Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

212Arrhenatherum elatius. False oat-grass.Frequent and widespread on verges and field edges, sometimes just under hedges, and oftendominant where only mown once or twice a year. It is a palatable species and'thus musthave spread since grazing ceased on the Forest. Both subsp. elatius and subsp. bulbosuswere recorded in 1993-1994 but have not been investigated in detail - the former appears tobe much more common.Recorded in 98% of the tetrads in Sussex (Hall 1980). Increasing in England (Rich &Woodruff 1996L and widespread in Britain, Europe and Western Asia.*Avena fatuB. Wild-oat.3 -++_-------'-+_Tetrad 42N (Hall 1980).Upper Parrock Farm (449.347), 1994, TR; introduced on verge Marden's Hill(499.325), 1993, TR.A frequent arable weed in Sussex, and increasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996).Widespread in Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.4 5*Avena sativa. Cultivated-oat.Scattered on roadsides and rides across the heath land, the latter presumably from horsefeed.Scattered throughout Britain as a relict of cUltivation.4 5* Gaudinia fragi/is. French oat-grass.North-east corner of Lodge car park (469.306), about 12 plants, 1993, TR, with more in1994 and 1995, the first record for East Sussex, It may have been introduced with grassseed when the car park was created in 1983; a number of other alien annuals appeared thefollowing year.3 It is well established and persistent elsewhere in southern England in grassland. Nativein southern Europe.4 5Trisetum flavescens. Yellow oat-grass.Scattered on the Forest (Hall 1980).We have similarly recorded it in scattered sites on verges and in meadows.Widespread on calcareous soils in Sussex and lowland Britain. Widespread in Europeand temperate Asia.3 --+i""i.----------'-+_4 5