They support over 240 species of flowering plants, including the rare snake's-head fritillary.

The site is an outstanding floristically-diverse mesotrophic grassland where traditional late hay cutting and aftermath grazing has been perpetuated, largely unaffected by modern agricultural practices.

The site is important because of its large size, variety of grassland community types and presence of rare species.

The meadows are rich with a variety of orchids during the late spring and summer.

The site is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and is carefully managed by Natural England with support from the Friends of Mottey Meadows and the Floodplain Meadows Partnership.