Chyenhal Moor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
  Location within Southwest Cornwall | |
| Location | Cornwall |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SW448279 |
| Coordinates | 50°05′48″N 5°34′15″W / 50.0968°N 5.5708°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 11.9 hectares (0.12 km2; 0.046 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1951 |
| Natural England website | |
Chyenhal Moor is a poorly drained shallow valley, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south-west of Penzance, Cornwall. Due to several rare plants in a diverse range of habitats, it was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1951.
Chyenhal Moor is a poorly drained shallow valley in the parish of Paul, on the southern side of the Land's End peninsula. The small stream draining the moor flows to Kerris Moor and reaches the sea at Lamorna Cove.[1] The underlying rock is coarsely porphyritic granite and the soils are mostly humic, gleys, covered with varying depths of peat.[2]
History
Until the early 19th-century rough-ground such as Chyenhal Moor was an important part of the rural economy, through the grazing of livestock and cutting of furze (gorse) for fuel.[3] Moorland usually refers to uncultivated land on a hill, but locally it is also applied to wetlands such as this, and the nearby Kerris and Clodgy Moors. The high rainfall, poor drainage and acid conditions inhibit the action of bacteria which break down plant material resulting in the accumulation of a dark brown, fibrous material known as peat.[4] Chyenhal Moor has been a well known location for botany since John Ralfs (1807−1890) found rare plants here.[2]
