Mappp.co - Greetham Meadows

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Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (3)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
SK936155	—	Favourable	2.87	2023-08-04
SK938156	—	Favourable	3.4	2023-08-04
SK938158	—	Favourable	6.14	2023-08-04

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Area,12.6 hectares Description This is one of the best remaining 'ridge and furrow' hay meadow sites in the region. Unimproved field sof this type were once widespread in the Midlands, but they are becoming increasingly rare due to changes in agricultural practice. Greetham is the only known locality for the frog orchid Dactylorhiza viridis in Leicestershire, which is at the extreme northern limits of its British range here. The meadows lie on Boulder Clay, they are dominated by grasses such as crested dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum and upright brome Bromus erectus. They support a range of typical plants including downy oat grass Avenula pubescens, quaking grass Briza media, cowslip Primula veris, adder's tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus, green winged orchid Anacamptis morio and saw wort Serratula tinctoria. Drier areas support glaucous sedge Carex flacca, lady's bedstraw Galium verum, purging flax Linum catharticum and salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba. Floral diversity is further enhanced by the presence of acidic flushes containing tormentil Potentilla erecta, heath spotted orchid Dactylorhiza maculata ssp., ericetorum and sedges Carex spp. There are several ponds within the site, one contains water plantain Alisma plantago-aquatica and common water crowfoot Ranunculus peltatus.

Species mentioned

Show the 19 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status

English name search for this in other sites	Latin name search with Google	IUCN / Red List	Type	Family
adders-tongue fern	Ophioglossum vulgatum	LC	fern	ophioglossaceae
sweet vernal grass	Anthoxanthum odoratum	LC	grass	poaceae
downy oat grass	Avenula pubescens	LC	grass	poaceae
quaking grass	Briza media	VU	grass	poaceae
upright brome	Bromus erectus	Not listed in GB list	grass	poaceae
crested dog's tail	Cynosurus cristatus	LC	grass	poaceae
water plantain	Alisma plantago-aquatica	LC	herb	alismataceae
green-winged orchid	Anacamptis morio	NT	herb	orchidaceae
heath spotted orchid	Dactylorhiza maculata	LC	herb	orchidaceae
frog orchid	Dactylorhiza viridis	VU	herb	orchidaceae
lady's bedstraw	Galium verum	LC	herb	rubiaceae
fairy flax	Linum catharticum	LC	herb	linaceae
tormentil	Potentilla erecta	LC	herb	rosaceae
salad burnet	Poterium sanguisorba	VU	herb	rosaceae
cowslip	Primula veris	LC	herb	primulaceae
pond water crowfoot	Ranunculus peltatus	LC	herb	ranunculaceae
saw wort	Serratula tinctoria	VU	herb	asteraceae
pepper saxifrage	Silaum silaus	EN	herb	saxifragaceae
glaucus sedge	Carex flacca	LC	sedge	cyperaceae

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.

Species	Status	Via host-plant
Reddish buff Acosmetia caliginosa	Critically Endangered	Serratula tinctoria
Straw belle Aspitates gilvaria	Endangered	Linum catharticum
Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina	Endangered	Primula veris
Least minor Photedes captiuncula	Endangered	Carex flacca
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	Poterium sanguisorba, Serratula tinctoria
Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	Galium spp.
White-line dart Euxoa tritici	Vulnerable	Galium verum
Bedstraw hawk-moth Hyles gallii	Vulnerable	Galium spp.
Grizzled skipper Pyrgus malvae	Vulnerable	Potentilla erecta, Poterium sanguisorba
Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis	Near Threatened	Ranunculus spp.
Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus	Near Threatened	Cynosurus cristatus
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	Galium spp.
Rosy minor Litoligia literosa	Near Threatened	Carex flacca
Dark-barred twin-spot carpet Xanthorhoe ferrugata	Near Threatened	Galium spp.

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.