Cleaves Wood is a 40.38 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...

 biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Wellow

Wellow, Somerset

Wellow is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about south of Bath. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Twinhoe has a population of 511...

 in Bath and North East Somerset

Bath and North East Somerset

Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...

, notified in 1988.

Cleaves Wood is an ancient, semi-natural deciduous woodland on Oolitic

Oolite

Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...

 Limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

. It has a high diversity of tree and shrub species and a large population of the nationally scarce plant Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem

Ornithogalum pyrenaicum

Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, also called Prussian asparagus, wild asparagus, Bath Asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young flower shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, similar to asparagus.The common name "Bath Asparagus" comes from the fact it was once...

 (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum). There are also areas of grassland which is lightly grazed by rabbits and is a mosaic of close grazed and rough swards, and wetter areas.

The scarce plants found here include the Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Ophrys insectifera, the Fly Orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is native to Europe and favors sites with alkaline soil. The name arises because it resembles a fly, being totally dependent on flies and bees for pollination...

 and Wild Daffodil.

The habitat diversity of the site has resulted in a rich invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

 fauna, including two nationally rare insects: the
beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

 Osphya bipunctata and the hoverfly

Hoverfly

Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae eat a wide range of foods...

 Cheilosia nigripes. Twenty-seven butterflies have been recorded from the site including the nationally scarce species, Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (Hamearis lucina). The nationally scarce moth, blomers rivulet (Discoloxia blomeri) has also been recorded on the site. Other nationally scarce species include the snail Ena montana

Ena montana

Ena montana is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Enidae.- Distribution :This species occurs in European countries and islands including: * Czech Republic...

, the hoverfly Xanthogramma citrotasciatum, and a number of beetle species.