Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

204Carex strigosa. Thin~spiked wood~5edge.Tetrad 43W (Hall 19801, not refound and there are no obvious sites for it in the relevant tetrad. In Sussex this oftenoccurs on the Gault Clay or Weald Clay and is easily overlooked as deer eat the spikes (FR).Locally frequent in southern Britain, the Weald being a major stronghold where it often occurs along the sides ofstreams in the ravine woodlands, West, central and southern Europe to the Caucasus.Carex flacca. Glaucous sedge.Frequent on the Forest (Hall 1980).Locally frequent on roadsides around the Forest, especially where the soils are morecalcareous. In woodland it flowers sparsely Of not at all, and may be relict from moreopen conditions.One of the commonest sedges in Sussex, usually on chalk or base-rich clay soils.Widespread in Britain, and in Europe (except the north-east) and North Africa.4 5Carex panicea. Carnation sedge, Carnation grass, Pink-leaved sedge.Bogs around Crowborough, etc. (Done 1914). Frequent on the Forest {Hall 1980).Locally abundant in wet acidic flushes on the Forest, where it is the mostconspicuous greyish-leaved sedge. It is often confused with C. flacea by the unwary.Ashdown Forest appears to be its main stronghold in Sussex. It is widespread but3 decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996), and is common in northern and westernBritain. Widespread in Europe except around the Mediterranean, temperate Asia andNorth Africa.4 5Carex laevigata. Smooth-stalked sedge.Occasional on the Forest (Hall 1980).Locally frequent in wet flushes in woodland around the Forest, for instance downthe Kidbrooke Stream or in Pippingford Park, and quite widespread. The best place tolook for it is in a flush sloping down to the stream side in damp, boggy, shadedconditions.Locally frequent on acidic ::ioils in the High Weald oflen near Chrysosp/eniumoppositifo/ium. Locally frequent in Britain in areas with rainfall above 75 cm a year, butabsent from large areas. Endemic to western Europe?Carex binervis. Green-ribbed sedge.On the Forests, abundant, E. Jenner (Arnold 1887). Ashdown Forest, 1896, T. Hilton(BTN). Near Pippingford, 1904, J. Stirling (TLS). Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).One of the commonest robust, tufted sedges on rides and heathy areas, and quitedistinctive. It is probably more abundant on Ashdown Forest than anywhere else in3 Sussex (Rose 1995).Locally abundant in northern and western Britain and in the uplands, uncommon inthe south-east on acidic soils; western Europe and north-west Africa.4 5Carex viridula (C. demissa agg.). Yellow-sedge.This treatment follows the revision of Schmid (1983).All our recent finds have been subsp. oedoearpa (C. demissa, C. flava agg.) forwhich there are old records: Ashdown Forest, E. Jenner (Arnold 1887). Pippingfordbog, 1904, J. Stirling (TLS). Occasional on the west side of the Forest (Hall 1980).This taxon is occasional in ruts and on tracks and in wet, boggy areas with somebase influence on mineral soil. For instance it is locally abundant on the A22 verges atthe bottom of Millbrook Hill. It is locally distributed in the Weald and is widespread in4 5 Britain; north, west and central Europe and North America.There is an old record for subsp. brachyrrhyneha (C. /epidoearpa) from boggy placeson the Forest near Crowborough, J. H. A. Jenner (Wolley-Dod 1937) but this requires confirmation as it is a very rareplant in Sussex, and is usually more associated with basic flushes and fens.Similarly records for subsp. viridu/a (C. seratina) from Ashdown Forest, E. Jenner {Arnold 18871 and ChelwoodGate, 1955, R. Boniface (Hall 1980) require verification (there is no material in Boniface's herbarium at NMW).