in Somerset, West Sedgemoor
West Sedgemoor
West Sedgemoor is a 1016.0 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest forms part of the Somerset Levels and Moors in Somerset, notified in 1983....
. Both species were still present in 2004. Other marshland plants found here include Purple Loosestrife
Purple loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae, native to Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and southeastern Australia. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Primulaceae...
, Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus), Hard Rush (Juncus inflexus), Soft Rush
Soft rush
Soft Rush is a member of the genus Juncus. Native to most continents and hence also known as Common Rush, this plant is found growing in wet areas, such as the purple moor-grass and rush pastures and fen-meadow plant associations in the United Kingdom.-Description:It grows in large clumps about...
(J. effusus), Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), three species of Horsetail Equisetum spp. and seven sedge
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
s Carex
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...
spp.
Sources
- English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 25 July 2006)
- Green, Paul (2004) "Local Meetings 2004: Windsor Hill Marsh and Ham Woods, Shepton Mallet, 31st July" Wild Flower Society Magazine (Spring 2005) p38 Online version
- Green, Paul R., Ian P. Green and Geraldine A. Crouch (1997) The Atlas Flora of Somerset ISBN 0-9531324-0-4