Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

132Hedera helix subsp. helix. Common ivy.Ubiquitous in Sussex (Hall 1980) and nearly so on the Forest, widespread in Britain and mainlywestern in Europe. It also occurs in Asia Minor and Iran.Ivy tends to be a typical colonist of secondary woodland but is palatable, and hasprobably spread on the Forest following the removal of grazing animals. It is one of the fewspecies to start flowering in the autumn, but tends to do so only in well-lit places. The seedsare spread by birds.There is little evidence that ivy climbing up trees significantly affects them.Entomologists regard ivy as an important nectar source which also provides winter shelter formany species, and think its removal from trees is an inexcusable act of vandalism (Kirby1992)1 The second brood of the holly blue butterfly feeds on ivy on the Forest. It also provides shelter for birds and bats.*Hedera helix subsp. hibernica. Atlantic ivy.Scattered around the Forest in hedges and woodland, almost always near houses butsometimes locally abundant and swamping the local vegetation (e,g. large patches establishedon wood edge east of Fairwarp Village Hall (467.263), 1995, TR & G. M. Kay).3 -++------4-Often treated as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of H. helix (McAllister &Rutherford 1990); in addition to the larger, broadly lobed leaves, it smells fetid and the raysof the hairs on the leaves project in all directions (appressed in subsp. helix).As a native it is mainly western in Britain, but is widely planted. It is thought to besomewhat frost-sensitive and is most often naturalized in the west, so our Wealden records4 5 may match the pattern shown by other Atlantic species.APIACEAE (UMBELLlFERAE)The best guide for identification of this family is the BSBI Umbellifer handbook (Tutin 1980).Hydrocotyle vulgaris. Marsh pennywort.Bogs on Ashdown Forest (Coleman 1836). Ashdown Forest, 1895, T. Hilton (BTN). Frequenton the Forest (Hall 1980).We have recorded it scattered in flushes and wet grassland mainly in the open centralareas of the Forest. It creeps and forms patches amongst other vegetation where the flowersand fruits are well-hidden. It readily colonises wet, disturbed areas, but does not toleratewoodland shade.In Sussex, locally frequent on acid or peaty soil (Hall 1980); Grime t1l al. (1988) note it4 5occurs on soils of pH 4.5-6.0. Widespread in Britain but commoner in the west, anddecreasing (Rich & Woodruff 1996). Widespread in west, central and southern Europe.Sanicula europaea. Sanicle.Frequent around the Forest (Hall 1980).An evergreen species usually recorded from the edges of tracks and paths or roadsides(e.g. around Wych Cross) on exposed banks and probably on the more base-rich soils, andsometimes also on the richer soils along the streams, as near Old Lodge. Surprisingly we havenot recorded it on the south side of the Forest, where it was recorded in the Sussex PlantA tlas and should occur.Grime et al. (1988) note it occurs on soils above pH 4.5, is most frequent on calcareoussoils above pH 6.0, and that it is very shade-tolerant. Inghe & Tamm (1985) in Sweden found4 5 that juvenile plants flowered first at 8-16 years old, and when they did flower they tended notto flower again the following year. There was low mortality of established plants with a half-life of between 59 and 360years (so some live as long as the trees above), but they were susceptible to summer drought.Brewis, Bowman & Rose (1996) note that it usually occurs in ungrazed woods in Hampshire, and off the chalk it is agood ancient woodland indicator. Common in Sussex on basic soils, but uncommon on the acidic sands. Widespread andmainly on calcareous soils in Britain and Eurasia and parts of Africa.Anthriscus sylvestris. Cow parsley, Keck, Rabbit's meat, Queen Anne's lace.Ubiquitous in Sussex in every tetrad (Hall 1980).We have recorded it widely around the Forest on verges, field borders and in hedges,though not in the acidic areas or where there is deep woodland.This species is a nitrophile which can dominate vegetation in spring and early summer,lining some Sussex verges like white lace. It has probably increased in abundance in Britain asa result of fertiliser drift from fields onto road verges and into woodland edges. It is alsoresistant to many herbicides. Plants in southern Britain are hairy and can look very different toglabrous plants in the north. It does not appear to line verges in Europe to the same extent asin Britain.