Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

62*Fal/opia convolvulus (Polygonum convolvulus). Black-bindweed.Occasional in the Forest area (Hall 1980).We have a few scattered records from disturbed soils on verges, in gardens, orintroduced with imported soil as at Pippingford (444.302), 1993, TR & PD.Common in Sussex except on heavy soils. Widespread in Britain, Europe, temperate Asia3 -++------'''"----'-+__ and North Africa.4 5Rumex acetosella subsp. acetoseJ/a. Sheep's sorrel.Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).Widespread and common on open rides, dry banks, disturbed ground and sometimes onlitter in heathland. The few plants checked have all had the fruiting perianth separated fromthe achenes and are subsp. acetosella; little is known about the distribution of subsp.pyrenaicus in which the perianth is not easily separated from the ripe achenes. On some ofthe sandy commons in West Sussex the leaves may be very narrow and in-rolled - theseplants have been called 1 R. tenuifolius' though this is now known to be a growth form on drysoils (see Rich & Rich 1988); on the wetter Ashdown Forest soils no narrow-leaved plantshave been seen.s species is dioecious, with male plants flowering earlier than female ones. The male plants also put moreresources into vegetative growth than female plants, and may be able to persist better in closed vegetation (Grime et al.1988). It has a good seed bank allowing it to recolonise after drought (Hintikka 1990L and young plants were veryabundant after the 1995 drought in many places on open soils, such as around Gills Lap (468.319).Common on acidic soils in Sussex, Britain and much of the world.Rumex acetosa subsp. acetosa. Common sorrel, Sorrow.Common in damp grassland, on rides and on verges.Recorded in 93% of the tetrads in Sussex (Hall 1980). Widespread and common inSussex, Britain, Europe, temperate Asia, Japan, North America and Greenland.J4 5Rumex crisp us subsp. crispus. Curled dock.It is interesting to find that this species, one of the commonest angiosperms and mostwidespread plants around the world, is not common on Ashdown Forest although it has beenrecorded from over half of tr_e squares. It is mainly a nitrophile, so where it does occur on theForest it is found in disturbed places, grassland and villages.Recorded in 95 % of the tetrads in Sussex (Hall 1980). Common and increasing in Britain(Rich & Woodruff 1996), and common in Europe and most of Africa.Rumex x pratensis (R. crispus x obtusifolius; R. acutus).Heron's Ghyll, near Fairwarp, A. H. Wolley-Dod (Wolley-Dod 1937).Recorded in the private meadow at Braberry Hatch (428.296), 1994, TR & DK with bothparents, but possibly present elsewhere and overlooked.It is supposed to be frequent in Britain.4 5