Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

80Gaultheria mucronata (Pernettya mucronafa). Prickly heath.Plants are occasionally naturalized, as near Goat cross-roads (401,327) in a damp marshwhere it was first noted in 1988, PW and has been spreading since. It is grown in gardens•• and is either spread by birds or establishes from garden throw-outs. The berries arepoisonous.3-o-r----------~-- There are a few records from acidic soils in Sussex (Hall 1980), and it is naturalized mostwidely on moorland and in damp woods in Scotland and Ireland. It is native in South America.4 5* Gaultheria shallon. Shallon.Planted, as at the Old Lodge Estate as covert for the blackcock which were once bred there,for pheasants and other game, or escaped from gardens. A very large patch c. 10 metres'across occurred in the National Trust woodland east of Wych Cross (423.322), but otherwise imost patches are quite small. There are a few records from acidic soils in Sussex (Hall 1980)'and it is also naturalized in Surrey especially on Leith Hill, and it is scattered elsewhere inBritain. It is native in western North America.A hybrid between G. shallon and G. mucronata has been reported in Britain and should be4 5looked for where the two plants occur together. Potential sites to search for the hybrid where'the species grow near each other are near Goat cross-roads and woods near St John's.*Enkianthus species.Two plants of an unidentified species (possibly E. campanulatus) were recorded near houses,Nutley 1447.272), 1994, AK & PD.3 -1-1------'+4 5Cal/una vulgaris. Heather, Ling.'Customary tenants ought by custom to have heath, bracken and gorse to burn for the needsof their houses Extent of Ashdown Forest 1274. On the Forest (Firmin 1890). AshdownForest, with white form, 1910, Miss P. Stockdale IBEX). Common on the Forest IHal1 1980).Heather used to be cut on the Forest for litter on a 10-12 year rotation (J, Waiters, pers.comm. 1995). It was also reputedly used for making brooms which were so hard-wearingthey were not commercially viable O.e. no repeat sales), so birch was more generally used,with heather brooms only on the private estates. There have been recent authorised sales bythe Wood Reeve of heather turves and thatching heather. The Ashdown Forest Centre wasinitially roofed with heather, but it rotted after a few years as it did not shed the watersatisfactorily {one visitor asked if it bloomed every year! AFN 5: 12-13}.Heather is particularly important as the principal component of heath land on Ashdown Forest today. It occurs on bothwet and dry acidic soils, and soil pHs measured where it is dominant were 3.4, 3.6, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 4.0 and 4.6. Manyinvertebrates have evolved to live on it, including the silver-studded blue butterfly and the emperor moth. The Dartfordwarbler, a rare bird found on the Forest in good numbers when weather conditions allow, needs dry heath and often nestsin Calluna with gorse. In order to maintain suitable conditions for it, current management on the Forest aims to maintain amosaic of different ages. This is often achieved by cutting with a forage harvester, removing the litter to preventmulching. However, most of the heather on the Forest is on ground which is not accessible by tractor, and is becomingsenescent; these areas may be lost to birch invasion in the near future. White-flowered plants have been noted in 49.28,45.30 and elsewhere.Ashdown Forest supports a significant proportion of the Sussex population of silver-studded blue butterflies. Thesecommonly feed on Calluna and Erica and can be seen on the wing in July and August (AFN 30: 18).Decreasing in England (Rich & Woodruff 1996), but still very widespread in Britain except the Midlands. Widespread'In Europe except the south. Also found in Morocco and the Azores.