Babcary Meadows

Also within

Somerset County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Alluvium

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 13.6 hectares 33.6 ac Description Babcary Meadows is one of the last remaining areas of traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland in south Somerset and contains a rich variety of herbs. The site is positioned to the north of the River Cary at an altitude of 30 metres on flat and gently sloping ground. The underlying rocks are Lower Liassic clays upon which river alluvium has been deposited. Soils here belong to the Evesham 3 series and tend to be slowly permeable and calcareous on raised areas or seasonally waterlogged and clayey in hollows. The plant community contains a very high proportion of herbaceous species. Grasses tend to be more abundant on sloping ground while sedges increase infrequency where hollows occur. crested dog’s tail Cynosurus cristatus, red fescue Festuca rubra, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum and perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne form the basis of the sward on drier ground with quaking grass Briza media occurring frequently. Herb species include abundant cowslip Primula veris, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba and betony Betonica officinalis. Oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare and hoary plantain Plantago media are also abundant. In the wetter hollows sedges such as carnation sedge Carex panicea, spring sedge Carex caryophyllea, common sedge Carex nigra and glaucous sedge Carex flacca become dominant. The herb component includes saw wort Serratula tinctoria, devil’s bit scabious Succisa pratensis, creeping jenny Lysimachia nummularia, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and cork fruited water dropwort Oenanthe pimpinelloides which is restricted in distribution to the south of Britain. Areas immediately adjacent to the river bank are frequently waterlogged and contain numerous tussocks of soft rush Juncus effusus. Associated plants include meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis and common fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities