Treen Cliff is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located on the

Penwith Peninsula Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after o ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, England, UK, south-west of

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situ ...

. First notified in 1951, with a revision in 1973, and a further notification on 1 July 1986, it is in area, stretching from grid reference SW387220 to SW402225. Designated for both for its biological and geological interest, part of the site, Treryn Dinas, is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

consisting of a "cliff castle" with four ramparts and ditches and the

Logan Rock The Logan Rock ( kw, Men Omborth, meaning ''balanced stone'') near the village of Treen in Cornwall, England, UK, is an example of a logan or rocking stone. Although it weighs some 80 tons, it was dislodged in 1824 by a group of British seamen, ...

. It is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (

AONB An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of th ...

), the Penwith Heritage Coast and is part owned and managed by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Description

The SSSI extends from

Porthcurno Porthcurno ( kw, Porthkornow, Porthcornow, meaning ''"pinnacle cove"'', see below) is a small village covering a small valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in a civil and an ec ...

beach in the west to

Penberth Cove Penberth ( kw, Benbryhi) is a valley, coastal village and cove on the Penwith, Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. It is approximately southwest of Penzance. Most of the village is within the parish of St Buryan and the boundary with St Le ...

in the east. Several rare plant species occur and the site is of particular importance for its maritime heath. At the last site assessment on 12 August 2010, the SSSI was described as ″Unfavourable recovering″ because

scrub Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

and bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'' (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness o ...

'') encroachment are diminishing the interest, and the site needs to be grazed. Removal of sycamore ('' Acer pseudoplatanus'') would enhance the site as well as the control of other

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

. Maritime cliff habitat types, National Vegetation Classification, (NVC) MC1 and

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

need to be added to the notifiable features.

Biological interest

Plant communities

The main habitats are maritime heath and maritime grassland, heath, scrub, flush and deciduous woodland. The maritime heath is dominated by heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

''), bell heather (''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar prod ...

'') and western gorse (''

Ulex gallii ''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family ( Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: s ...

''). Maritime grassland occurs on the steeper cliff slopes and is dominated by red fescue (''

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

''), with spring squill (''

Scilla verna ''Scilla verna'', commonly known as spring squill, is a flowering plant native to Western Europe. It belongs to the squill genus '' Scilla''. Its star-like blue flowers are produced during the spring. It is a small plant, usually reaching 5-15 c ...

''), wild 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 Worl ...

''), kidney vetch (''

Anthyllis vulneraria ''Anthyllis vulneraria'', the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name ''vulneraria'' means "wound healer". Description ''Anthyllis vulneraria'' reaches of height. The stem is simple or more ...

'') and sea plantain ('' Plantago maritima''). The

Red Data Book The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...

western clover ('' Trifolium occidentale'') and the nationally rare hare's foot clover (''

Trifolium arvense ''Trifolium arvense'', commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone ...

'') grow here as well as hairy bird's-foot trefoil ('' Lotus subbiflorus'') and bird's-foot fenugreek (''

Trifolium ornithopodioides ''Trifolium ornithopodioides'', the bird's foot clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , ...

''). Large areas are covered by scrub, dominated by gorse (''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are ...

'') and blackthorn (''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania ...

'') and provide habitat for invertebrates and birds. Common dodder ('' Cuscuta epithymum'') parasitises the gorse. A number of wet flushes occur along the coast dominated by common reed (''

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

''). A small area of woodland dominated by elm (''

Ulmus glabra ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches ...

'') and sycamore has developed on abandoned horticultural plots. A description by Jean Lawman sums up the area eloquently:

Also in June, many of the cliffs are bright with Oxeye Daisies ''
Leucanthemum vulgare ''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (french: Marguerite commune, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions ...
'' and they are particularly abundant around Logan Rock and Porth Curnow area where they mix with foxgloves and button like, mauve Sheepsbit '' Jasione montana''. The spectacle of all these flowers strewn along the cliff edge, with the classically beautiful Pednevounder beach below and the rugged headland of Treryn Dinas in the distance, must be one of the loveliest in Cornwall.

Rock sea lavender (''

Limonium loganicum ''Limonium'' is a genus of 120 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plu ...

'') is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

plant that is found only along this part of the coast from

Carn Les Boel ''Carn'' is the official magazine of the Celtic League. The name, a Celtic word which has been borrowed into English as 'cairn', was chosen for its symbolic value and because it can be found in each of the living Celtic languages. The subtit ...

to the

. all the colonies are within a SSSI but may be vulnerable from climbers or walkers on the lower slopes where it occurs.

Invertebrates

A nationally rare

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

, the

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

Anthonomus rufus ''Anthonomus'' is a genus of weevils. This genus includes major agricultural pests such as the boll weevil, strawberry blossom weevil, and pepper weevil, as well as promising biological pest control agents such as ''Anthonomus santacruzi''. ...

'', occurs on the cliffs and is associated with blackthorn the

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. T ...

almost certainly in the flower buds. Formerly widespread in coastal Britain, now localised.Alexander, K.N.A. (2009) Coleoptera. In CISFBR, ''Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly''. 2nd Edition. Praze-an-Beeble: Croceago Press. There are butterfly colonies of the silver-studded blue (''

Plebejus argus The silver-studded blue (''Plebejus argus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. ''P. argus'' can ...

''), small pearl-bordered fritillary ('' Boloria selene'') on Cribba Head in the eastern part of the site as well as the thrift clearwing (''

Synansphecia muscaeformis ''Pyropteron muscaeforme'', the thrift clearwing, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is known from most of Europe. A small member of its genus, the wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one win ...

'') a day–flying moth.

References

External links