Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

*Erodium cicutarium. Common stork's-bill, Hemlock stork's-bill.Tetrad 42N (Hall 1980).Rough track near Centre Bridge, Pippingiord Park (449.316), 1995, SBRS, presumablyfallen off the wheels of an army lorry.Widespread inland in southern Britain (but decreasing Rich & Woodruff 1996) on sandy3 -++-------'-+-- soils, becoming increasingly confined to the coast in the north. Widespread in Europe butprobably native only in the south and west, temperate Asia and North Africa.1314 5TROPAEOLACEAE* Tropaeolum majus. Nasturtium.A garden escape on dumped soil, Forest Row (434.343), 1994, TR & NM, but not persistent.There is no record of the fate of 'nastershalums' planted around the Forest in Winnie-the­Pooh.Increasingly recorded in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996). Native in the Andes.3-++---------~-4 5BALSAMINACEAE*Impatiens parvif/ora. Small balsam.Tetrads 43M and 43W (Hall 1980). Tetrads 33V and 43V (Briggs 1990).We have recorded it in seven scattered squares, and it is possibly still spreading. It isusually found in disturbed, nutrient"rich, damp places in the open or in more natural conditions] -++..-----~inwoodland on stream banks.It is probably best established in the Weald in Britain where it is abundant in some4 5woodlands and along river banks, and it also well established in some urban areas such asLondon. As a native it occurs on river and stream sides, ravines, stony mountain slopes andshady, moist places in central Asia matching to some extent the habitats in which it isnaturalized in Britain. It is extensively naturalized in eastern, central and northern Europe. Itmay have been introduced with buckwheat for pheasant food or with rooted trees and shrubs (Coombe 1956).*Impatiens glandulifera. Indian balsam, Policeman's helmet.Four tetrads around the Forest (Hall 1980).Now well established in our Flora area along rivers ides, and sometimes on waste ground.First introduced to Britain in 1848, and now widespread and still increasing along rivers3 +h------'+_and streams. It is well adapted to the river-bank habitat, and grows rapidly on the dampnutrient-rich soils, often forming dense stands which exclude other species. It is shadetolerant4 5though it flowers less profusely in woodland. The seeds require a chilling treatmentso they germinate in the spring after the winter floods, and the plants are tolerant of floodingand silt depOSition. The fruits dehisce explosively to scatter the seeds locally, and they aremore widely spread by water along the rivers; it now occurs along most major water coursesin Britain. It is native in the Himalaya, and may be somewhat frost-sensitive.ARALlACEAE*Hedera colchica. Persian ivy.Large patch climbing trees outside garden, Forest Row (432.344), 1993, TR and still there inquantity in 1995, PW; by Fairwarp Village Hall (467.263), 1995, TR.Occasionally established ilJ Britain. Native from the Balkans to Caucasus.3 -++------'--f---4 5