Purn Hill

Infobox SSSI


name=Purn Hill
aos=Avon
interest=Biological
gridref=ST332573
area=6.1 hectare
notifydate=1990

http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx?
]

Purn Hill (gbmapping|ST332573) is a 6.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Bleadon, Somerset, notified in 1990. The site is a small promontory of Carboniferous Limestone projecting southward from the main Mendip ridge.

The SSSI citation sheet describes the site as having an "exceptionally diverse unimproved calcareous grassland flora". The richest grassland communities are situated on the thin and stony soils of the steeper west-facing flanks of the hill. Over 200 species occur in the sward, including Salad Burnet ("Sanguisorba minor"), Dropwort ("Filipendula vulgaris"), Fairy Flax ("Linum catharticum"), Kidney Vetch ("Anthyllis vulneraria") and Dwarf Thistle ("Cirsium acaule"). The rare plants are mainly associated with the small exposures of Dolomitic limestone in the southern part of the site. Purn Hill is one of only five British sites for the nationally rare coastal limestone umbellifer species Honewort ("Trinia glauca"). White Rock-rose ("Helianthemum apenninum") is found at the site and hybridises with Common Rock-rose ("H. nummularium") to form the hybrid "H. x sulphureum". [Myles (2000) page 93] Forty species of grass occur at the site, including Somerset Hair-grass ("Koeleria vallesiana") which in Britain is confined to the western Mendips. Musk Stork's-bill occurs here. [Myles (2000), page 156]

References

Bibliography

* Myles, Sarah (2000) "The Flora of the Bristol Region" ISBN 1-874357-18-8

ource

* [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000697.pdf English Nature citation sheet for the site] (accessed 17 July 2006)