Redcar Field

Redcar Field is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Darlington district of County Durham, England.

The fen meadow, in which blunt-flowered rush, Juncus subnodulosus, is dominant, grades into open flushes.

These are carpeted with fern-leaved hook-moss, Cratoneuron filicinum, curled hook-moss, Palustriella commutata, and pointed spear-moss, Calliergon cuspidatum, and support typical fen herbs such as marsh valerian, Valeriana dioica, and early marsh orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata.

On the edge of the tall fen, the locally scarce meadow rue, Thalictrum flavum, is plentiful.

About one-quarter of the site is occupied by willow carr, dominated by crack willow, Salix fragilis, beneath which the field layer contains a mix of tall fen and woodland plants, the latter including wood avens, Geum rivale, male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, and, at the edge of the carr, globe flower, Trollius europaeus.