Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Widespread in Europe from the shores of the arctic, the birch woods and mountain ledges of Norway to the richgrasslands of central Europe and stream and ditch-side communities, but rare in the Mediterranean (Clapham 1953). It alsooccurs in temperate Asia and North Africa.*Smyrnium olusatrum. Alexanders.A small clump at the base of hedge, Clock House Lane, Nutley (443.2771, 1994, AK & PD.In Britain alexanders is a fully naturalized introduction, formerly used as a pot herb,whose native range in southern Europe extends to north-west France. Although very commonaround the coast south of a line from Liverpool to the Wash, it is distinctly scarce this far3 inland, with our site being one of the farthest from the coast in Sussex, It has been recordedspreading inland on road verges in recent years (e.g. Beeching Way, East Grinstead, 1994,TR).Western Europe, south-west Asia and North Africa.4 5133Gonopodium majus. Pignut, Fairy potatoes.Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).Never abundant, but quite widespread in woodland and grassland around the Forest,though not on heathland. The small tubers were eaten locally as a snack or titbit by childrenwho up to at least the 19405 often went to school without breakfast such was the poverty3 (Mrs E. Vernon, Horney Common, pers. comm. to MR).Given its general high frequency in Britain, it is surprising to find it is an endemic plant ofwestern Europe from Norway to Italy.4 5Pimpinella saxi/raga. Burnet saxifrage.Frequent on the Forest (Hall 19801.Very locally distributed in road verges and grassland, usually in unimproved, slightlymore base-rich areas but also on more acidic, low fertility soils in older grassland. On theverges it often gets mown and the basal leaves need to be searched for carefully. With the3 late verge cutting in 1995 more was noticed in flower on the verges, and it is especiallyfrequent south of Gills Lap.Common in Sussex in dry grassy places and on the chalk. Widespread in Britain, Europeand south-west Asia.4 5*Aegopodium podagraria. Ground-elder, Gout-weed, Bishop's weed.Common on roadsides and especially near houses, mainly around the edge of the Forest.Ubiquitous in Sussex (Hall 1980) and Britain. Believed to have been grown as amedicinal plant and as a spring cure for gout since Roman times. Now one of the worstgarden weeds and virtually impossible to get rid of.Clapham (1953) considers it to be a natural constituent of deciduous woodland on baserichsoils in central and eastern Europe, where it is most prominent in moist, valley-bottomand stream woodlands. In north-west Europe it is also a typical component of the ruderalnitrophilous communities similar to those in which it occurs in Britain, and where it isobviously a weed. Also found in temperate Asia.Oenanthe crocata.4Hemlock water-dropwort.Seven tetrads on and around the Forest (Hall 1980).Usually found by streams and rivers (as for instance scattered down the Pippingfordstream) on wet soils often in sheltered, shaded places, It is tolerant of iron flushes.Common in the Weald, usually on the clays. It has a strongly southern and westerndistribution in Britain and is strikingly uncommon in areas with a mean January daytemperature of less than 5°C. It is also strongly western in Europe and the Mediterranean.This is one of the most poisonous plants in Britain and must not be mistaken for wildcelery, which does not grow on Ashdown Forest.5Oenanthe aquatica. Fine-leaved water-dropwort.Recorded in the Fairwarp tetrad 42T in Hall (19801, obviously from one of the ponds hence probably not on the Forest, butnot refound possibly due to limited access. One plant was seen 2 metres outside the Flora area at 402.340, 1995, Florameeting; this pond had been restored and the plant had presumably originated from buried seed in the mud - this has beennoted at Shortwood Pond in Surrey.