Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

163RUBIACEAESherardia arvensis. Madder.3 -++--------'-+-Three big clumps and one small one, introduced with soil on new verge, Highgate Green(423.3431, 1986-1988, PS. Now gone, though it could possibly reappear if the verge wasdisturbed again.An arable weed on the chalk in Sussex, and occasionally recorded in the Weald. It iswidespread but decreasing in England, especially in the north (Rich & Woodruff 1996). It isfound over most of Europe, North Africa and western Asia.4 5Galium odoratum. Sweet woodruff.Tetrad 42T (Hall 1980(.It occurs scattered down the stream on the more calcareous clays from the banks alongthe lane east of Old lands Farm (477.2671, 1993+, SBRS, southwards through Furnace Wood3 -++----Lt-(various sites, 475.267, 473.2631, 1995, TR et al., where it is clearly native. It is alsocreeping out of the back of Gate Cottage, Twyford (399.3121 where it was planted, 1994,4 5DB (not mappedl.Most commonly found in old woodland on base rich soils so its scarcity on the Forest isno surprise. It is locally frequent on the chalk in West Sussex and on the Weald Clay in theWeald. Common over much of Britain, and in Europe and North Africa.Galium uliginosum. Fen bed straw .The record for "Galium erectum, bog in Pappingford Warren, Ashdown Forest, in the cornernext to Gills Lap" (Coleman 1836(, may refer to this species. Wolley-Dod (19371 has onedefinite record for the Flora area from Coleman's Hatch, H. S. Salt and another which may bewithin the Forest - near the mineral spring, Hartfield, E. Jenner. Tetrad 43L (Hall 19801.3 -+-+-___--L\--There is an unconfirmed record for the ghyll by Lavender Plat! (404.332(, 1988, AFRR.In August 1994 AK found a small group of plants in a wet area beside the boggy woodat Newbridge (457.325) where the ground water pH is around 6.0. The plants were noticedon a very dull, drizzly day because the flowers were pure white and stood out clearly in the4 5dim light at the edge of the wood. In August 1995 the area was much drier and moreovergrown and no G. uliginosum could be found. It was also found with Cardamine amara and Viola palustris, on the edgeof the golf course at Forest Row between the pond and the boundary (346.3421, 1987, PS. TR and PS revisited the site in1995 to find that the area had been half covered in sludge bulldozed from the pond and no G. uliginosum could be found.Decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 19961.G. uliginosum is widely distributed in Europe. It occurs widely in England and southern Scotland but is distinctlyscarce in Wales and northern Scotland. Hall (1980) shoWs it as thinly scattered in Sussex with records from 26 tetrads inEast Sussex. However, ours are the only recent records from East Sussex, indicating a significant decline in the last 20years, which may well be due to the loss of wetland habitats due to drainage or in-filling of ponds.Galium palustre. Common marsh-bedstraw.Common on the Forest (Hall 19801.Widespread and common in damp flushes in grassland, beside ponds and streams and inwoodland. Sometimes it fills the air with scent when flowering profusely, as at Newbridge.It is very variable, some plants with practically linear leaves and smooth fruits. Bothsubsp. palustre and subsp. elongatum have been recorded but it may not be possible toseparate them morphologically (Rich & Rich 19881.Common over the whole of the British Isles and most of Europe.Galium verum. Lady' 5 bedstraw.Apparently absent from the are_a in Hall (1980) but recorded in tetrads just beyond the southeastcorner of the edges of the Forest.Recorded from road verges mainly in the Gills Lap - King's Standing area, and the yellowpatches were very much more conspicuous in 1995 when the verges were mown late. This3 --++_--""""Jf-1-+- indicates that it was probably under-recorded in this area in the past so it may be commoner4 5in other parts of East Sussex than is indicated by the map in Hall.Scattered over most of the British Isles but decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff1996). Present over most of Europe and western Asia.