Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Near the bottom of all the non~wooded valleys of the Forest, the increasing water levels give rise to Mol/niabogs which drain into the streams. Ungrazed Molinia clumps form deep (1 metre plus), inaccessible bogs whoseshade and vigour prevent many other species surviving, Where these have been grazed at Millbrook, the cattlebreak down the clumps and Menyanthes, Anagallis tenella and other interesting species have appeared.Where the Mol/nia has failed to achieve its 'tussock' form, several other species are characteristic. One ofthe best sites is along the Old Lodge boundary where among the Molinia can be found several Sphagnum species,Drosera species, Cirsium dissectum, Rhynchospora and Dactylorhiza incarnata.Meadows and grasslandThe Forest has few meadows of interest within it, but around the edges the occasional species~rich haymeadow can be found with Genista tinctoria, Centaurea nigra and Lathyrus pratensis. Most of the meadowswithin the pale are heavily grazed Lolium perenne ~ Cynosurus cristatus swards, and support few or no species ofinterest.Stream and riversOther than the Medway and Millbrook, most of our streams are either small and dry in summer, or shaded,and lack aquatic vegetation. The Medway is the largest river in the flora area and has aquatic plants such asNuphar lutea and Cal/itriche and the few open stretches of Millbrook have Ranunculus peltatus and Sparganiumemersum.Ponds and lakesThere are a few large lakes in the Forest such as in Pippingford Park, Boringwheel Mill and Old Mill Farm. Thevegetation present is variable, some with Menyanthes trifoliata, Potamogeton natans and E/eogiton f/uitans, andothers with Typha and Nymphaea alba. Some of the smaller ones have more marginal vegetation with speciessuch as Sparganium erectum and Carex riparia, others which dry out in summer may have plants such asRanunculus peltatus and Cal/itriche species. The two alien species, Crassu/a helms;; and Myriophyllum aquaticum,are currently spreading and could take over some ponds.Open bog pools are not common on the Forest but they are often quite rich. In Pippingford Park some havebeen created by explosives. Typically, they will have submerged Sphagnum species, Eriophorum angustifo/ium,Hypericum elodes and Narthecium. These provide particularly good habitats for Odonata, including the small reddamsel fly (Ceriagrion tenel/um).Villages and other habitationThe villages have their share of escaped garden plants, weeds and casuals, and have a completely differentflora to the rest of the Forest. Near houses, garden plants are often thrown out onto rubbish piles and sometimesestablish. The local churchyards often have a range of species with ferns on the walls, Leontodon hispidus andLeucanthemum vu/gare. The playing fields created from the Forest grasslands can be quite rich with good swardsof Agrostis species, Nardus stricta or Danthonia decumbens: Fords Green even has Chamaemelum nobile. Thedisused railway at Forest Row is largely over~grown with scrub but still has some open patches with typicalrailway species such as Chaenorhinum minus.The golf courses tend to have improved fairways, though acid grassland survives on the roughs. They alsohave heathy patches and scrub, but the boggy areas have mostly been drained and the areas are generallyimpoverished compared to what they would have been as heath. However, some rarities such as Cicendia occuronly on the golf courses and other plants including Anagallis tenella are widespread there.Roads, verges, tracks and car parksRoad verges support a distinctive neutral to calcareous grassland flora which differs markedly from the acidicheaths adjacent. This is largely due to the input of limestone dust from the road chippings onto the verges whichraises the pH often to 6.5~8.0. The flora is typically composed of species such as Galium verum, Pimpinellasaxifraga, Medicago lupulina and many grasses, and even some calcicoles such as Bromopsis erecta andFliipendula vulgaris can be frequent.There are some eighty miles of rides and tracks on the Forest. Visitors like to think that they are there fortheir benefit, but their primary function is to facilitate fire control. They act as fire~breaks (though they will onlystop a small fire), they can be used to allow 'back~burning', which effectively increases the width of the fire break,and they give improved vehicle access for fire fighting. Management involves once~a-year mowing, carried out inthe autumn after flowering; this takes one tractor nearly two months. To maintain access it is also necessary toditch and drain the main fire~rides. Where grazing has been re-introduced, mowing is not necessary because thestock enjoy the good grass on the rides.The rides are important wildlife sites because the mowing effectively simulates grazing where there is nostock. Species such as the silver-studded blue butterfly are found almost exclusively on the rides. Plant specieswhich cannot cope with rank competition also like the short growth. These include Dactylorhiza maculata,Euphrasia species, Salix rep ens, Nardus stricta, Pedicu/aris sylvatica, Danthonia decumbens and sometimesGentiana pneumonanthe. Boggy rides, though inconvenient for walkers, also have some interesting species suchas Drosera rotundifolia, D. intermedia and Rhynchospora.HedgesThe Forest Pale is largely covered by trees and is poor in hedgerow species. Many sections are dominated byFagus sylvatica or Quercus robur.7