Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

170Mainly in the High Weald in Sussex and rare elsehwere (extremely rare in the Kent High Weald), and locally abundantin southern Britain. Widespread in Europe, except the north and south, and in Algeria.*Centaurea montana. Perennial cornflower.Recorded once as an established garden escape at Nutley (476.276), 1995, TR.Occasionally recorded as a garden escape and increasing in England (Rich & Woodruff1996), Endemic to the European mountains and widely cultivated.3 -+-+-------'-j-4 5*Centaurea cyanus. Cornflower.Probably extinct, Heron's Ghyll, E. D. Morgan (Wolley-Dod 1937). Sixty years ago Wolley-Dod had already noted thatcornflower was "becoming rare and probably seldom found in its named stations" so its absence from the Forest isunsurprising and matches the situation across the whole country where it is now found only very sporadically. It is anarable weed and has probably declined due to cleaner seeds and herbicides (Rich & Woodruff 1996).Native in south~east Europe and the Near East.Centaurea nigra. Common knapweed, Buttonweed.Widespread on road verges and in unimproved grassland, but rarely abundant (one exceptionbeing a pasture at Rystwood Road, 438.343). Absent from the heathy areas.It is a very variable species in Britain, but our plants are fairly uniform.Ubiquitous in Sussex (Hall 1980) and in Britain, so surprisingly endemic to Europe. It hasbeen introduced to North America and Australasia where it is a serious weed.*Cichorium intybus. Chicory.Tetrads 33W, 42Z, 43A and 43V (Hall 1980).One site on A22 verge at the entrance to the Ashdown Forest Farm Park, Wych Cross(423.313), 1994, B. Radcliffe & J. Stoddart; two plants were present in 1995, TR. This doesnot correspond to any of Hall's tetrads, which have not been refound. The plants are3 -++----~'-I-- conspicuous when the flowers open in sunshine but they close in mid afternoon.4 5Scattered in Sussex and lowland England where it is possibly native in East Anglia, anddecreasing (Rich & Woodruff 1996). Widespread in Europe, western Asia and North Africa.C. intybus is grown as a coffee additive or substitute, and for fodder in France. Thecultivated salad chicory or endive is C. endivia.Lapsana communis. Nipplewort.Widespread on verges, by hedges, on disturbed soil and in the villages, but rare in woodedareas and absent from the heaths. It is a winter~ or summer~annual which tends to occur inopen, nutrient-rich places or in light to moderate shade on soils above pH 5 (Grime et al.1988).Recorded in 99% of the Sussex tetrads (Hall 1980). Widespread in Europe, Asia andNorth Africa.Hypochaeris radicata. Cat's-ear.Recorded in every square, where it occurs on rides, banks, in acidic grassland and sometimesin permanent pasture.This plant flowers continuously through the summer, though there are peaks in earlyJune and September. About one hour of bright sunlight is needed to open the flowering3heads and once open, they cannot close for a period of at least three hours, so if it rains the4 5pollen for a whole day may be washed off. If it is warm and sunny the heads close afterabout 3~4 hours, but they will stay open for 6~7 hours in cooler, cloudy conditions (Turkington& Aarssen 1983).