Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

196Juncus conglomeratus. Compact rush.Common on the Forest (Hall 19S0).Recorded throughout the Forest except for three of the marginal squares. It is moretypical of the heath lands than J. effusus.Widespread in Sussex, Throughout Britain but less common than J. effusus, andusually somewhat more calcifuge. Widespread in Europe, also found in Asia, North Africaand eastern North America.Luzula forsteri. Forster's wood-rush.Tetrads 33V, 42T and 43L (Hall 19S0), refound in the latter two.Verge near Co}eman's Hatch church (449.33S), 1995, PW; locally abundant on lanenorth-west of Hart's Farm (455.33S-459.334), 1995, TR,. PW; verge outsideBoringwheel Mill (456.263), pH 7.4, 1994, SBRS; banks in coppice woodland, Toll Lane3 --r+----~'+- (462.263), pH 4.9, 1993, TR & NM; south bank of lane near Furnace Wood (472.264),1995, TR; Verge near Hoadley's Farm (50S.324), 1993, PW. It typically occurs on partlyshaded, sandy I dry banks and in sunken lanes.Widespread in the Weald, its main stronghold in Britain, and also around London and45in south-west England. In Britain it tends to occur on dry banks with weakly acidic tocalcareous, free-draining soils. It is widespread in southern, southern-central and western Europe, the Middle East andNorth Africa and reaches the northern limit of its distribution in England.It is a very variable species in Europe and local populations in Spain and the Caucasus are often recognised assubspecies; these may have spread from refugia areas in the post-glacial period. L. forsteri was described from Britainand our plant is subsp. forsteri.Luzula >< barreri (L. forsteri >< pi/asa).Tetrad 42E (Hall 19S0).We found the hybrid twice, in both cases with the parents: verge outsideBoringwheel Mill (456.2631, 1994, SBRS; old bank in coppice woodland, Toll Lane(462.2631, 1993, TR & NM. Some plants on the lane north-west of Hart's Farm3 (455.33S) may also be hybrid.This hybrid is intermediate between the parents but shows hybrid vigour and usuallyproduces 0-1 (-2) seeds per capsule (see Rich & Rich 1988).4 5 Quite rare in Sussex but probablY overlooked to some extent, but recordedoccasionally where the parents meet. A record of the hybrid from Ireland (where L.forsteri does not occur) is based on a specimen of L. pi/osa in CGE.Luzu/a pilosa. Hairy wood-rush.Common on the Forest (Hall 19S0).It occurs mainly around the edge of the Forest in the older woodlands and in thecentre is mainly confined to the river valleys; absent from the open, heathy areas. Mostof the populations are small, but very locally it may be abundant. It is an evergreenspecies, typically found often on steep banks and in damp shady places where it will notbe covered by leaves during the winter.It is widespread in the Weald on acidic or neutral soils, and is also widespread inBritain but is oddly rare in Ireland. Widespread in Europe and east to the Caucasus andSiberiaLuzula sylvatica. Great wood-rush.Friar's Gate, C. E. Britten; wood west of Crowborough, R. A. Boniface {Wolley-Dod1937}. Tetrads 42E, 43R and 538 (Hall 19S0).One clump c. 50 cm across in open woodland by path in Broadstone Warren(422.324), 1994, TR; lane north-west of Hart's Farm (45S.335), scattered down the3 --r+----------'_f_ river banks from Peculiar's Farm (457.330) to Pooh Sticks Bridge (471.33SI, 1995, TR etal.; steep river bank, Cow Field (495.319), 1995, Flora meeting; stream near Half Moonpub (499.334), 1987, PW & RW; stream near Oak Plat (49S.335) and downstream,1995, TR & PA; outside southern wall of St John's church (503.317), 1993, RN, NN &4 5ER.This species is palatable and is rapidly eliminated from grazed areas, hence its rarity on the Forest. It isevergreen in the lowlands and may suffer from grazing most during the winter when there is little else for animals toeat. Most of our localities are on steep, inaccessible sides of streams where it is protected from hungry stock by