Flora of Ashdown Forest - Botanical Society of the British Isles

82Vaccinium myrtillus. Bilberry, Hurts, Whorts.Ashdown Forest, 1842 (BTN). Ashdown Forest, E. Jenner (Arnold 1887). Ashdown Forest,(Done 1914). Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).We have recorded it from most squares with the exception of a few around the edge andthe exposed hill top north-east of Camp Hill. Fruits are still collected locally for eating, for iinstance 2 kg were collected ,n 1985 (AFN 8: 20).It occurs in two main habitats on the Forest; in the open heaths with Cal/una especially'where slightly damp and acidic (soil pHs measured were 3.2, 3.6, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.2), and inthe woodlands. The woodland plants may be relict from former open heathland which hasbeen colonised by trees, for instance north of Priory Road (410.338), and it is often found on 'slightly raised banks along streams (e.g, Kidbrooke, 416.335). Bilberry survives in shade better than Erica cinerea orCal/una, and spreads clonally to form some quite large patches. It is replaced on dry soils by E. cinerea, and may dominateon more disturbed soils as for instance on the bronze age barrow at Four Counties (467.312) where it is mixed withbracken.Bilberry can also be a natural component of woodland on acidic, rocky soils in the Weald, and it can become dominantin woodland where there is no grazing. Sometimes in southern England the leaves are retained through the winter, andphotosynthesis in both the leaves and the green stems during the winter may be important in helping the plants survive inwoodland.Its reproduction has been described by Ritchie (1956) and Welch et al. (1994). There are two flowering periods, onein spring and one in early summer. The first flowers can be found in March in mild winters on the Forest, often when thereare only a few leaves on the plants. They are mainly insect-pollinated, and produce an average of 18 seeds per berry. Theberries are eaten by birds (e.g. pheasants; Pickard 1930) and small mammals, but in Scotland seemed to be taken afterthey had fallen to the ground rather than from the bushes themselves. The seeds germinate best when given a coldtreatment and light, and are short-lived with a marked drop in viability within three years. Seedlings are apparently rare inthe wild, and most reproduction is by vegetative spread.It is widespread on moorland and mountains in the north and west of Britain, and in the Weald, New Forest and onacidic soils around London, but is virtually absent from the Midlands. It is widespread in Europe and North Asia.PYROLACEAEpyrola rotundifolia subsp. rotundifolia. Round-leaved wintergreen.Near Forest Row, 1 August 1935, Miss Parsons, confirmed by A. J. Wilmott IBM; dated '1937' in Wolley-Dod 1937).Small patch on sandy bank in Hindleap Warren with Vaccinium myrtillus, 1948, R. A. Boniface. "Lots of these perfectflowers ... decorate a bank" (Ross 1955). Ashdown Forest, O. Buckle, July 1958 (pers. comm. to DS). Photographed inperfect flower, 12 September 1965 (Bulletin Kent Field Club 11: 27). TetrEld 438 (Hall 1980). The last record we havetraced was 3-4 spikes, 1978, F. Tebbutt; he monitored it for many years and it disappeared after a severe winter. It isprobably extinct and no plants have been seen at this site for many years. With its loss from this site P. rotund/folia hasbecome extinct in Sussex.This site was on a bank of the road between Forest Row and Goat cross-roads (c. 406.334). A slide taken by F.Tebbutt in 1968 showed three spikes on a bank associated with Vaccinium, Hedera, Lotus, Fragaria, Lonicera and grasses.This is a Nationally Scarce Species, which has only been recorded in 42 10-km squares in Britain since 1970 (Rumsey1994). In the south it occurs in fens, dune slacks, chalk pits and under willow scrub, most of which are usually damp andcalcareous, and in Scotland in pine woods, mountain ledges and the sides of burns. The site at Forest Row is certainlydamp and north-facing but not very calcareous, which may explain why it did not persist as long as it has elsewhere.It is also native in Europe, northern Asia and Asia Minor.PRIMULACEAEPrimula vulgaris. Primrose.Common on the Forest (Hall 1980).We have found it frequently around the edges of the Forest in old woodland, hedge banksand sometimes on verges (e.g. replanted after disturbance on verge south-east of Chuck Hatchat 454.332). It has occasionally been planted out on the Forest too - a few plants occur by alay-by on Ridge Road (442.325), and probably around a number of houses and farms. Pinkfloweredplants were seen near Camp Hill (46.28), 1993, RN & ER, and 200 metres south-eastof Balcombe Farm (390.312L 1995, TR, possibly a result of crossing with garden plants orpossibly natural (Valentine 1975). An investigation of the ratios of the pin and thrum flowersnear Fernhill by TR and Nick Hinson found 21 of each form.Prior to the First World War, primrose seeds were collected and sold to Carter's seed merchants, £1 for a poundweight of seed (Mrs E. Vernon, Horney Common, pers. comm. to MR).Seed production is limited by pollination; although bees and butterflies have been observed to visit the flowers they doso only rarely, and they are probably pollinated at night by moths (80yd et al. 1990). Helliwell (1980) found thatgermination was poor and few seedlings survived on acidic soils of less than pH 4.7, and soil pH is presumably the reasonour plants occur around the edges of the Forest (three oH measurements were 4.9, 5.2 and 5.6). It does occur in the