Tankerton Slopes
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR121672 | — | Favourable | 2.33 | 2024-02-05 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Description This site supports the largest single population of the large umbellifer hog's fennel Peucedanum officinale in Britain, a nationally rare plant confined to a few coastal localities in Essex and Kent. The north facing slopes are composed of London Clay and support a tall herb community, dominated by hog's fennel, together with some areas of neutral grassland where the most frequent species are meadow barley Hordeum secalinum, false oat grass Arrhenatherum elatius and red fescue Festuca rubra. Associated herbs include spiny rest-harrow Ononis spinosa, smooth tare Vicia tetrasperma, grass leaved vetchling Lathyrus nissolia and dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria. The last species is scarce in Kent. Halophytes, such as lesser sea spurrey Spergularia marina, are also present. The fauna of Tankerton Slopes has not been documented although the nationally rare moth Agonopterix putridella, whose larvae feed exclusively on the leaves of hog's fennel, has been recorded from the site.
Species mentioned
Show the 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| false oat grass | Arrhenatherum elatius | LC | grass | poaceae |
| red fescue | Festuca rubra | LC | grass | poaceae |
| meadow barley | Hordeum secalinum | LC | grass | poaceae |
| dyer's greenweed | Genista tinctoria | LC | herb | fabaceae |
| grass vetchling | Lathyrus nissolia | LC | herb | fabaceae |
| spiny rest-harrow | Ononis spinosa | Not listed in GB list | herb | fabaceae |
| hogs fennel | Peucedanum officinale | LC | herb | apiaceae |
| sea spurrey | Spergularia marina | LC | herb | carophyllaceae |
| smooth tare | Vicia tetrasperma | Not listed in GB list | herb | fabaceae |
| no common name | Agonopterix putridella | Not listed in GB list | moth | depressariidae |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grayling Hipparchia semele |
Vulnerable | Festuca rubra |
| Silver studded blue Plebejus argus |
Vulnerable | Ononis spp. |
| Lead belle Scotopteryx mucronata |
Vulnerable | Genista tinctoria |
| Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus |
Near Threatened | Festuca spp. |
| Fisher's estuarine moth Gortyna borelii |
Near Threatened | Peucedanum officinale |
| Rosy minor Litoligia literosa |
Near Threatened | Arrhenatherum elatius |
| Swallowtail papilio Papilio machaon |
Near Threatened | Peucedanum officinale |
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.