Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

ecorded with Chamaemelum are Matricaria recut/ta, M. disco/dea, and Tripleurospermum inodorum. A survey by HeatherWins hip for Plantlife and Hampshire Wildlife Trust in 1993 showed that Chamaemelum was declining nationally (Wins hip1994). In East Sussex in 1993, Ford's Green and Chailey Common were the only known extant sites, and the latter hasonly one small patch, The single Ashdown locality at Ford's Green certainly merits conservation, if only 50 that after afootball match the Nutley lads will smell a little sweeter than normal!The flowers were once brewed into a cure-all tea and were highly valued fetching 400 shillings per cwt (Bates 1943).It is still drunk today as a herbal tea.Chamaemelum was once quite common and widespread in southern England on common land, and it thrived in short,heavily grazed turf, with the accompanying poaching of the ground and dung patches. The post-war decline has followedthe decline in pasturing stock on commons in England, and it only remains frequent inland in the New Forest and onDartmoor which are still grazed. Studies of the genetics have shown that many populations now have very little variation(Kay & John 1995). Recently. it has been increasingly noticed on sports fields derived from old common land, where themowing and trampling mimic grazing. The occurrence of hundreds of plants at Ford's Green is therefore quite typical. Thesoil pH where it was most abundant was 4.9, and it did not occur where the soils had a higher pH from the lime used tomark the pitches. It could also survive elsewhere on the Forest on lawns.It mainly occurs in western Europe and North Africa185Anthemis arvensis. Corn chamomile.Barnsden, near Nutley, and Forest Row, E. M. Day (Wolley-Dod 19371. Tetrad 42T (Hall 19801.Not refound, perhaps not surprisingly for an arable weed which is decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 19961. InSussex and elsewhere it is now an uncommon arable weed of the chalk (Wilson 1994), and occasionally occurs as acontaminant of continental seed mixtures with other arable weeds such as Agrostemma githago and Chrysanthemumsegetum.It is widespread in Europe, Asia and North Africa, and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a weed.Anthemis cotu/a. Stinking chamomile.Five tetrad records (Hall 19801.One plant in gateway, south-west of Mudbrooks House (402.338), pH 5.4, 1995, Florameeting.This is a annual weed which is variable in size and habit. It occurs most frequently on3 -+-+-----'-+_ heavy clay and clay-loam soils, especially if they are base-rich, and our site on mildly acidicclay may not be very suitable for it (hence only one!). Germination takes place mainly in theautumn and spring depending on cultivation, but can occur throughout the year. It is selfincompatibleand requires cross-pollination, so our isolated plant may not have set seed {Kay4 51971; Wilson 19941.Frequent on heavy soils in the Weald. Widespread but decreasing in lowland south-east England and possiblyclimatically limited by cooler temperature and increasing rainfall to the north and west (Kay 1971; Rich & Woodruff 1996).Widespread in Europe north to England and Finland but probably native around the Mediterranean, western Asia and northeastAfrica.*Chrysanthemum segetum. Corn marigold.Ashdown Forest, 1921, H. Mace (BRC), we presume recorded from arable land.Another arable weed which is decreasing in England and has not been refound.Europe and western Asia.It is now very scarce in Sussex.Leucanthemum vu/gare. Oxeye daisy, Horse daisy, Midsummer daisy, Dog daisy.Scattered on verges and in pastures and lawns, most frequent on the more calcareous soilson the south side of the Forest. Usually conspicuous in flower in May and June, but in themild weather of October 1995 some flowered again after the summer drought.Recorded in 92% of the Sussex tetrads (Hall 19801. Widespread in Britain and Europe.4 5