Caerthillian to Kennack is a coastal

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) on the

Lizard Peninsula The Lizard () is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Extreme points of the United Kingdom, southernmost point of the Great Britain, British mainland is near Lizard Point, Cornwall, Lizard Point at SW 701115; The ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, UK, noted for both its

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

and

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

characteristics. It is of great botanical importance, with several Red Data Book of rare and endangered plant species being found on the site, as well as a breeding site for

Cornish chough The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough ( ; ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus ''Pyrrhocorax''. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the we ...

Geography

The site straddles the south coast of the

, covering the most southerly point of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

mainland, from Caerthillian Cove in the west to

Kennack Sands Kennack Sands () is a beach and Dune#Coastal dunes, sand-dune system on the east coast of the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, UK. Geography The beach is approximately long and backed by cliffs, Kennack Towans (sand-dune sys ...

in the east, within the civil parishes of

Grade–Ruan Grade–Ruan is a civil parish on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately south of Falmouth. It is a rural parish bounded to the east by St Keverne parish and by the sea; to the west by Mullion and Cury pari ...

and

Landewednack Landewednack ( (hamlet) or (parish)) is a civil parish and an area of The Lizard in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated approximately south of Helston.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Landewednack ...

.Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet 103 ''The Lizard'' The

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

runs through the SSSI and most of the coastline is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. The site falls partly within the

Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

national nature reserve and contains two

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee. It is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological ...

locations.

History

The SSSI, first notified in 1951, was previously known as ''South and East Lizard'' SSSI. It was renamed after boundary expansions and deletions. The rocks off the coast are a notorious hazard to shipping and have led to numerous shipwrecks. The Lizard Lifeboat Station is located within the SSSI.

Geology

The area's bedrock is part of the

Lizard complex The Lizard complex, Cornwall is generally accepted to represent a preserved example of an exposed ophiolite complex in the United Kingdom. The rocks found in The Lizard area are analogous to those found in such famous areas as the Troodos Mount ...

, an

ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is ...

complex, and includes

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

ceous and

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

that is overlain by serpentinized

peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high pr ...

and

gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...

with intrusions of

granite gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

.The Lizard
Camborne School of Mines Virtual Museum, accessed 5 December 2011

Wildlife and ecology

Flora

The site hosts an unusual assemblage of vegetation types and a large number of rare plant species due to the combination of a mild, moist climate that results from its proximity to the ocean; geologic conditions, including serpentine-derived soils which can constrain plant growth; and wind exposure. Botanists have suggested that the site's climate is a more important contributor to its floral diversity than its geology. A variety of habitats exist within the site. To the south-west of the SSSI a number of maritime cliff communities exist which support vegetation such as

sea aster ''Tripolium pannonicum'', called sea aster or seashore aster and often known by the synonyms ''Aster tripolium'' or ''Aster pannonicus'', is a flowering plant, native to Eurasia and northern Africa, that is confined in its distribution to salt ma ...

rock samphire ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. The sole species, ''Crithmum maritimum'', is commonly known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. It is found in parts of the Old World and is edib ...

(''Crithmum maritimum'') and

sea thrift ''Armeria maritima'', the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flow ...

with

red fescue ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to w ...

, sea carrot (''

Daucus carota ''Daucus carota'', whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World ...

''),

Yorkshire fog ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In Nor ...

, cock's-foot (''

Dactylis glomerata ''Dactylis glomerata'' is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known as cock's-foot,Interactive Flora of NW Europ''Dactylis glomerata'' (Cock's-foot)/ref> also colloquially as orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its populari ...

'') and the nationally rare ''

Scilla autumnalis ''Prospero autumnale'', the autumn squill, an autumnal flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, is found in the Mediterranean region from Portugal and Morocco east to Turkey and the Caucasus, plus Great Britain. Despite ...

'' being found further up the cliff profile. The eastern side of the site is protected from the prevailing westerly winds on the Atlantic meaning that less hardy plants are able to grow in areas of cliff scrub. Species include blackthorn (''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in B ...

'') common gorse (''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves ...

''), wild privet (''

Ligustrum vulgare ''Ligustrum vulgare'' (wild privet, also sometimes known as common privet or European privet) is a species of ''Ligustrum'' native to central and southern Europe, north Africa and southwestern Asia, from Ireland and southwestern Sweden south to M ...

'') as well as more woodland plants of common dog-violet (''

Viola riviniana ''Viola riviniana'', the common dog-violet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae, native to Eurasia and Africa. It is also called wood violet and dog violet. It inhabits woodland edges, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is ...

''), common honeysuckle (''

Lonicera periclymenum ''Lonicera periclymenum'', common names honeysuckle, common honeysuckle, European honeysuckle, or woodbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae native to much of Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is foun ...

''), hart's-tongue ('' Phyllitis scolopendrium'') and red campion (''

Silene dioica ''Silene dioica'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Melandrium rubrum''), known as red campion and red catchfly, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe and introduced to the Americas. Description It is a biennia ...

''). Three plants that are designated as nationally scarce, galingale (''

Cyperus longus ''Cyperus longus'' is a species of sedge known by the common names of sweet cyperus and water rush in Africa, or in Britain galingale (a variant name of galangal, an unrelated plant). Description It is a tall plant, growing up to in height, wit ...

''), yellow-vetch ('' Vicia lutea'') and bird’s-foot clover (''Trifolium ornithopodioides'' a variety of ''

Trifolium repens ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated ...

''), can be found in a disused

serpentinite Serpentinite is a metamorphic rock composed predominantly of serpentine group minerals formed by serpentinization of mafic or ultramafic rocks. The ancient origin of the name is uncertain; it may be from the similarity of its texture or color ...

quarry at Church Cove. The only cliff woodland of the Lizard Peninsula is in the locality of the Devil’s Frying Pan, an old collapsed sea cave. This woodland contains

Cornish elm The field elm cultivar ''Ulmus minor'' 'Stricta', known as Cornish elm, was commonly found in South West England (Cornwall and West Devon), Brittany, and south-west Ireland, until the arrival of Dutch elm disease in the late 1960s. The origin o ...

, Dutch elm and an intermediate variety of elm. Other woodland areas occur around the windswept peninsula at Poltesco. Red Data Book of rare and endangered plant species within the site include

Cornish heath ''Erica vagans'', the Cornish heath or wandering heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to Ireland, Cornwall, western France and Spain. It is a vigorous, spreading, evergreen heather reaching tall and wide, with ...

(''Erica vagans''), early meadow-grass (''

Poa infirma ''Poa infirma'' is a species of grass known by the common names early meadow-grass and weak bluegrass. It was first described from a specimen found in Colombia, but it is actually an introduced species in the Americas and is native to Europe. It ...

''), fringed rupturewort (''

Herniaria ciliolata ''Herniaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae known generally as ruptureworts. They are native to Eurasia and Africa but several species have been widely introduced to other continents. These are flat, mat-forming ann ...

''), long-headed clover (a subspecies of '' Trifolium incarnatum'') and wild asparagus (a subspecies of ''

Asparagus officinalis Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

''). There are only two populations of four-leaved allseed (''

Polycarpon tetraphyllum ''Polycarpon tetraphyllum'', commonly known as four-leaved allseed (also fourleaf allseed or fourleaf manyseed), is a plant of the family Caryophyllaceae. An annual herb growing to 15 cm in height, it is found on sandy soils, in coastal area ...

'') to be found within mainland

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, one of which exists at this SSSI.

Fauna

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax -Penwith -Cornwall -flying-8b

A breeding pair of Cornish choughs (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), a rare crow–like bird in Cornwall, have produced clutches of eggs in a cave at Lizard Point, within the site. In 2002 this pair was the first choughs to breed in the county in 50 years, with other pairs around Cornwall having bred since.

References

{{SSSIs Cornwall geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Nature Conservation Review sites National Trust properties in Cornwall Lizard Peninsula