Cranny Falls ASSI

Cranny Falls is located to the west of Carnlough. It has been declared an ASSI because it contains a population of Wood Barley.

Wood Barley is a short-lived perennial grass which is scarce in the British Isles. Cranny Falls is the only known site for this species in Ireland. It was first recorded at the site in 1898 and found again in 1949. It was subsequently presumed extinct until it was re-found in 2011. In Britain, it is found in shaded habitats such as woods and hedges, usually at the woodland edge or within scrub. At Cranny Falls, a small population is found above the waterfall on a steep slope.

The site is composed of a narrow, steep-sided wooded ravine, through which the Carnlough River flows, headed by a waterfall. The ravine is shaded by the surrounding woodland, providing a cool, humid environment; ideal habitat for the ferns, mosses and liverworts which often form a luxuriant carpet on the walls of the ravine.