Fordon Chalk Grasslands comprise one of the most varied grassland systems, in terms of their floristic richness, aspect and management regimes, remaining in the Wolds. The site comprises a disjunct series of grasslands in the dry valleys of Cotton Dale, North Dale and East Dale, centred on the village of Fordon. The grassland communities include heavily-grazed, short-turf areas dominated by sheep’s’ fescue Festuca ovina and red fescue F. rubra, mixed grasslands with fescues, sweet vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, hairy oat Avenula pubescens, quaking grass Briza media and crested hair-grass Koeleria macrantha, and areas of course grassland with upright brome Bromus erectus and cock’s-foot Dactylis glomerata. Many areas are extremely diverse botanically, with an abundance of characteristic herbs such as clustered bell-flower Campanula glomerata, carline thistle Carlina vulgaris, woolly thistle Cirsium eriophorum, dropwort Filipendula vulgaris, rockrose Helianthemum nummularium, purging flax Linum catharticum, cowslip Primula veris, salad burnet Sanguisorba minor, devil’s-bit scabious Succisa pratensis and thyme Thymus praecox. Additionally many less common species occur: pyramidal orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis, kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, purple milk-vetch Astragalus danicus, frog orchid Coeloglossum viride, bloody crane’s-bill Geranium sanguineum, felwort Gentianella amarella and saw-wort Serratula tinctoria. Gorse Ulex europaeus and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna scrub is present on many of the slopes, and in places forms dense stands.