Windsor Hill SSSI
Encyclopedia
Windsor Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The site was notified as an SSSI in 1951. It is 61.8 hectare
s in area.
The site is featured in the Nature Conservation Review
The site is best known as one of three extant British locations for the Red Helleborine
orchid, which is confined to a small section of the site; this section is managed as a nature reserve
by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
, and access to this area requires a permit.
The conspicuous knoll at the north-western extremity of the site is known as Kop Hill, whilst at the southern end of the site lies Pink Hill.
The Black Hedge is a hedgerow believed to be of Saxon origin, running along the base of Kop and Windsor Hills.
. It contains beech
woodlands, scrub and chalk grassland.
The beech woodlands incorporate communities characteristic of soils on the Clay-with-flints of the Chiltern plateau and the chalky deposits of the scarp slopes. Associated with the beech on the plateau are oak
and occasional birch
whilst on the slopes, the associated species are Ash
and Whitebeam
. Both even-aged and more mixed stands are represented, the latter typically with a shrub layer including Gorse
and Honeysuckle
on the plateau, and Elder
and Hazel
on the slopes.
On the plateau, bramble
s, Bracken
and Rosebay willowherb occupy extensive patches, but a more mixed ground flora occurs between these, including Creeping Soft-grass Holcus mollis, Hairy Brome
Bromus ramosus, Tufted Hair-grass
Deschampsia cespitosa, Wood Millet Milium effusum and Wood Melick Melica uniflora. Pill Sedge Carex pilulifera, Hairy Wood-rush Luzula pilosa and Slender St. John's-wort Hypericum pulchrum are found in
more heathy areas, and the rushes
Juncus effusus and Juncus conglomeratus|J. conglomeratus are present in damper areas.
On the slopes Dog's-mercury Mercurialis perennis and Woodruff Galium odoratum are abundant, while more local species include Nettle-leaved Bellflower Campanula trachelium, White Cephalanthera damasonium, Broad-leaved Epipactis helleborine and Narrow-
lipped Helleborines E. leptochila, Yellow Bird's-nest Monotropa hypopitys and Scaly Male-fern Dryopteris affinis.
Juniper
scrub occurs on Windsor Hill itself, where it is associated with various other typical chalk shrubs and chalk grassland with an abundance of the moss Pseudoscleropodium purum and Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis. There are patches of bare chalk with forget-me-not
s Myosotis spp. and Common Mullein
Verbascum thapsus.
On Kop Hill, hawthorn
dominates the scrub, and the grassland is less mossy. Several localised plant species such as Squinancywort Asperula cynanchica Chalk Eyebright Euphrasia pseudokerneri, Horseshoe Vetch
Hippocrepis comosa, Autumn Gentian Gentianella amarella and Clustered Bellflower
Campanula glomerata occur. A further small area of chalk grassland dominated by Wood False-brome Brachypodium sylvaticum and Glaucous Sedge Carex flacca occurs at the foot of Pink Hill.
have been recorded, including Brown Hairstreak
Thecla betulae, which requires scrub thickets and
woodland edge habitats. The juniper colony supports several species of insect specific to this host plant. The snail fauna includes Abida secale
, Helicella itala
and Pomatias elegans
.
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 Buckinghamshire, England. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The site was notified as an SSSI in 1951. It is 61.8 hectare
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...
s in area.
The site is featured in the Nature Conservation Review
The site is best known as one of three extant British locations for the Red Helleborine
Red Helleborine
Red Helleborine is an orchid found in Europe, north Africa and parts of Asia. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this helleborine has always been one of the rarest orchids in Britain.-Distribution and habitat:...
orchid, which is confined to a small section of the site; this section is managed as a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England....
, and access to this area requires a permit.
The conspicuous knoll at the north-western extremity of the site is known as Kop Hill, whilst at the southern end of the site lies Pink Hill.
The Black Hedge is a hedgerow believed to be of Saxon origin, running along the base of Kop and Windsor Hills.
Site Description
The wood consists of an extensive tract of the Chiltern escarpment, situated above Princes RisboroughPrinces Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
. It contains beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
woodlands, scrub and chalk grassland.
The beech woodlands incorporate communities characteristic of soils on the Clay-with-flints of the Chiltern plateau and the chalky deposits of the scarp slopes. Associated with the beech on the plateau are 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 occasional birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
whilst on the slopes, the associated species are Ash
Ash tree
Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
and Whitebeam
Whitebeam
The whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...
. Both even-aged and more mixed stands are represented, the latter typically with a shrub layer including Gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
and Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
on the plateau, and Elder
Elderberry
Sambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...
and Hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
on the slopes.
On the plateau, 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...
s, Bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
and Rosebay willowherb occupy extensive patches, but a more mixed ground flora occurs between these, including Creeping Soft-grass Holcus mollis, Hairy Brome
Hairy Brome
Hairy Brome is a species of plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.Unlike most other bromes, it grows in shady sites under trees....
Bromus ramosus, Tufted Hair-grass
Tufted Hair-grass
Deschampsia cespitosa, commonly known as Tufted Hair-grass or Tussock grass is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae...
Deschampsia cespitosa, Wood Millet Milium effusum and Wood Melick Melica uniflora. Pill Sedge Carex pilulifera, Hairy Wood-rush Luzula pilosa and Slender St. John's-wort Hypericum pulchrum are found in
more heathy areas, and the rushes
Juncus
Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
Juncus effusus and Juncus conglomeratus|J. conglomeratus are present in damper areas.
On the slopes Dog's-mercury Mercurialis perennis and Woodruff Galium odoratum are abundant, while more local species include Nettle-leaved Bellflower Campanula trachelium, White Cephalanthera damasonium, Broad-leaved Epipactis helleborine and Narrow-
lipped Helleborines E. leptochila, Yellow Bird's-nest Monotropa hypopitys and Scaly Male-fern Dryopteris affinis.
Juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
scrub occurs on Windsor Hill itself, where it is associated with various other typical chalk shrubs and chalk grassland with an abundance of the moss Pseudoscleropodium purum and Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis. There are patches of bare chalk with forget-me-not
Forget-me-not
Myosotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae that are commonly called Forget-me-nots. Its common name was calqued from the French, "ne m'oubliez pas" and first used in English in c. 1532. Similar names and variations are found in many languages.-Description:There are...
s Myosotis spp. and Common Mullein
Common Mullein
Verbascum thapsus is a species of mullein native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia....
Verbascum thapsus.
On Kop Hill, hawthorn
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
dominates the scrub, and the grassland is less mossy. Several localised plant species such as Squinancywort Asperula cynanchica Chalk Eyebright Euphrasia pseudokerneri, Horseshoe Vetch
Horseshoe Vetch
Hippocrepis comosa, known as Horseshoe Vetch, is a flowering plant. It is the sole food of the butterfly species Polyommatus coridon, or the Chalkhill Blue....
Hippocrepis comosa, Autumn Gentian Gentianella amarella and Clustered Bellflower
Clustered bellflower
Campanula glomerata, common name Clustered Bellflower or Dane's Blood, is a species of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae...
Campanula glomerata occur. A further small area of chalk grassland dominated by Wood False-brome Brachypodium sylvaticum and Glaucous Sedge Carex flacca occurs at the foot of Pink Hill.
Invertebrates
23 species of butterflyButterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
have been recorded, including Brown Hairstreak
Brown Hairstreak
The Brown Hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The range includes most of the Palaearctic.-Subspecies:...
Thecla betulae, which requires scrub thickets and
woodland edge habitats. The juniper colony supports several species of insect specific to this host plant. The snail fauna includes Abida secale
Abida secale
Abida secale is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Chondrinidae.-Distribution:Distribution of this species is western European and Alpine....
, Helicella itala
Helicella itala
Helicella itala is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.- Life cycle :The size of the egg is 1.5 mm....
and Pomatias elegans
Pomatias elegans
Pomatias elegans, common name the round-mouthed snail, is a species of small land snail with an operculum, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Pomatiidae.-Distribution:...
.
External links
- Natural England SSSI entry