Huntingdonshire - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Hieracium umbellatum L. ssp. umbellatum
Umbellate Hawkweed
National Status: Not scarce, not threatened
County Status: Scarce (3 sites, 4 tetrads)
Site Grid Reference Last Record
Conington, by the railway TL202831 2009 (SL)
Holme Fen SSSI
Woodwalton Fen SSSI & SAC,
Compartment 85
TL198895
TL200897
TL2383
2009 (DB)
2009 (DB)
1996 (TW & SW)
Our plant appears to conform to var. commune. It is abundant along the ride to, and around
the periphery of, Compartment 3, Holme Fen and this population has an important role to play
in the maintenance of this species in the county. The one plant recorded at Conington may be
a recent colonist, perhaps facilitated by the movement of trains along the railway, from Holme
Fen, although there are also historic records for this general area. It has also been recorded
from East Field, Monks Wood but I have not seen it there and there are no recent records.
Holcus mollis L.
Creeping Soft-grass
National Status: Not scarce, not threatened
County Status: Scarce (2 sites, 2 tetrads)
Site Grid Reference Last Record
Brampton Wood SSSI 182699
1870 (monad)
2008 (DB)
2002 (TW)
Holme Fen SSSI:
Compartment 3
Compartment 17
TL1989
TL2088
2006 (MM)
2006 (MM)
A rare grass of ancient woodlands where there has been some surface acidification to our
otherwise unfavourable calcareous clay soils.
Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Jessen
Wood Barley
National Status: Nationally Scarce, not
threatened
County Status: Rare (1 site, 1 tetrad)
Site Grid Reference Last Record
Savage’s Spinney Nature Reserve TL134695 1994 (RoP)
A species of ancient woodland on calcareous soils. It is typically short lived, so would be
vulnerable to any factor reducing seed set or otherwise preventing regeneration. An
unsuccessful search was made for this species at the one known site in 2009.
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