Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

58Lychnis flos-cuculi. Ragged Robin, Ragged Jack, Bachelor's buttons.Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).Usually found in damp or wet places in meadows, heathy grassland, on clayey rides andin open patches in woodland. In deep shade it flowers sparsely or not at all, and the hairless,narrow leaves are often a puzzle when found vegetatively.3 Widespread in Britain and Europe, but decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996).4 5*Lychnis chalcedonica. Maltese-cross.One clump with four fruiting stems just outside Lavender Platt (402.332), 1995, PW.This species is widely grown in gardens and occurs as a persistent escape elsewhere inBritain. It is native in eastern Europe.3 -++-----'-+-4 5Si/ene vulgaris. Bladder campion, Snappers.Tetrad 43F (Hall 1980).Entrance to Spring Garden (46.27), 1995, B. Hoath & A. Main, and apparently presentfor a long time before that.In Sussex widespread on the chalk and sometimes introduced with soils elsewhere,3 -++-----'-+__ possibly the origin of Hall's record. Widespread in Britain and Europe, but decreasing inEngland (Rich & Woodruff 1996). Also found in temperate Asia and North Africa.4 55i1ene latifolia (5. alba). White campion.Tetrad 42N (Hall 1980).We have three records, confirming its scarcity: Cold harbour Manor, bank by road andprobably introduced (399.326), 1995, TR; introduced with soil and mown, Goat car park(401.326), 1987-1995, PW; lane south of Nutley (44.26), 1993, MM. It is usually an annual3 --++_-----'4- of disturbed, open places such as arable field margins, but the plant at Goat car park seems to4 5be perennial perhaps due to mowing.Very common on the chalk in Sussex and occasional elsewhere (Hall 1980), but notreally a plant of the Forest. Widespread in Britain, Europe, western Asia and North Africa.5ilene dioica. Red campion, Bachelor's buttons.Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).Found mainly around the edge of the Forest, usually in nitrogen-rich, shaded places suchas river alluvium, old woodland edges and hedges. Usually the populations are small, but it isabundant on verge east of Fairwarp (473.266).It is relatively susceptible to frost damage, drought and waterlogging, and tends to occurin sheltered, open woodland (Baker 1947). Widespread in Britain and western Europe as wellas central Asia, North Africa and Greenland.We have not recorded any of the S. dioica x latifolia hybrid with pink flowers which is4 5usually quite widespread where the parents meet, probably because S. /atifo/ia is souncommon on the Forest. The two parent species are almost completely inter-fertile, and whilst S. latifolia is usuallypollinated by moths at night and S. dioica by bees during the day, there are enough other pollinators around to ensureregular gene flow between them; it seems that the species are maintained by the ecological differences, the hybrids beingneither properly suited to woods or fields (D. Goulson).