Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

184Tanacetum vu/gare. Tansy.3 -+_J.._-------'-+_4 5Tetrad 42N (Hall 19801.Five scattered records from verges, villages and rough grassland around the edges of theForest.In Europe it is probably a natural component of some maritime, lake shore and riversidecommunities in north~west Europe, and is also widespread as a ruderal where it has frequentlybeen introduced (Clapham 1953). This pattern is repeated in Sussex and Britain, and it isaccepted as a native species.Artemisia vulgaris. Mugwort.Common on the Forest (Hall 19801.A characteristic place to find this is along the very edges of verges on the A22 where itis mown short and rarely flowers. It is also established on waste ground in the villages.This species is unusual in the Asteraceae in being wind-pollinated. It is the third most4 5common cause of hay fever in Scandinavia, but seems to affect few people in Britain unlessthey have already been sensitised to mugworts and wormwoods abroad (Rich 1994b).Very common in Sussex but avoiding the Wadhurst clay. Widespread in lowland Britainand Europe.Achillea ptarmica. Sneezewort.Common on the Forest (Hall 19801.Scattered mainly in the wetter meadows and pastures in the central and northern areasof the Forest, and in ditches.Locally frequent in the Weald on acidic soils, and still widespread in lowland north and3 -I-t--_""---.JLj- west Britain but declining nationally due to drainage of wet grassland. Widespread in northernEurope.4 5Achillea millefolium. Yarrow, Nosebleed.Common on roadsides and in grassland. White- and pink-flowered plants were noted growingtogether in Forest Row (44.34), 1994, TR.Ubiquitous in Sussex and Britain. Widespread in Europe and western Asia.ChamaemeJum nobile. Chamomile.Although previous floras describe it as "frequent" (Arnold 19071 and "rather frequent" inSussex (Wolley-Dod 1937), the only previous records traced are 'on Ashdown Forest'(Coleman 18361, Ashdown Forest, 1921, H. Mace (BRCI, and Forest Row, 1938, G. E. Shaw(TlSI. It was recorded sometime up to 1980 in the Fairwarp tetrad 42T (Hall 19801 but not3 refound or localised. It was also recorded outside the Flora area on verges near StumblewoodCommon (403.3071, 1950s, FR; the verges are now tall grass or are shaded and the plant hasgone. It is sometimes also planted on lawns, as at Buxted Park (1995, PD) or Old Lodge(now gone; S. Stewart, pers. comm. 1995).4 5 Ford's Green, hundreds of vegetative plants on football pitch, and a few on the cricketpitch (445.271 I, 1993, TR. Ford's Green is part of the common land of Ashdown Forest, and was sheep-grazed until the1950s when the ma'ln duty of the greenkeeper was to sweep the droppings off the cricket pitch (J, Waiters, pers. comm.19951. During the winter of 1994/1995 the pitch was heavily trampled as it was one of the few dry pitches in the area.By the end of the winter it was a sea of brown mud and had sand sprinkled on it to help the playing surface. This gaverise to concern for the chamomile but in the summer it was even more abundant and flowered profusely. The severedrought turned the remaining grass brown but the chamomile stayed green and stood out very clearly. It flowers mostprofusely on the Green in dry summers when it is not mown.It grows with Achillea millefolium f which is very similar in leaf but not in flower. Chamaemelum has creeping stemswhich form patches, the leaves are smaller and have fewer segments and the leaf tips lack the long hair point of Achillea(small hair points may be present on some leaves); the smell is distinctive to some people but not others. Similar plants