Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

166* Lonicera nitida. Wilson' 5 honeysuckle.Probably mainly planted and rel'let from cultivation but some plants also appear to be selfsown,It is usually found near habitation .•Widely recorded in Britain and increasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996). Native inChina.3 -++------'-+-4 5Lonicera periclymenum. Honeysuckle.Recorded in every square in the Forest in old and secondary woodland and hedges, morerarely on verges or scrambling up through brambles, and most common on moist, acidic soils.It has been observed climbing up trees to at least 8 metres high, and it probably grows higherin some woodlands. The honeysuckle smell in the evening is a delight. In August the fruitsgo a bright, translucent red, sometimes contrasting with the cream flowers on nearbyinflorescences. During the 1995 drought, many honeysuckles in woodlands were observed tohave wilted, but fewer had done so in hedges.Common, in 95% of the tetrads in Sussex (Hall 1980). Widespread in Britain, and inwestern, central and southern Europe, and Morocco.AOOXACEAEAdoxa moschatellina. Moschatel.Tetrads 42T and 53B (Hall 1980), the latter probably from outside our area.One patch c. 3 x 2 metres on roadside by an old hedge near Fairwarp Farm (473.266LpH 6.4, 1994, Chris Weaver; one patch c. 5 x 5 metres nearby in secondary woodland bytrack (472.265), 1994, TR & SR; several more patches scattered along lane (474.266,3 474.267,476.269), 1995, TR & PA.This plant is usually regarded as an ancient woodland indicator species elsewhere, butthe first two records are from Forest land in what is clearly secondary woodland.45It is locally distributed in Sussex and Britain in damp, shady, base-rich places in moistloams, on chalk, on alluvial soils by rivers, etc. Widespread in Europe though confined tomountains in the south. Asia and North America.VALERIANACEAE* Valerianella locusta. Corn salad, Lambs lettuce.r--.,----===----,--, Hedge opposite Ink Pen Lane, Highgate (426.343), 1986, PS, and still present in abundancein 1995, TR (soil pH 7.6). It may be a relict from cultivation.This species is scattered in Sussex in arable land, on old walls and near the sea. It iswidespread but scattered in lowland Britain but is decreasing (Rich & Woodruff 1996). It iswidespread in Europe though rare in the north. North Africa and western Asia.3 -++------'--+-4 5* Valerianella carinata. Keel~fruited corn~salad.Two sites around Tompset's Bank (424.346 and 425.346), c. 1985, PS but not searched foragain and likely still to be present; Fairwarp churchyard (466.2671, PO (Briggs 1990), and stillpresent in flower beds and on graves in 1995; several plants in the flower beds of the RedLion Pub car park, Chelwood Gate (414.303), 1995, AK, right beside where we had parked3 -+-I'"------'-+_ for a Flora meeting the previous week and not noticed it!Increasing but still rare in Sussex, often in churchyards and sometimes gardens.4 5Increasing or perhaps increasingly recorded in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996), but still anuncommon plant. Southern, western and central Europe and North Africa; in central Europe itis a native of warm, rocky slopes where it is declining, but it is increasing as a neophyte inparks, gardens, etc.