Mappp.co - Hardington Moor

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Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (1)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
ST515128	—	Favourable	8.74	2011-07-04

Description

Description This site is an example of agriculturally unimproved, species rich, neutral grassland of a type which has been reduced significantly in extent in the recent past and is now rare in Britain including Somerset. The site is located on a south facing slope on neutral or slightly calcareous clay soils derived from the underlying Fullers Earth and Forest Marble strata. The sward is dominated by grasses which include crested dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus, quaking grass Briza media and yellow oat grass Trisetum flavescens. A special feature is the abundance of the French oat grass Gaudinia fragilis which is present as a major constituent of the sward at only four sites in Britain. There are a large number of herb species present including abundant common knapweed Centaurea nigra, cowslip Primula veris, green winged orchid Anacamptis morio, betony Betonica officinalis, dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria, devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus, saw wort Serratula tinctoria and lady's bedstraw Galium verum. The nationally scarce corky fruited water dropwort Oenanthe pimpinelloides also occurs. Other species of note include greater butterfly orchid Platanthera chlorantha, bee orchid Ophrys apifera, pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis and adder's tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum.

Species mentioned

Show the 18 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
quaking grass	Briza media	VU	grass	poaceae
crested dog's tail	Cynosurus cristatus	LC	grass	poaceae
French oat grass	Gaudinia fragilis	LC	grass	poaceae
yellow oat grass	Trisetum flavescens	LC	grass	poaceae
green-winged orchid	Anacamptis morio	NT	herb	orchidaceae
pyramidal orchid	Anacamptis pyramidalis	LC	herb	orchidaceae
betony	Betonica officinalis	VU	herb	lamiaceae
black knapweed	Centaurea nigra	LC	herb	asteraceae
lady's bedstraw	Galium verum	LC	herb	rubiaceae
dyer's greenweed	Genista tinctoria	LC	herb	fabaceae
corky-fruited water-dropwort	Oenanthe pimpinelloides	LC	herb	apiaceae
bee orchid	Ophrys apifera	LC	herb	orchidaceae
greater butterfly orchid	Platanthera chlorantha	NT	herb	orchidaceae
cowslip	Primula veris	LC	herb	primulaceae
saw wort	Serratula tinctoria	VU	herb	asteraceae
pepper saxifrage	Silaum silaus	EN	herb	saxifragaceae
devils-bit scabious	Succisa pratensis	VU	herb	caprifoliaceae

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
Black-veined moth Siona lineata	Critically Endangered	Centaurea nigra
Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina	Endangered	Primula veris
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	Serratula tinctoria
Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia	Vulnerable	Succisa pratensis
Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	Centaurea spp., Galium spp.
White-line dart Euxoa tritici	Vulnerable	Galium verum
Bedstraw hawk-moth Hyles gallii	Vulnerable	Galium spp.
Lead belle Scotopteryx mucronata	Vulnerable	Genista tinctoria
Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus	Near Threatened	Cynosurus cristatus
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	Galium spp.
Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata	Near Threatened	Betonica officinalis, Centaurea spp.
Scarce forester Jordanita globulariae	Near Threatened	Centaurea nigra
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.