Barrington Hill Meadows

Infobox SSSI


name=Barrington Hill Meadows
aos=Somerset
interest=Biological
gridref=gbmappingsmall|ST300170
area=16.1 hectares (39.5 acres)
notifydate=1987

http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx?
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Barrington Hill Meadows (gbmapping|ST300170) is a 16.1 hectare (39.5 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England, notified in 1987.Barrington Hill Meadows, 2 km west of the A358, midway between the villages of Windmill Hill and Bickenhall, is an English Nature National Nature Reserve.

This site is an outstanding example of a traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland of a type now rare in Britain. Additional interest lies in the occurrence of an extremely rare grass species. The meadows belong to a type characterised by the widespread occurrence of Sweet Vernal Grass ("Anthoxanthum odoratum"), Crested Dog's Tail ("Cynosurus cristatus"),
Cowslip ("Primula veris") and Green-winged Orchid ("Orchis morio"). A total of 74 different species have so far been recorded. This site is one of only 3 localities in Britain in which the grass "Gaudinia fragilis" is a prominent feature of the sward. [cite web | title=Barrington Hill Meadows | work=English Nature | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002546.pdf | accessdate=2006-08-12]

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