Purn Hill facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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| Area of Search | Avon |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°18′40″N 2°57′32″W / 51.311°N 2.959°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 6.1 hectares (0.061 km2; 0.024 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1990 |
Purn Hill is a very special place in Somerset, England. It's a 6.1-hectare area near the village of Bleadon. In 1990, it was officially named a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This means it's a protected area because it has rare plants, animals, or important geology. Purn Hill is a small hill made of a type of rock called Carboniferous Limestone. It sticks out from the main Mendip Hills range.
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What Makes Purn Hill Special?
Purn Hill is famous for its grasslands. These grasslands are "unimproved," meaning they haven't been changed by farming or building. This allows many different kinds of plants to grow there. The best plant areas are on the thin, stony soil of the hill's steep, west-facing slopes.
A Home for Rare Plants
Over 200 different plant species grow in the grasslands at Purn Hill. Some of these include:
- Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
- Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris)
- Fairy Flax (Linum catharticum)
- Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria)
- Dwarf Thistle (Cirsium acaule)
Unique Rock-roses and Grasses
Some of the rarest plants at Purn Hill grow near small areas of a rock called dolomitic limestone. Purn Hill is one of only five places in Britain where you can find the very rare Honewort (Trinia glauca). This plant is a type of umbellifer, which means its flowers grow in umbrella-like clusters.
Another special plant found here is the White Rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum). It can even mix with the more common Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) to create a new hybrid plant called H. x sulphureum.
Purn Hill also has 40 different types of grass. One of these is the Somerset Hair-grass (Koeleria vallesiana). In Britain, this grass is only found in the western part of the Mendip Hills. You might also spot Musk Stork's-bill (Erodium moschatum) growing here.
Exploring Purn Hill
The Mendip Way, a long-distance walking path, crosses through Purn Hill. This allows visitors to enjoy the beautiful scenery and unique plant life of this special area.
