Rush Furlong
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE780004 | — | Favourable | 0.48 | 2024-09-10 |
Description
Area, 0.48 hectares 1.20 ac Description Rush Furlong is an unfenced strip of hay meadow on base rich Keuper Marl soils. It is a relict of the Isle of Axholme strip farming system under which the land was divided into many small individually owned and separately farmed strips with few well defined field boundaries. The main grasses present are red fescue Festuca rubra, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum and quaking grass Briza media, with hairy oat Avenula pubescens, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, yellow oat Trisetum flavescens and, locally, meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis. Herbs are prominent, including rough hawkbit Leontodon hispidus, oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, adder's tongue fern Ophioglossum vulgatum, green winged orchid Anacamptis morio, cowslip Primula veris and yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor. Other Information The site is managed as a nature reserve by the Lincolnshire and South Humberside Trust for Nature Conservation and is cut for hay on an annual basis.
Species mentioned
Show the 13 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 |
| meadow foxtail | Alopecurus pratensis | LC | grass | poaceae |
| sweet vernal grass | Anthoxanthum odoratum | LC | grass | poaceae |
| downy oat grass | Avenula pubescens | LC | grass | poaceae |
| quaking grass | Briza media | VU | grass | poaceae |
| red fescue | Festuca rubra | LC | grass | poaceae |
| Yorkshire fog | Holcus lanatus | LC | grass | poaceae |
| yellow oat grass | Trisetum flavescens | LC | grass | poaceae |
| green-winged orchid | Anacamptis morio | NT | herb | orchidaceae |
| rough hawkbit | Leontodon hispidus | LC | herb | asteraceae |
| oxeye daisy | Leucanthemum vulgare | LC | herb | asteraceae |
| cowslip | Primula veris | LC | herb | primulaceae |
| yellow-rattle | Rhinanthus minor | DD | herb | orobanchaceae |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina |
Endangered | Primula veris |
| Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata |
Vulnerable | Rhinanthus minor |
| Grayling Hipparchia semele |
Vulnerable | Festuca rubra |
| Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus |
Near Threatened | Festuca spp. |
| Wall Lasiommata megera |
Near Threatened | Holcus lanatus |
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.