South Whiteness

Also within

Shetland County Shetland Scenic Area

Condition (NatureScot)

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Rock Outcrop · Rock Type: Limestone

Landscape processes: Coastal

Description

South Whiteness South Whiteness Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is located on the west coast of the Shetland Mainland, 12 kilometres north-west of Lerwick. White Ness is a peninsula lying between Whiteness Voe and Stromness Voe. This site lies on the largest continuous outcrop of crystalline limestone in Shetland. It is not influenced by drainage from other rocks and represents the best example of limestone grassland in the islands. The flora of South Whiteness includes the Shetland mouse-ear hawkweed Pilosella flagellaris subsp. bicapitata, one of only three sites for this endemic subspecies. Although not notified features of the SSSI other species of note include the locally rare stone bramble Rubus saxatilis and maidenhair spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes as well as species more typical of Shetland limestone flora such as fairy flax Linum catharticum, moss campion Silene acaulis, hoary whitlowgrass Draba incana, lady’s-mantle Alchemilla filicaulis, common milkwort Polygala vulgaris, meadowsweet and long-stalked yellow-sedge Carex lepidocarpa. The site also includes one of the best saltmarshes in Shetland with a varied flora, notably narrow blysmus Blysmus rufus, and a large mixed colony of common and black-headed gulls.

Species mentioned