Exmoor Coastal Heaths

Exmoor Coastal Heaths

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location within Devon
Location	Somerset & Devon
Grid reference	SS620480
Coordinates	51.21448°N 3.97719°W / 51.21448; -3.97719
Interest	Biological
Area	1,758.3 hectares (17.583 km^2; 6.789 sq mi)
Notification	1994 (1994)
Natural England website

Exmoor Coastal Heaths (grid reference SS620480) is a 1758.3 hectare (4344.7 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Devon and Somerset, notified in 1994.

This site lies within the Exmoor National Park, and contains extensive areas of heathland communities. Associated particularly with the coastal communities and woods are a wide range of nationally rare and scarce plants. The site comprises four separate blocks (between Combe Martin and Minehead) centred on Trentishoe, Cosgate Hill, Countisbury and North Hill. There are two nationally rare, endemic whitebeam species which occur in the woodland areas namely Sorbus subcuneata and Sorbus vexans. Several nationally scarce plant species are found within this site; white mullein (Verbascum lychnitis) in its yellow form occurs in fields at the edge of the site, Cornish moneywort (Sibthorpia europaea) beside streams, rock stonecrop (Sedum forsteranum) on rocky seacliffs and sea storksbill (Erodium maritinum), upright chickweed (Moenchia erecta) and bird's-foot clover (Trifolium ornithopodioides) all in areas of very short turf. A nationally rare butterfly the high brown fritillary (Argynnis adippe) occurs on this site.^[1]

References

1. "Exmoor Coastal Heaths" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 12 August 2006.