Hardington Moor is an 8.7 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 between Hardington Mandeville

Hardington Mandeville

Hardington Mandeville is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 598.-History:...

 and West Coker

West Coker

West Coker is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district.-History:The name Coker comes from Coker Water ....

 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...

, notified in 1994.

Hardington Moor National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

 covers partly calcareous clay-rich soils on sloping ground and comprises three meadows surrounded by established hedges. The meadows are examples of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland, which is now nationally rare. The rare French oat-grass is very abundant on the site and the fields are home to a wide variety of plant species, most notably adder's tongue

Ophioglossum

Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name Ophioglossum comes from the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".Adders-tongues are so-called because the spore-bearing stalk...

, corky-fruited water-dropwort and large numbers of green-winged orchid

Green-winged Orchid

The Green-winged Orchid or Green-veined Orchid is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae....

. Invertebrates found at the site include butterflies such as Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper Butterfly

The Gatekeeper sometimes called the Hedge Brown is a common butterfly in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae. A similar species is the Meadow Brown; the two species can be difficult to distinguish with closed wings since underwing markings are...

, Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell

The Small Tortoiseshell is a well-known colourful butterfly.-Range:It is found in temperate Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Siberia, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. There are a few records from New York City which, however, are believed to have arrived human-assisted.-Subspecies:*A. u. urticae...

 and Common Blue

Common Blue

The Common Blue is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, widespread over much of the Palaearctic. Recently, Polyommatus icarus was discovered in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada by Ara Sarafian, an amateur entomologist who observed the butterfly from 2005 to 2008...

. Less commonly seen are Large Skipper

Large Skipper

The Large Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family, which occurs throughout Europe. It was long known as Ochlodes venata, but this is a Far Eastern relative. There is still some dispute whether this species should be considered a distinct species or included in O...

, Green-veined white

Green-veined White

The Green-veined White is a butterfly of the Pieridae family.-Appearance and distribution:A circumboreal species widespread across Europe and Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Japan and the Maghreb and North America...

 and Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

The Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.Callophrys rubi is found in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland , Baluchistan and Chitral....

.

Source

• English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 9 August 2006)

External links

• English Nature website (SSSI information)