Author: Sim Elliott

Amateur Naturalist. Volunteer with Brighton & Hove SpeakOut (advocate for people with learning disabilities). Volunteer with RSPB Pagham Harbour (walk leader & ranger). Volunteer with the Lost Woods of the Low Weald and South Downs (lichen walk leader). Retired teacher (SEND). BMus, PGCE, MA (History of Art), MSc (Psychology)

Notable vascular plants of medieval woodland shaws north-west of Cowfold, West Sussex. Low Weald. 23.10.25

Above: South-facing edge of the east-west rectangle and the weest facing edge of the north rectangle of the L-shaped unnamed shaw

Below: Shaw shown with pink line. OS Maps © Crown copyright as accessed 22/10/25

This shaw has no name. I visit it frequently because it has a special charm; it encapsulates the essence of the small parcels of ancient woodland in the Low Weald; a landscape that has preserved its medieval patten of fields, hedgerows, shaws and woodlands. To get to it I walk through Bushygrove and Bakers shaws, named shaws of a similar character to this unnamed shaw. I take the 17 bus from Brighton to Cowfold to reach it.

A shaw is a strip of woodland usually between 5 and 15 metres wide. Shaws mostly form boundaries between fields. They are usually composed of semi-natural woodland and often have diverse woodland ground vegetation similar to other semi-natural woodlands in the area. In the Low Weald shaws may be the relicts of former larger woods, or they may have developed from narrower hedgerows. A look at the Natural England map of ancient woodland shows how many shaws in West Sussex are semi-natural ancient woodland

Map from DEFRA Open Data Ancient Woodland

All sections of text in italics are quotations; sources given at the end of the quotes.

Most of the Wealden hedgerows – including shaws (narrow belts of woodland remaining when fields have been cut from woodlands) – are likely to date from the time of medieval assarts (fields derived from the general, unplanned clearance of woodlands and unenclosed commons by individuals). In Mid Sussex, as elsewhere in the Weald, there are relatively few hedgerows stemming from the formal enclosure of fields. The Weald appears to have a significant proportion of species rich/ancient hedgerows, revealed by the frequency of indicator species such as field maple, spindle and hazel. However, the data is not yet available to assess with any degree of accuracy the number, length and type of hedgerows in Sussex and its Districts. Mid Sussex District Council (2005) A Landscape Character Assessment For Mid Sussex.

Shaws are important relicts of long-lost woodland: In 1210 Beeding Manor had outlying farms in Cowfold and in 1256 the Bishop of Chichester’s chase extended down the whole East side of Cowfold Parish across to the Southwest corner and from there to near the centre of the northern boundary of the Parish. By 1257 the Cowfold tenants, customary and free, formed a distinct group. A large proportion of the Parish was woodland or orchards and remained so until the mid 18th century. Cowfold Parish Council. (2024) Cowfold Neighbourhood Plan 2019-2031. p.9

I am writing this post to “big-up” the biological importance of small, especially unnamed, shaws: to draw attention to the beauty of small patches of woodland. They are greatly under threat from development. There are many new housing development in-between the South Downs north of Brighton and the High Weald, in the Low Weald, transacted by the A281 (Pyecombe to Horsham) and the A273 (Pyecombe to Haywards Heath. As I travel on the 17 bus on the A281 or the buses 270,271, or 272 on the A273, I see the continuous building of new housing, and plans for housing are continually presented to planning authorities e.g. The Argus (21/02/25) Plans for dozens of homes near Cowfold are revealed

Sussex sits between two immovable features—the coast of the English channel and Greater London. In many places, it is the only ribbon of truly green land preventing unbroken concrete from connecting the two. … we have a legal commitment to net zero, but we are building homes in the middle of nowhere whose occupants are wholly reliant on a car to go anywhere. Andrew Griffith MP Arundel and South Downs Hansard Housing Developments: West Sussex Volume 679: debated on Monday 7 September 2020

The Low Weald lacks the higher level of protection of the South Downs, which is a National Park, and the High Weald, a National Landscape (area of outstanding natural beauty), not that that necessarily offers between protection in practice to the South Downs and High Weald

I became aware of this shaw from a map of Wild Service Trees

in Dave Bang’s excellent book.(2018) The Land of the Brighton Line: A Field Guide to the Middle Sussex and Southeast Surrey Weald 018  ISBN: 978095486382

This unnamed shaw has large maiden trees – Wild Service, Pedunculate Oak, and Ash – with an understory of Field Maple, Hazel, Hawthorn, Wild Cherry and Midland Thorn. Wild Service, Midland Thorn and Wild Cherry are ancient woodland indicators.

It’s ground flora includes the ancient woodland indicators Bluebells and Wood Anemone, in the Spring, and Butchers Broom, all year round. In a nearby stand Spurge-Laurel and Wood Spurge can be found.

This blog does not attempt to be a full survey of the vascular plants in this shaw; it is just the things I found particularly noticeable.

Ancient Woodland Indicators visible in Autumn

Sorbus torminalis Wild Service Tree

Trunk. This trunk of a maiden Wild Service Tree is covered in lichen so it hard to see the trunks morphology

Most Wild Service Trees have few lichens from my experience, but on the side which gets most light this tree had abundant lichens.

This trunk in the shaw shows the typical bark of Wild Service Tress; many Wild Service Trees in the Low Weald have been coppiced into two trunks. (e.g. the large Wild Service Tree in Furzefield Wood nr. West Grinstead and the numerous Wild Service Trees of West Wood nr. Burgess Hil)

Leaves and fruit

Crataegus laevigata, Midland Thorn

Trunk and leaves

Fruit

Midland Thorn has two (or more) seeds in their haws, whereas Hawthorns have only one

This Midland Thorn Flower on 29/04/25; with twin stigmas

Prunus avium Wild Cherry

Wild Cherries can be identified just by their trunk morphology which is so characteristic. However, in spring their white flowers are very characteristic; and in summer so are their berries. However, ripe berries are almost immediately eaten by birds; if you are lucky enough to see them, they make a very nice fruity snack on a walk

This species mostly develops single, straight trunks with a thin, smooth purplish-grey bark that becomes grey-brown with horizontal fissuring and peeling when old. Tree species | European Atlas of Forest Tree Species – Prunus avium

Wild Cherry flowers from a tree in Baker’s Shaw; 400m south of this (unnamed shaw) in the Spring

Malus sylvestris, Crab Apple – Fruit.

Theses crab apples trees were in Bushygrove Shaw. Crab Apples are easiest to identify in Autumn when their fruits are on the forest floor; just look up and you’ll see the tree(s) they came from. This autumn is a “mast year” when fruits from trees are abundant.

Ruscus aculeatus Butchers Broom

Butchers broom is a shrub which grows under trees in ancient woodlands; it’s leaves and flowers are very characteristic. Butcher’s broom leaves are not true leaves but are actually flattened stems called cladodes, with sharp spikes on the ends of the cladodes. Its flowers bloom in very early spring; and female flowers produce berries in Summer, which persist into Autumn

Butchers broom is known as an ‘ancient woodland indicator’. This is because it doesn’t colonise new habitats or spread easily to new woods; where it is growing, the wood has usually been there for a very long time. … Look beneath the deciduous trees, even in the more shaded areas.

Butchers broom is quite unlike any other British plant. It is a short evergreen bush growing up to about two feet high and all the leaves end in a pointed spike; one of its old English names is ‘knee holly’. In early spring, the tiny, pale green six-petalled flowers sit in the middle of the leaf and show that these leaves are, technically, flattened stems.

Butchers broom was used to scour butcher’s blocks until the nineteenth century. The spiky leaves seem ideal for getting into the cuts of old wooden blocks to clean them. New Forest National Park Butchers Broom

Fruit:

Ancient Woodland Indicators seen on other visits:

Euphorbia amygdaloides Wood Spurge seen on 29.08.24 in Baker’s Shaw; 400m south of this (unnamed shaw)

Anemonoides nemorosa Wood Anemone 16.04.25

Carex sylvatica Wood Sedge – seen on 29.08.24 in Baker’s Shaw; 400m south of this (unnamed shaw)

The locations of Bushygrove and Baker’s Shaws

Map above from iNaturalist community. Observation of Euphorbia amygdaloides from Cowfold, Sussex observed on 29/08. Exported from https://www.inaturalist.org on 25.10.25 showing Bushygrove and Bakers Shaw

Detail of Bushygrove and Bakers Shaw

Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell in Spring 29.04.25

Daphne laureola Spurge-Laurel

In Baker’s Shaw; 400m south of this (unnamed shaw)

Mercurialis perennis Dog’s Mercury – viewed 29.04.25

Other vascular plants in the Shaw

The large maidens, with “white” lichen-covered bark, are Ash, Pedunculate Oak (and Wild Service)

The understory is Hawthorn, Field Maple, Hazel, Holly (and Midland Thorne)

Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak

Pedunculate Oaks leaves and acorns in autumn are very distinctive. In some areas of the Low Weald, especially on the Greensand Ridge there are Sessile Oaks, e.g. at Rakes Hanger, near Liss (hanger in West Sussex)

A useful guide from Natural Resources Wales

Pedunculate Oak; tree with yellow-brown leaves

Trunk of Pedunculate Oak. The sides of trunks which receive most light are often covered in lichens. This maiden Oak is on the edge of the shaw

This Oak also has a beautiful fingus growing on it:

Phaeotremella foliacea Leafy Brain

Fraxinus excelsior Ash

This maiden Ash, on the edge of the Shaw, is typical of an Ash with Ash Dieback Disease, with no leaves (in October, whilst Ash is deciduous, you would except to see some leaves)

When Ash has leaves their leaves are very characteristic; as are their samaras.

Samaras are the winged, single-seeded fruits, commonly called “ash keys, that can be seen in Autumn and Winter within the shaw were healthier Ash showing these features:

Ash is an extremely important tree for lichens; it is the tree species with the second highest diversity of lichens, according to the British Lichen Society

Ash dieback will kill up to 80% of ash trees across the UK. At a cost of billions, the effects will be staggering. It will change the landscape forever and threaten many species which rely on ash.

Varicellaria hemisphaerica is a rare UK lichen, and it is on the Ash on the south-facing edge of the shaw; this Ash is dying

Acer campestris, Field Maple

Crataegus monogyna, Hawthorn

Corylus avellana Hazel

Taxus baccata English Yew, in Baker’s Shaw

Fungi along the Wealdway path from Rock Wood to Crest Farm nr. Fairwarp. High Weald. 4.10 & 13.10.25

I walked this route twice; once on my own (4/10/25) and once with a friend (13/10/25). The first time I got the 29 bus from Brighton and got off at Perryman’s Lane and got on at Barnsgate manner.

The sighting I enjoyed most (on 13/10/25) was a Minotaur Beetle, Typhaeus typhoeus, on Devil’s-Fingers, Clathrus archeri, under Bracken beside the path. Clathrus archeri is also called Octopus Stinkhorn because is stinks of rotting organic matter, which attracted the Minotaur Beetle (a dung nettle) who then obligingly propagated the fungus’ spores. I had read about Clathrus archeri‘s ability to attract spore-disseminators through scent; but it was great to see this in the field. Minotaur beetles emerge as adults in the autumn. Males like this one, die after mating

Clathrus archeri  is not native; it was accidentally introduced from New Zealand in materials sent to Britain from New Zealand for ANZAC stationed in the UK during WWI

The route we took is marked in pink. The route passes through the southern part of Ashdown Forest. British Geological Survey: Ashdown Formation – Sandstone and siltstone, interbedded. Sedimentary bedrock formed between 145 and 133.9 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Rocks Wood, Furnace Wood, Payne’s Hill and Campfields Rough is designated by Nature England as Ancient and Semi-Natural Woodland

The yellow-green areas on the map are Access Land and are the parts of Ashdown Forest that still is common land. The resistance of the commoners to the enclosure of Ashdown Forest in the 17th century resulted in almost half the original Forest remaining as common land

Fungi are hard to identify. These field guides are evry useful Roger Philips (2005) Mushrooms and Bucazki , Shields and Ovenden (2012) Collins Fungi Guide. The smartphone App Obsidentify is also useful, but not infallible; always check its identification with a field guide. Some of my identifications for 04/10/25 may be wrong!

The website First Nature – Fungi is extremely useful for identification and for information about UK fungi

This is not a complete list of all the fungi we saw; it is a list of the fungi I took a reasonable photo of!

04/10/25

Russula claroflava, Yellow Swamp Brittlegill, under Silver Birch

Lactarius quietus Oakbug Milkcap, under a Pendunculate Oak Oakbug milkcap is an important mycorrhizal species for oak trees, forming cooperative relationships with oak roots. Woodland Trust

Amanita muscaria Fly Agaric. Very common, often associated with Birch

This Fly Agaric has contorted to form a goblet shape (13/10/25)

Siberian use of fly agaric may have played a part in the development of the legend of Santa Claus too. At midwinter festivals the shaman would enter the yurt through the smoke hole and down the central supporting birch pole, bringing with him a bag of dried fly agaric. After conducting his ceremonies he would leave the same way he had come. Ordinary people would have believed the shaman could fly himself, or with the aid of reindeer which they also knew to have a taste for fly agaric. Santa is now dressed in the same colours as the fly agaric, carries a sack with special gifts, comes and goes via the chimney, can fly with reindeer and lives in the ‘Far North’. Trees for Life: Fly Agaric Folklore

Coprinus comatus Shaggy Inkcap

A somewhat sketchy sketch of a Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) drawn using the ink produced by a fellow Shaggy Inkcap! by Jane Baxter

Amanita rubescens Blusher

Blushers are mycorhizal with hardwood and softwood trees; they are particularly abundant in many conifer forests on poor acidic soils, where they occur in small groups more often than singly. First Nature

Leccinum aurantiacum Orange Bolete

 Widespread and abundant in Scandinavia and in Scotland, but it is increasingly rare further south, especially in lowland areas. … All Leccinum species are ectomycorrhizal, and most are found only with one tree genus. Leccinum aurantiacum is mycorrhizal most commonly with poplars and aspen (Populus species) and with oak trees (Quercus species); less often it occurs with other broadleaf trees including beech and birches. First Nature

Cortinarius violaceus Violet Webcap

In Britain and Ireland, where it is a very rare find, the Violet Cortinarius grows … rich woodland habitats mainly under Beeches and other broadleaf trees but also very occasionally with conifers. This is a mushroom of late summer and autumn. First Nature Red data list: near threatened. A mycorrhizal mushroom found in deciduous woodland

Amanita fulva Tawny Grisette

Initially egg-shaped, the cap expands to become flat but with a small raised central area (an umbo). The edge of the cap is striated (with comb-like radial ridges). Amanita fulva is mycorhizal with hardwood and softwood trees; it is commonly found beside woodland paths. First Nature

Amanita phalloides Deathcap

 It is said that Agrippina murdered her husband, Roman Emperor Claudius, by mixing deathcap juice with Caesar’s mushrooms (Amanita caesarea). He died of poisoning a few days after the meal. Voltaire claimed that Charles VI died by deathcap poisoning. Woodland Trust

13.10.25

Clavulina cinerea Grey Coral Fungus. In leaf litter in Furncae Wood (Hornbeam, Oak a and Scots Pine) Considered to be mycorrhizal; on the ground beneath deciduous trees as well as conifers; usually where there is a build up of leaf litter. First Nature

Boletus edulis Penny Bun.

Weighty, fat cap like a crusty, well-baked bun. It is slugs (including the scarce lemon slug (Malacolimax tenellus), several species of mushroom fly, as well as other insects and their larvae. Mythology and symbolism. … In folklore it is said that the best time to hunt for penny bun and other ceps is when it’s a full moon. … They are called porcini (little pigs) in Italy, cep (trunk, because of the fat stem) in France and Steinpilz (stone mushroom) in Germany. Woodland Trust

Lactarius quietus Oakbug Milkcap, under Oak (Quercus robur)

Mycorrhizal with oak trees. Although Lactarius quietus could be confused with several other medium-sized pale brown milkcaps, the fact that it occurs only under oak trees is a great help in identifying this species First Nature

When identifying fungi, what trees thet are near too is very important to identification.

Lactarius torminosus Woolly Milkcap

Mycorrhizal, found under birch trees nearly always in damp places. First Nature

Datronia mollis Common Mazegill

Datronia is a genus of poroid crust fungi Datronia mollis fungi cause a white rot in broadleaf trees. It is saprobic fungus. saprobic fungus. Its is not a parastic fungis which live on or in a living host, and eventually kill it; saprobic fungi feed on dead material. Saprobic fungi play a major role in breaking down and recycling wood and other forest debris, creating healthy soil, and freeing up nutrients for microbes, insects, and growing plants. Mount Rainier Park Service

Mycena rosea Rosy Bonnet

Like many other species in the genus Mycena, the Rosy Bonnet is reported to be bioluminescent, emitting a weak green light (wavelength in the region of of 520 to 530 nanometres). … Saprobic, among leaf litter in deciduous woods and mixed woodland. First Nature

Suillellus queletii Deceiving Bolete

Occasional in southern Britain but increasingly rare further north. … Suillellus queletii is an ectomycorrhizal fungus; it is usually found growing on alkaline soil beneath hardwood trees, notably oaks but also beech and limes First Nature

Ectomycorrhizal fungi … are intimately associated with the roots of most temperate tree species. Hyphae, the thread-like filaments of fungi, wrap around the root tips of the tree and through them water uptake and nutrient exchange take place. The hyphae are also known to provide trees with a degree of resistance from drought and also serve as a protective barrier from diseases.

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are intimately associated with most temperate tree species and have demonstrated important and rapid shifts in species composition and abundance in response to a range of environmental stresses (e.g. droughts, eutrophication and/or acidification of forest soils).

Monitoring of changes in ECM fungal communities might, as a result, serve as a sensitive early warning indicator of environmental change that has the potential to be disruptive to trees. This might develop where environmental change, such as the eutrophication of forest soils, interferes with the varied functional roles of ECM, including the vital roles of facilitating carbon, nutrient and water uptake in trees. Forest Research

Laccaria amethystina Amethyst Deceiver

During dry spells the caps and stems of Laccaria laccata become much paler and eventually almost white. The specimen seen here is not yet completely dry; its cap is becoming paler from the centre. Eventually, Amethyst Deceivers become pale buff, as do the common Deceivers. This makes identification of old specimens even more difficult. … Among leaf litter in all kinds of woodland but particularly plentiful under beech trees, with which it is ectomycorrhizal. First Nature

“Mycorrhizal” is a broad term for a symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots, while ectomycorrhizal is a specific type of mycorrhizal relationship where the fungus forms a sheath outside the root cells and does not penetrate them. The other main type, endomycorrhizal (also called arbuscular), involves the fungus penetrating and entering the root cell. sThe other main type, endomycorrhizal (also called arbuscular), involves the fungus penetrating and entering the root cells. Wenchen Song (2024) Ectomycorrhizal fungi: Potential guardians of terrestrial ecosystems

Paxillus involutus Brown Roll-Rim


Brown Rollrim is classified as a gilled member of the order Boletales, and like the boletes themselves it forms ectomycorrhizal relationships with tree. First Nature

Russula nigricans Blackening Brittlegill

Russula nigricans, the Blackening Brittlegill, is a very variable species in terms of its size, shape and colour: it changes in each of these respects quite markedly as it matures, eventually becoming black all over. … The Blackening Brittlegill is, like other Russula species, ectomycorrhizal.

Paralecanographa grumulosa and other lichens on the walls of St Nicholas’ Church, Bramber, West Sussex. 24.06.25

My interest in this church was peaked by this listing in the Sussex Rare Plant Register (which also includes lichens)

Lecanactis hemisphaerica [now Paralecanographa grumulosa], Churchyard Lecanactis

This species, which usually occurs on window ledges on the north side of churches, was first found in Sussex by Francis Rose and Peter James on mortar on Pagham Church in 1990. Since then, it has been found at several other sites in Sussex. Its British headquarters is south-eastern England.

Location / Grid ref. / Last seen
West Thorney Church SU769024 1990
Boxgrove Priory SU907075 1990
Pagham Churchyard SZ883976 1993
Bramber Churchyard TQ186106 2001
Hamsey Church TQ413121 2001
Rodmell Church TQ421062 1990
Pevensey Castle TQ644048 1990
Camber Castle TQ921184 1997

I had never heard if this lichen, so I looked it up. It is now called Paralecanographa grumulosa and it is considered Nationally Scarce by the British Lichen Society

There are many more interesting lichens on the walls of this church. I have detailed some of them here. This is very far from a complete survey of the lichens of the church; these are just what I found on a two-hour visit.

North Wall

Paralecanographa grumulosa in the surrounds of windows of north walls of churches.

The fact that its apothecia were large, roundish and elongate, black, and partially  immersed. with grey pruina (see description in Dorset Lichens) made it obvious that this was P. grumulosa, even though I had never seen it before, as the description of its apothecia is unlike any other lichen I know. However, I did do a chemical reagent test, and a tiny drop of sodium hypochlorite turned its thallus red.

Also on the north wall was another rare lichen: Ingaderia vandenboomii. Rare, on vertical coastal siliceous rocks and on north facing church walls. BLS conservation evaluation: Least Concern but Nationally Scarce

When its thin, sightly uneven thallus is white-pink it is fairly easy to spot by overall appearance; but the thallus is not always white-pink. However, a tiny drop of sodium hypochlorite turned its thallus instantly red

Xanthoria parietina Golden Shield Lichen

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Myriolecis dispersa Mortar Rim Lichen

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

West Wall

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Verrucaria nigrescens

Myriolecis albescens

South Wall

Verrucaria viridula

Myriolecis albescens

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Clauzadea monticola

East Wall

Sarcogyne regularis Frosted Grain-spored Lichen

Even if you are not interested in lichens, St Nicholas is a very  beautiful example of early norman architecture sited in a spectacular location next to the ruined Norman Bramber Castle

Bramber church stands on the same mound as the ruined castle and William de Braose, Lord of the Rape of Bramber, founded both. … The finest C11 work is in the crossing ..   The capitals are carved with volutes, heads and in one case the story of the fox and geese.  George Zarnecki (Zarnecki (1951) sees their flat carving, which is subordinated to the shape of the capitals, as further evidence of their C11 date.  Bramber St. Nicholas’  Sussex Parish Churches

The Silver-studded Blue and other Butterflies & Moths; Bees, Wasps & Flies (that eat each other); and Grasshoppers and Dragonflies, at Iping Common & Iping Village 23.06.25

I make an annual pilgrimage to see the Silver Studded Blue butterflies at Iping Common. The Silver-Studded Blue, Plebejus argus, fly from the beginning of June to the middle of August; so there is only a small time window to see them each year. In Sussex they are entirely restricted to heathland. I get to Iping by public transport: I take the train from Brighton to Chichester ; the bus (60) from Chichester to Midhurst and then the bus 92 from Midhurst to Iping Common. Silver-Studded Blues can be seen only be seen at Chapel Common, Iping Common, Stedham Common and Ashdown Forest (camp Hill).

But in addition to Silver-studied blues I saw a plethora of other insects: other butterflies & moths, bees, wasps, flies, grasshoppers & dragonflies at Iping Common and Iping Village

The sandy soils of the Lowland Heaths (commons) of the greensand of Western Sussex (and Surrey and Hampshire) provide an extremely propitious habitat for insects, particularly mining solitary bees and wasps

Butterflies and Moths (order Lepidoptera)

Plebejus argus Silver-studded Blue

Distribution map from Michael Blencowe and Neil Hume, 2017, The Butterflies of Sussex: A Twenty-First Century Atlas p.278

The Silver-studded Blue is now the only species of butterfly which is intimately associated with the heathlands of Sussex, being part of an iconic fauna which includes the Nightjar, Dartford Warbler and Adder. Despite a huge contraction in its range, through decades of habitat loss and neglect, this colonial species remains numerous in its last remaining strongholds. It has become emblematic of attempts to restore and reconnect the remnants of our lowland heaths and provides an excellent indicator species for such recovery programmes. Michael Blencowe and Neil Hume, 2017,The Butterflies of Sussex: A Twenty-First Century Atlas p.278

  • Section 41 species of principal importance under the NERC Act in England
  • GB Red List (2022): Vulnerable                   
  • Protected under Schedule 5 of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act (for sale only

I saw about 40 individuals

Male

Female

Maniola jurtina Meadow Brown

Aricia agestis Brown Argus

Saturnia pavonia Emperor Moth

Solitary Wasps (order Hymenoptera)

Astata boops Shieldbug Digger Wasp

A parasitoid wasp Reuter used it [parasitoid] to describe the strategy where the parasite develops in or on the body of a single host individual, eventually killing that host, while the adult is free-living. Godfray, H. C. J. 1994 Parasitoids : behavioral and evolutionary ecology

Mainly sandy localities, such as inland heaths and coastal dunes. Flight period: Univoltine [one brood]; June to August. Prey collected Nymphs of pentatomid bugs [Shield Bugs or Stink Bugs] (Heteroptera). Nesting biology: According to Tsuneki (cited by Lomholdt, 1975-76) the nest is a burrow about 10 cm long terminating in one to three cells, which are placed one after the other as simple dilations of the tunnel. There are sometimes side branches, so that the nest may have as many as 12 cells. The female wasp flies the prey to the nest, where it is stored near the sealed nest entrance until there is sufficient to provision several cells. The egg is laid on the first stored bug in each cell. BWARS Astata boops

Hedychrum sp. A Jewel-Wasp, either H. nobile or H niemelai

Recorded from Cornwall to Kent and north to Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Also found in Jersey. … The name Hedychrum niemelai has been applied to both H. neimelai and H. nobile in the past.  … Separation of specimens is difficult, but possible. Habitat: Open sandy localities: lowland heaths, coastal dunes, cliffs with sandy deposits, and other disturbed locations, for example sandpits, footpaths and railway cuttings. Adults fly in bright sunshine around nesting sites of the hosts and feed at the nectaries and extra-floral nectaries of flowering plants. Flight period: Probably univoltine; mainly during July and August, but also during June and September and rarely during May. BWARS Hedychrum niemelai

Hedychrum nobile (Scopoli) was a species new to Great Britain in 2016 when first recognised in south-east England from specimens dating back to 1998 and 2003. It has been moving northwards throughout Britain over the past 24 years and has successfully colonised eastern and central England. This brood-parasitic chrysidid wasp continues to spread northwards into the East and West Midlands following the distribution of its preferred host, Cerceris arenaria [Sand Tailed Digger Wasp – see below] (L.). In total, 57 specimens of this new colonist have been identified from the West Midlands during field sampling undertaken in 2022. …

Despite the morphological and habitat-specific similarities between H. nobile, H. niemelai and H. rutilans all species exhibit differences in their ecology and parasitic biology. As brood parasites, jewel-wasps will seek out the nesting cells of a specific host before entering into their underground chambers to lay an egg hidden within the walls of the cell. On hatching, the brood parasite’s egg develops into a parasitoid larva that consumes and subsequently destroys the mature larva or prepupa of its host (Polidori et al., 2010). Jewel-wasps are heavily armoured to carry out this clepto-parasitism and can adopt a rolled up defensive posture when threatened or disturbed (Fig. 2d) (Bolton & Gauld, 1988; Early, 2015). Aaron Bhambra 2023 The Range Expansion Of The Noble Jewel-Wasp, Hedychrum Nobile (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), A Recent Colonist To Great Britain The British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 36: 2023

Genus Ammophila Thread-waisted Sand Wasps, possibly Ammophila sabulosam Red-belted Sand Wasp

Habitat: This wasp inhabits heathland, dunes and other coastal areas. Flight periodJune-September. Nesting biology A detailed study of the behaviour and ecology of marked A. sabulosa females has been made at a Breckland heathland site (Field, 1992). Nests usually occur at relatively low densities. Normally, a female digs a short burrow, ending in a horizontal cell, in bare or sparsely vegetated sand. Later, she temporarily closes the nest entrance using sand and tiny stones, then hunts for lepidopteran caterpillars in vegetation. About half of all cells are provisioned with just one large caterpillar, which is carried back on foot as it is sometimes more than ten times as heavy as the wasp. Other cells are provisioned with two to five smaller caterpillars (see Olberg, 1959). An egg is laid on the first caterpillar provisioned and rarely hatches before permanent closure of the nest burrow. After the last caterpillar has been interred the wasp permanently closes the burrow with a much deeper plug of sand, and camouflages the entrance with debris so that it is invisible to the human eye. All nests are unicellular. The whole nesting cycle, from searching for a digging site to closing the nest permanently after provisioning, takes an average of eight to ten hours of activity. Marked females each dug and provisioned up to ten nests during a summer. One of the most interesting aspects of this species’ behaviour is that almost all females, as well as digging their own burrows and hunting for prey, parasitise the freshly provisioned nests of other A. sabulosa. When a female detects a conspecific’s nest she digs through the closure plug and enters. If the nest is empty, she quickly comes out and re-closes it; but if it contains prey, she either steals one of the prey items, or eats the host’s egg, replacing it with her own (brood parasitism). Some 28% of eggs laid in their own nests are later destroyed by conspecific brood-parasites and prey thieves. Some nests are brood-parasitised up to four times, each time by a different female. Miltogrammine flies (Metopia spp.) destroy another 5% of A. sabulosa eggs, so that overall only about two-thirds survive to hatch. BWARS Ammophila sabulosa

Philanthus triangulum European Beewolf

Less than 20 years ago, this magnificent wasp, commonly known as the ‘bee wolf’ or ‘bee-killer’ was considered to be one of the great aculeate rarities in Britain. Records for the last few years indicate that currently the species is locally common to abundant in a steadily increasing number of sites in southern England, with a single record for north Wales (Else, 1993a, 1995a,b,e).

Habitat: Generally, sand dunes and lowland heaths. However, nesting aggregations have recently been found in a park in Ipswich, Suffolk, and on the Battersea Bridge roundabout, Greater London. Flight period: From early July to mid-September. In England there appears to be a single brood, but in central Europe a second generation is known (Lomholdt, 1975).

Prey collected: The major prey species throughout the world range of this wasp is the worker honey bee (Apis mellifera), and in some regions the wasp may greatly reduce the local populations (El-Borollosy, Wafa & El-Hefny, 1972). There are, however, reports of other bees being utilised: for example in Britain, Andrena flavipes and Lasioglossum zonulus (Smith, 1851a), and a Nomada sp. (C O’Toole, pers. comm.).

Nesting biology: This wasp nests in both level sandy exposures and in vertical soil faces. Some nesting aggregations may number as many as 15,000 burrows (Else 1995a,b). The main nest burrow may be up to 1 m in length, with 3-34 short lateral burrows at the end, each terminating in a cell (Lomholdt, 1975). The prey is paralysed by being stung through the articular membranes immediately behind the front legs (Rathmayer, 1962). Returning females, clutching the prey with their legs, often hover above the nest burrow before slowly descending to it. BWARS Philanthus triangulum

Flies (order Diptera)

Thyridanthrax fenestratus Mottled Bee-Fly

The Mottled Bee-Fly (Thyridanthrax fenestratus) is not something you see everyday. .. The Mottled Bee-Fly requires sandy or gravelly locations as it relies on the host wasp which creates its burrows in these areas. Damage to the burrows of the host wasp and loss of suitable habitats for the wasp has meant the Bee-Fly has previously been under threat. The Mottled Bee-Fly is a parasitoid of the sand wasp (Ammophila pubescens) or of the caterpillars gathered by the wasp for its larvae. This means that the bee-fly larvae develop inside either the larvae of the sand wasp or inside the caterpillars that the wasp collects; the host dies as a result of the development of the bee-fly. This is a ‘thermophilous’ (heat-loving) species, and occurs only in warm areas so this warm path in the summer sun was ideal. The adults feed on nectar, so a source of flowers is essential and the combination of heather and gravel or sand is the perfect combination. M. J Creighton 2015 New Forest Bee-Fly, Southampton Natural History Society

Solitary Bees (order  Hymenoptera)

Anthophora bimaculata Green-eyed Flower Bee

Anthophora bimaculata is restricted to southern England, with the most northerly record being from Norfolk. In Sussex, A. bimaculata is strongly associated with the sandy soils of the Lower Greensand and the High Weald south of Tunbridge Wells. It is also frequently found along the coast between Peacehaven and Beachy Head, and between Pevensey Bay and the dunes at Camber Sands. ... It can be abundant in locations with sandy deposits. James Power, 2024, The Butterflies of Sussex: p.278

Andrena flavipes Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Andrena flavipes has increased in abundance in recent years and is now the most frequently recorded solitary bee in the county. It is ubiquitous, occurring in just about every area. it is found on chalk grasslands, meadows and pasture, coastal habitats, heathlands and open woodlands, as well as in gardens and parks.

A. flavipes often establishes dense aggregations that can cover a wide area, especially on south-facing dopes and banks. Edward Saunders, writing in 1879, reported finding a large colony sited “in a bank by the side of the road near Hollington”. The larger aggregations can contain thousands of individual bees, with hundreds of nests sited close together. The brood cells can be as much as 23 cm below ground.

Males often patrol rapidly just above the nest site, zigzagging rapidly as they search for a female before pouncing to mate. Both sexes mate several times during the flight season.

A. flavipes brood cells are targeted by Nomada fucata. This is one of a small number of species targeted by the bee-fly Bombylius discolor. Female flies mix their eggs with dust that has been gathered into a special chamber, coating the eggs with the dust before flicking them onto an area of ground being used by nesting bees. On hatching from an egg, a fly larva will attempt to locate an open cell and wait until the bee larva is almost fully developed. At this point the developing fly latches onto its host to feed on its fluids before pupating and emerging as an adult fly. James Power, 2024, The Butterflies of Sussex: p.242-243

Grasshoppers (order Orthoptera)

Myrmeleotettix maculatus Mottled Grasshopper


The species feeds on grasses, but also mosses and herbs. Myrmeleotettix maculatus colonizes especially gappy sandy grasslands, sandy open woodlands, more rarely also stony calcareous grasslands, dry moorland with open peat spots or stony pastures in the mountains. Myrmeleotettix maculatus can be found, for example, in the Valais still at 2500 meters above sea level! Myrmeleotettix maculatus is very early adult from early or mid-June and can still be observed in early October. The eggs are deposited according to literature superficially into the loose substrate. Orthoptera and their ecology Myrmeleotettix maculatus

Dragonflies (order Odonata)

Cordulegaster boltonii Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Libellula depressa Broad-bodied Chaser

Along the Rover Rother at Iping Village

Dragonflies (order Odonata)

As I was walking along the bank of the River Rother from Chithurst to Iping, about 50-100 Beautiful Demoiselles flew around me as I walked through the bracken (on the footpath) on which they were perched. Quite an extraordinary sight.

Mainly found along streams and rivers, particularly those with sand or gravel bottoms. The males rest on bank side vegetation waiting for females. British Dragonfly Society Beautiful Demoiselle

The River Rother of the West Sussex flows from west to east from Empshott in Hampshire, England, to Stopham in West Sussex, where it joins the River Arun. It runs though

Calopteryx virgo Beautiful Demoiselle

Female

Male

Calopteryx splendens Banded Demoiselle

Butterflies and Moths (order Lepidoptera)

Ochlodes sylvanus Large Skipper

Polygonia c-album European Comma

Pieris napi Green-veined White

Lichens in Ashburnham Deer Park 16.06.25, and in the Ashburnham Park Woods and Terraces 17.06.25

Ashburnham Deer Park 16.06.25

On Monday morning 16.06.25 I walked from West Lodge, Steven’s Crouch (“Crouch” likely originates from the Old English word “crūc,” meaning “cross” and is common in the south-east Family Search: Crouch) to Tent Hill (different sources suggest that either the Norman or Saxon army camped on Tent Hill the night before the Battle of Hastings. The historically accepted battle site is Senlac Hill where Battle Abbey now stands. 1066 Walk Guide), along the 1066 Country Walk, through what I believe is the remains of Ashburnham’s Deer Park. The Ashbourne Place Historic England Listing suggests that this area is the Deer Park from West Lodge is a track through the deer park, running parallel to the A271 Ashburnham Place Historic England Listing. In the afternoon I visited the relicts of Ashbourne Furnace

West Lodge, designed by Robert Adam in ca. 1780, is one of the gateways into Ashburnham Park. The central carriage drive has wrought iron double gates with an overthrow containing the design of a tree and a coronet. The gates are flanked by stone piers surmounted by couchant greyhounds in stone. On each side are pedestrian gates with overthrows and similar piers without the greyhounds on top. Historic England Listing

Photo © Historic England

I got to Steven’s Crouch by public transport: train from Brighton to Bexhill,  then bus from Bexhill to Steven’s Couch/Catsfield Road . Stagecoach 95 bus Bus Times. Steven’s Couch, where West Lodge is, is about a 20 minute walk west along the road from the Steven’s Couch bus stop.

It is hard to know exactly where the historic deer park was; but the quality of lichens along the path, on a wayside Oak and a pollarded Ash, suggest ecological continuity suggestive of a medieval deer park, as mentioned in the Ashburnham Place SSSI specification. The SSSI includes Cowland Wood, just above the 1066 path. The north-west outlier of the SSSI, so it is probably likely that the 1066 path runs through the pasture woodland of the medieval deer park, even though it is not the SSSI

Deerpark Cottage (called Lodge on OS map) just south of Cowland Wood

Deerpark Cottage, Ashburnham Place 3.8.61 II Early C17. 2 storeys. 3 windows. Ashlar. Tiled roof. Casement windows of 4-lights with stone mullions and dripstones over. In the centre is a gabled porch with a 4-centred doorway and a room over. At each end is a stepped chimney breast. Historic England Listing

Location of Cowland Wood;the north-east outlier compartment of the SSSI on this SSSI map. I did not have time to explore Cowland Wood

Quercus robur at the end of the strip of trees that points north-east toward Cowland of the main compartment of the SSSI

with Rinodina roboris

an International Responsibility lichen

Certain British lichen assemblages are rich compared with equivalents elsewhere in Europe, and are of international importance (Fryday 2002; Coppins and Coppins 2005). This is partly associated with our oceanic climate, but also results from the extent of semi-natural habitat with relatively clean unpolluted air, and significant numbers of old trees2 in parkland and old growth pasture woodland (e.g. Farjon 2017). This contrasts with large tracts of western Europe (Rose 1992). It is the assemblages of hyperoceanic lichens that are of greatest significance at a European scale, and these are largely confined to woodlands (2.1.1) and

Southern oceanic old growth woodland lichen assemblages are outstandingly well-developed in the south of Britain, especially from North Wales south to Devon and Cornwall and east to the New Forest (Map 2) (Rose and James 1974; Sanderson 2010). The range of lichen communities of interest is greater than in the rainforests, consisting of: base-rich bark (Lobarion pulmonariae and Agonimion octosporae), acid bark (Parmelion laevigatae), smooth mesic bark (Graphidetum scriptae and Pyrenuletum chlorospilae), rough mesic bark (Pertusarietum amarae), dry bark and lignum on veteran and dead trees (Lecanactidetum Lichen communities, such as the Lobarion pulmonariae and Parmelion laevigatae are found in particular niches, such as base-rich bark or dry overhanging rock. Several communities can co-occur in a habitat, or even on a single tree. Neil Sanderson, Tim Wilkins, Sam Bosanquet and David Genney 1018 Guidelines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs. Part 2: Detailed Guidelines for Habitats and Species Groups Chapter 13 Lichens and associated microfungi. Joint Nature Conservation Committee 2018

This Oak also had

Lepra amara

a characteristic species of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae).

and Ramalina farinacea

This exceptional pollarded ancient Ash Fraxinus sylvatica on Tent Hill

had Ramalina fraxinea, and International Responsibility lichen

A fruticose species with distinctive long, pendant, strap-shaped lobes. Most branches are flat or slightly caniculate, but wrinkled, and widen from the base. Well-developed specimens display large, pale fawn apothecia along its entire thallus. Ramalina fraxinea can be distinguished from Ramalina fastigiata by its long, pendant lobes and the presence of apothecia along its entire lobes rather than only the apices. Scottish Lichens: Ramalina fraxinea

It’s ironic that it’s on Tent Hill; where William the Conqueror’s army slept before the Battle of Hastings. His win resulted in the establishment of the deer parks created on land given to his vassal barons, which resulted in the pasture woodland that rarer lichens love!

Also on this Ash was: Phaeophyscia orbicularis 

and Lecanora gangaleoides with Physcia adscendens over growing it

and Pertusaria pertusa

 A characteristic species of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae).

The common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, is currently listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. This means that while it doesn’t currently qualify for threatened status, it is close to qualifying or is likely to qualify in the near future. The primary threat to ash trees is the fungal disease known as ash dieback, caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Kew Gardens I have noted that pasture woodland Ash, seem to be doing better than Ash in tall forest woodland; perhaps because the space between trees in pasture woodland reduces the risk of infection

Ashburnham Park on Tuesday 17.06.25

I made a further visit to Ashburnham Park on Tuesday 17.06.25 after visiting with two lichenologist fiends on 12.06.25. See:

Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI 12.06.25.

This post only lists things that we didn’t see on Thursday, 12.06.25. This time, I travelled by public transport: train from Brighton to Polegate,  then bus from Polegate to Ninfield. Stagecoach 53 bus Bus Times. The walk from Ninfield to the entry to Ashburnham Park takes 49 minutes.

Woods

On the Quercus robur on the edge of the woods by the road near the main entrance was Varicellaria hemisphaerica

These Quercus robur have south facing trunks covered with lichens of the Pertusarietum amarae (mesic dry bark community): shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant, and Varicellaria hemisphaerica

Varicellaria hemisphaerica

and it was also on an Oak in Walk Wood

Chaenotheca ferrungea in bark grooves of a Quercus robur

We saw this last Thursday; but not with pin-head apothecia; the pinheads were just visible of this example.

In Walk Wood there were a number of notable maiden Hornbeams, Carpinus betulus in the woods. Normally, when I see Hornbeams in Sussex, they’re coppiced and have few lichens (mostly Pertusaria leioplaca and the Graphidetum scriptae association with Graphis scripta). But the Hornbeams in Ashburnham Park were much older non-coppiced maidens, which seem to have lichens of the Pyrenuletum nitidae association (this is listed by James et al (1977) a continental association, the tail end of which is seen on ancient Beech and Hornbeam in south east England  ….probably a separate southern oceanic community characterised by Pyrenula chlorospila with Enterographa crassa and Pyrenula macrospora) as well as of the Graphidetum scriptae association British Lichen Society Lichen Communities These hornbeam mosaics require more time than I had available to identify all their species.

This is probably Pyrenula chlorospila

on this Hornbeam

Possibly Enterographa crassa surrounded by Pertusaria hymenea & possibly Lecanora compallens

Pertusaria sp. surrounded by Graphis scripta sensu lato. The revision of the Graphidaceae lichens in the Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland III has split Graphis scripta into more than one species, and spore microscopy is required for definitive identification of Graphidaceae lichen

Lecanora chlarotera/hybocarpa (microscopy of the apothecia crystals with polarizing light is required to separate L. chlarotera from L. hybocarpa) was part of these Hornbeam mosaics.

In the extreme north east of the wood around Reservoir Pond, where we hadn’t visited on Thursdays 12.06.25 there were several huge ancient Quercus robur near the perimeter fence, next to open parkland

which had quite a lot of Enterographa crassa on smooth patches around its base

The Terraces

The terraces are on the front (south) of Ashburnham Place; they are approached by two central flights of steps bedecked with heraldic greyhounds. The terraces were designed by Neo-Classical architect George Dance in 1813.

Pyrenodesmia variabilis, previously Caloplaca variabilis an Terrace wall. Not common in Sussex and not recorded at Ashburnham despite being often surveyed as its an SSSI, probably because the terraces of the house are not in the SSSI blocks.

Kuettlingeria teicholyta, previously Caloplaca teicholyta, was abundant on the walls of the terraces and on the greyhound garden statutory on the pedestals next to the steps to the terraces

The limestone greyhounds were dominated by Kuettlingeria teicholyta and Circinaria contorta, with yellow flashes of Variospora flavescens

Many of the walls were dominated by Verrucaria nigrescens and Myriolecis albescens; all common on old walls.

Maidenhair Spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes, one of my favourite ferns. The moss Grimmia pulvinata, was also common on the walls, as it is on many Sussex old walls.

Lecidella stigmatea was also present on the walls

Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI 12.06.25.

I went to Ashburnham Park with two lichen friends, Dave and Sarah, to look at its lichens. Ashburnham Park is a top site in Sussex for epiphytic  0lichens. This is not necessarily a representative account of the lichen diversity at Ashburnham as we only had time to walk aploound part of the SSSI; further visits to this outstanding site are required. All the identifications were made collaboratively and are based on morphological features. Lichens marked # require spore microscopy to confirm identification. Thus, some of these identifications are provisional

JAshburnham one Nettlefold tdr  a former medieval deer park lying on Tunbridge Wells Sandstone and Wadhurst Clay. The ancient woodland is one of the largest remaining areas of its kind in the country and contains many overmature trees with outstanding lichen floras.

From the Natural England Sight of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) specification:

Overmature oaks and beeches occur throughout and support a great variety of
epiphytic lichens with over 160 species recorded from the site as a whole. Holly is also an important host supporting a number of particularly interesting species which are not common this far east of the New Forest.

Ash Fraxinus excelsior is more frequent on calcareous soils in the west of the site while damp alder Alnus glutinosa woodland occupies the stream valleys and lake margins. Areas of coppiced hazel Corylus avellana, hornbeam Carpinus betulus and sweet chestnut Castanea sativa occur throughout the site, and there are also small mixed plantations and many scattered exotic species.

Woodland corticolous lichens

Usnea ceratina

Fallen from a Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak), U. ceratina is one of the Southern Oceanic Woodland Index (SOWI) lichens of ecological continuity used to asses the quality of woodland sites for lichens (including determining which site might become SSSIs). At the end of this post is a table of all the SOWI lichens. Other SOWI lichens are marked SOWI.

A Quercus robur covered in Thelotrema sp. Bark Barnacle Lichen (SOWI). In the past there was only one Thelotrema sp., T. lepadinum but not it has been subdivide into two: T. lepadinum and

This is probably Thelotrema lueckingii SOWI, and Pertusaria leioplaca., on a Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa; one of a few planted in Ashburnham Park. When C. sativa is the main tree in replanted ancient woods it has only Graphidaceae lichens & Pertusaria spp. mostly P. leioplaca. But in here in semi-natural ancient woodland it is joined by a Thelotrema sp.

Similar to Thelotrema lepadinum in almost all details but deviating by the partly citrine yellow medulla (especially in the warts); the pigment reacts K+ red and darkens to an more orange colour when exposed. British Lichen Society Thelotrema luekingii

This is probably Cladonia floerkeana on lignum; red apothecia on podetia difficult to see in this photo

Cladonia caespiticia (SOWI) on Quercus robur

Cresponea premnea (SOWI) on Quercus robur

The dominant species of the Ancient Dry Bark Communities in souther oceanic woodlands (Lecanactidetum premneae) on dry bark on old trees, often with Lecanographa lyncea

Lecanographa lyncea (SOWI) on Quercus robur

Enterographa crassa meeting Cresponea premnea on a smooth patch of Quercus robur. It is possible, but unlikely that this is Enterographa sorediata (SOWI)

Arthonia radiata # on Quercus robur

Phaeographis dendritica # (SOWI) on Quercus robur with Thelotrema sp.

Possibly Phaeographis smithii # on oak twig.

Chaenotheca ferruginea

Anisomeridium sp. # probably: A. biforme

Chrysothrix candelaris Gold Dust Lichen

Pyrrhospora quernea, on Quercus robur

Lecanactis abietina, on Quercus robur

Graphis scripta # on Castanea sativa

Saxicolous Lichens on Capability Brown Bridge

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Glaucomaria (lecanora) sulphurea

Lecanora sulphurea parasitising Tephromela atra . Very few lichens are parasitic but L. sulphurea is very fond of T. atra.

Saxicolous lichens on walls of church and gravestones of Ashburnham, St Peter

Blastenia crenularia

Calogaya (Caloplaca) decipiens (yellow) and to the right (pits) Verrucaria hochstetteri

Verrucaria muralis

Myriolecis (Lecanora) albescens

Flavoparmelia caperata Common Greenshield Lichen

Ochrolechia parella, surrounded by Glaucomaria (Leanora) sulphurea

Not a lichen but a moth lava surrounded by lichen! Probably Luffia lapidella, one of the bagworm moths, whose larvae make cases out of lichen, and eat lichen.

Ashburnham Place

Lichens at Stopham Church. 14.06.25

Francis Rose considered St Mary’s to be one of the best churches in Sussex for lichens.  At present Stopham Church has the highest score, with over 130 lichens present Rose 1995 The Habitats and Vegetation of Sussex p.27. I didn’t have much time today for a good look today as I stopped off for just two hours in my journey back home from leading a bird walk; my total fell well short of 130!

The church stands on high ground near the confluence of the Arun and the Rother.  Most houses are nearby, well away from the fine mainly C15 bridge (no longer used by through traffic), where the risk of flooding was too great. Sussex Parish Churches: Stopham

Churchyards are of supreme importance for lichen conservation, particularly where there are no natural outcrops of rock. Of the 2000 British species, over a third have been found in churchyards and more than 600 have been found growing on churchyard stone in lowland England. Many are scarce and some seldom, if ever, occur in other habitats. Many churchyards are found to have well over 100 species. Churchyards provide an excellent environment for the study of lichen biology and colonisation. British Lichen Society Churchyard Lichens

South-facing wall

Lecanora polytropa Granite-speck Rim Lichen

Haematomma ochroleucum

Porpidia soredizodes

Myriolecis albescens

Candelariella vitellina Common Goldspeck

West-facing Wall

Myriolecis albescens

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Cladonia chlorophaea 

Cladonia pyxidata

North-facing Wall

Ingaderia vandenboomii

Psilolechia lucida Sulphur Dust Lichen

Glaucomaria sulphurea

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Diplotomma alboatrum

Leproplaca chrysodeta

East-facing wall

Circinaria calcarea Calcareous Rimmed Lichen

Tephromela atra being parasitised by Glaucomaria sulphurea

Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI 12.06.25. Part 1: The Lichens.

I went to Ashburnham Park with two lichen friends to look at its lichens. Ashburnham Park is a top site in Sussex for epiphytic lichens. This is not necessarily a representative account of the lichen diversity at Ashburnham as we only had time to walk around part of the SSSI; further visits to this outstanding site are required. All the identifications were made collaboratively and are based on morphological features. Lichens marked # require spore microscopy to confirm identification. Thus, some of these identifications are provisional

From the Natural England Sight of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) specification:

Ashburnham is a former medieval deer park lying on Tunbridge Wells Sandstone and Wadhurst Clay. The ancient woodland is one of the largest remaining areas of its kind in the country and contains many overmature trees with outstanding lichen floras.

Pedunculate oak Quercus robur and beech Fagus sylvatica woodland covers the
majority of the site including all of the northern outlier. It varies from a closed high forest to a very open woodland with holly Ilex aquifolium and birch Betula species and a shrub layer of bracken Pteridium aquilinum and bramble Rubus fruticosus. Mature Scots pines Pinus sylvestris occur throughout.

Overmature oaks and beeches occur throughout and support a great variety of
epiphytic lichens with over 160 species recorded from the site as a whole. Holly is also an important host supporting a number of particularly interesting species which are not common this far east of the New Forest.

Ash Fraxinus excelsior is more frequent on calcareous soils in the west of the site while damp alder Alnus glutinosa woodland occupies the stream valleys and lake margins. Areas of coppiced hazel Corylus avellana, hornbeam Carpinus betulus and sweet chestnut Castanea sativa occur throughout the site, and there are also small mixed plantations and many scattered exotic species.

Woodland corticolous lichens

Usnea ceratina

Fallen from a Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak), U. ceratina is one of the Southern Oceanic Woodland Index (SOWI) lichens of ecological continuity used to asses the quality of woodland sites for lichens (including determining which site might become SSSIs). At the end of this post is a table of all the SOWI lichens. Other SOWI lichens are marked SOWI.

A Quercus robur covered in Thelotrema sp. Bark Barnacle Lichen (SOWI). In the past there was only one Thelotrema sp., T. lepadinum but not it has been subdivide into two: T. lepadinum and

This is probably Thelotrema lueckingii SOWI, and Pertusaria leioplaca., on a Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa; one of a few planted in Ashburnham Park. When C. sativa is the main tree in replanted ancient woods it has only Graphidaceae lichens & Pertusaria spp. mostly P. leioplaca. But in here in semi-natural ancient woodland it is joined by a Thelotrema sp.

Similar to Thelotrema lepadinum in almost all details but deviating by the partly citrine yellow medulla (especially in the warts); the pigment reacts K+ red and darkens to an more orange colour when exposed. British Lichen Society Thelotrema luekingii

This is probably Cladonia floerkeana on lignum; red apothecia on podetia difficult to see in this photo

Cladonia caespiticia (SOWI) on Quercus robur

Cresponea premnea (SOWI) on Quercus robur

The dominant species of the Ancient Dry Bark Communities in souther oceanic woodlands (Lecanactidetum premneae) on dry bark on old trees, often with Lecanographa lyncea

Lecanographa lyncea (SOWI) on Quercus robur

Enterographa crassa meeting Cresponea premnea on a smooth patch of Quercus robur. It is possible, but unlikely that this is Enterographa sorediata (SOWI)

Arthonia radiata # on Quercus robur

Phaeographis dendritica # (SOWI) on Quercus robur with Thelotrema sp.

Possibly Phaeographis smithii # on oak twig.

Chaenotheca ferruginea

Anisomeridium sp. # probably: A. biforme

Chrysothrix candelaris Gold Dust Lichen

Pyrrhospora quernea, on Quercus robur

Lecanactis abietina, on Quercus robur

Graphis scripta # on Castanea sativa

Saxicolous Lichens on Capability Brown Bridge

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Glaucomaria (lecanora) sulphurea

Lecanora sulphurea parasitising Tephromela atra . Very few lichens are parasitic but L. sulphurea is very fond of T. atra.

Saxicolous lichens on walls of church and gravestones of Ashburnham, St Peter

Blastenia crenularia

Calogaya (Caloplaca) decipiens (yellow) and to the right (pits) Verrucaria hochstetteri

Verrucaria muralis

Myriolecis (Lecanora) albescens

Flavoparmelia caperata Common Greenshield Lichen

Ochrolechia parella, surrounded by Glaucomaria (Leanora) sulphurea

Not a lichen but a moth lava surrounded by lichen! Probably Luffia lapidella, one of the bagworm moths, whose larvae make cases out of lichen, and eat lichen.

If you are interested in the class structure of the Sussex landscape and how that interacts with lichen distribution, lichen conservation and public access to nature, and the historic relationship between pasture woodland, tall forest woodland and coppicing for charcoal production for the iron furnaces of the weald, see Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI, East Sussex. 12.06.25. Part 2: The impact of the class structure of the Sussex landscape on lichen distribution, conservation and access to the public. 25/https://simelliottnaturenotes.blog/2025/06/13/lichens-of-ashburnham-park-sssi-east-sussex-12-06-25/

Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI, East Sussex. 12.06.25. Part 2: The impact of the class structure of the Sussex landscape on lichen distribution, conservation and access to the public.

Whilst this post specifically addresses issues concerning the impact of class structure of the Sussex landscape on lichen distribution, conservation, and access to nature, class structure of the landscape impacts on the conservation of and access to all nature.

The existence of “high quality” old woodland lichens and access to them are partly a function of the class structure of the Sussex landscape. The “best” (or what is considered as best) corticolous/epiphytic (tree) lichens in Sussex are often in places that were owned, and in some places, are still owned, by the aristocracy; often descendants of the feudal barons who were allocated land by William the Conqueror in exchange for military service and loyalty.

The distribution of lichens in Sussex, and current access to see them, is intrinsically linked to that class structure of the landscape. Old parklands (deer parks) of pasture woodland, and ancient tall forest woodland, like Ashburnham Park, and ancient coppiced woodland (coppice with standards) are some of the best places to see old woodland lichen species. Aristocratic medieval deer parks (the larders of the rich) entailed pollarding; pollarded pasture oaks live longer, thus have long ecological continuity, and have lots of light, which is propitious for lichen growth and survival. Having a deer park was a function of wealth, and intrinsically linked to the feudal class structure of the mediaeval and early modern periods. Tall forest ancient woodland in aristocratic estates are also good for old woodland lichens because of the length of ecological continuity, although many former ancient broadleaved woodlands have been replanted with Sweet Chestnut or pines, were profit trumped conservation of ancient woodland. The part of Ashburnham we visited was ancient tall forest woodland; we have yet to visit the parts of the SSSI which were pasture woodland.

The survival of pasture woodland, tall forest ancient woodland and coppice with standards woodland in the modern period is dependent on the actions of aristocrats, or of the new rich landowners who bought aristocratic land holdings. Many historic park woodlands and ancient tall forest woodland have been partially or completely destroyed by cash cropping i.e., the replanting of ancient woodland with Sweet Chestnut (e.g. Flexham Park and Fittleworth Wood) or conifers (e.g. Worth Forest), or sold for development (as nearly happened at Old House Warren). Once vast [ancient woodland] now cover just 2.5% of the UK. Around half of what remains has been felled and replanted with non-native conifers and even more is under threat of destruction or deterioration from development Woodland Trust

Moreover, access to remaining historic ancient pasture woodland, tall forest ancient woodland and coppice with standard woodland is dependent on the ownership of the Sussex landscape. Some woodlands have public access; some of those are in public ownership but local authorities or the ownership of conservation charities e.g. Bexhill Highwoods (coppice with standards), Petworth Park (pasture woodland), and Marstakes Common and Ebernoe Common (pasture woodland and high forest woodland). Marstakes and Ebernoe Commons’ pasture woodland are not related to keeping deer but pre-enclosure commoners’ rights to common grazing, often pig grazing (pannage), which still, though, entailed the largesse of aristocratic land owners. Common land was “manorial waste” and was poor quality land within a manor that was not cultivated or enclosed, and over which tenants and other individuals had rights of common, such as grazing or gathering resources.

Much woodland in Sussex landowners is still owned by it original aristocratic families; some have partial access on limited public footpaths e.g. Eridge Park and Buckhurst Park, and some have no public access e.g. Paddockhurst Wood, Pads Wood and East Dean Park Wood; the latter due to its use for shooting for profit, the curse of public access to woodland in Sussex. Ashburnham Park is an anomaly; it is owned by a Christian trust, for study and retreats, and is currently pretty permissive of public access through a network of private footpaths on the estate. Long may that remain!

The Ashburnham family were lords of the village of Ashburnham, and elsewhere, for some 800 years. The village itself was Esseborne in Domesday Book (1086) and Esburneham in the twelfth century; the name is thought to mean ‘meadow by the stream where ash-trees grow’. By about 1120 the family had taken its name as their own. It may be that the first of them may have been the feudal lord of Ashburnham in 1086 – Peter de Creil or Criel or Crull, a Norman immigrant awarded land by the Conqueror. For almost all of the remaining time up to living memory – with two intermissions – the Ashburnham estate was owned by this one family. The second such intermission led to a peerage; the first (1611 to 1640) resulted from disastrous financial management. Battle and District Hisotrical Society Archive, George Kiloh, 2016,

From the Historic England Ashburnham listing:

In 1665, John Ashburnham built a new house on the site of the present mansion, replacing an older house. He died in 1671. His nephew was created Baron Ashburnham, the baronetcy becoming an earldom in 1731. The second Earl reconstructed and enlarged the house between 1759 and 1763 and commissioned Lancelot Brown (1716-83) in 1767 to lay out a new park and gardens around the house of which the lakes and much of the planting structure survive.

The third Earl succeeded in 1812, his additions between 1812 and 1817 including the terraces to the south and east of the house and the bridge across Front Water. The sixth Earl died in 1924 and the line ended with the death of his niece, Lady Catherine Ashburnham in 1953. The Rev J Bickersteth, a grandson of the sixth Earl, inherited the estate and in 1960 gave Ashburnham Place and 89ha, including the main gardens and pleasure grounds, to the Ashburnham Christian Trust.

Ashburnham Place (listed grade II), with St Peter’s church (listed grade I) immediately to its west sits on the north-west slope of the valley, overlooking the chain of lakes and the park woodland beyond. Although the house is truncated from its C18 form, with the church (rebuilt to its present form in 1665) and the stable block (built between 1720 and 1730 and listed grade II*) a visually cohesive group of buildings is created. The house was built in 1665 and enlarged to its final form by 1763 with the addition of the domestic wing facing the church, the long range of state rooms which made up the south front. Brown’s greenhouse, with seven bays (now the Orangery, listed grade II), stands attached on the west side. The brick house was refaced twice, once in 1813 by George Dance and again in 1850 with the present red and grey brick. The house had reduced to a state of decay by the mid C20. It is now about three-quarters of its former size, the remainder having been demolished in 1959. The present (1990s) owners have made considerable additions from the 1960s onwards, on and around the house’s previous ground plan. Brown’s Orangery survives intact .

The Ashburnhams’ wealth came from rents from their extensive land holdings; but also from the Wealden iron industry, including the manufacturing of arms. This is a feature of many other Wealden aristocratic estates, and had a significant impact on woodland in Sussex. The High Weald wasn’t always a pastoral/arable landscape (or the leisure landscape of middle-class wealth that it is now); the High Weald was an industrial landscape in the Tudor and Stuart periods (as it partly been during Roman exploitation of iron in the Weald). Iron ore was dug out of the weald clays, and wood was cut to make charcoal for the iron furnaces. The mill ponds (hammer ponds), which powered the hammers of the furnaces, were sometimes then converted into landscape features, such as ornamental lakes, e.g. at Leonardslee. Visiting the relict hammer ponds in Sussex is fascinating. The website Hammer Ponds details them.  However, many of them can not be visited as they have been turned into private fishing ponds. The lakes at Ashburnham are not converted hammer ponds but creations of Lancelot “Capability” Brown who charged a lot to posh-up your estate and make it appear an arcadian paradise.  Capability Brown’s work at Ashburnham Place involved significant costs, with direct payments to Brown totalling £7,296 (1753). Landscape Institute: Capability Brown: Ashburnham equivalent to £960,992.20 today.

Ashburnham Park in 1874. Curtesy of Landed Families

It cost the the 2nd Earl of Egrement a pretty penny too to get Capability Brown to landscape the Petworth deer park, and turn it into a simulacrum of the faux antique landscape paintings of Claude and Poussin, which hung in the Earl’s painting collection inside the neo-Palladian Petworth House. Capability Brown received five contracts from Lord Egremont between 1753 and 1765, totalling £5,500 (1773).  Landscape Institute: Capability Brown: Petworth This is equivalent to over £1,051,136.88 in 2025.

Photos from Hammer Ponds: Ashburnham Forge

Part of the forge pond survives just to the west by a road on private land at 684161, with a modern weir. Looking down east from the bridge here, a rusty channel can clearly be seen far below, running under the conservatory of Forge Cottage. Hammer Ponds: Ashburnham Forge

North along the track down a detour right at the path fork (685172) there is a footbridge over a rusty ford with several large reddish ‘bears’ in the stream: a bear is a rock of imperfectly smelted ore and iron. Slightly further along, left in a private meadow, a high bank is visible. This is the old furnace bay, and the furnace pond, now dry, lay beyond it. This is now a low field. The old spillway is roughly halfway along the bay and still serves a stream – depending on the overgrowth, this may be seen as well as heard. Hammer Ponds: Ashburnham Forge

Ashburnham was an important Wealden complex of furnace, forges and boring mills, built by John Ashburnham before 1554, and the last Wealden furnace to close in 1813, although the forge continued until the late 1820s. The sites worked together during the Civil War, the premier Wealden ordnance suppliers until about 1760, and later produced guns and shot for the Dutch Wars. The main furnace pond is now dry, but a secluded pen pond survives on private land just north of the furnace site in Andersons Wood (685173). [The Ashburnham iron furnaces supplied arms to the Royalists during the civil war.]

An unmade road, heavily metalled with waste iron slag, runs about half a mile between this remaining furnace pen pond and the dry site of Ashburnham (Upper) Forge. Known originally as the ‘sow track’, this not only took sows and guns from the furnace down to the forge and boring mill but also extended up past Robertsbridge to Sedlescombe, where iron goods were shipped to London via the river Brede.” 

Ashburnham forge was “…the most persistent of the Sussex works were those at Ashburnham, extending into the next parish of Penhurst, and obtaining fuel supplies from Dallington Forest. The furnace, which is mentioned in 1574 and was probably established much earlier, lasted till 1811, and the forge continued working until 1825. Mary Cecilia Delany, 1921; The Historical Geography Of The Wealden Iron Industry available online

As well as tall forest woodlands, there are many relict coppiced woodlands, some with relict with charcoal hearths across, the weald. Coppice with standards was the typical coppicing practice; and the standard (maiden) Oaks of these relict coppiced woodlands are important for lichens. Charcoal was critical to the production of iron.  Coppiced wood (mainly oak, alder and hornbeam) was used to make the charcoal in round ‘clamps’ of 4-5 metres which were often constructed on levelled ground. The presence of nearly black soil and small pieces of charcoal can confirm past use [of land as charcoal hearths. High Weald National Landscape: Archaeology

The peaceful pleasure of walking through relict coppices belies one of the reason why those coppices were there: the Wealden ironmasters began to concentrate increasingly on gun founding, and examples can be found all over the world, wherever Britain fought or traded. Eventually, the onset of the Industrial Revolution took heavy industry north to the coalfields, and the last furnace in the Weald, at Ashburnham, closed in 1813. Wealden Iron: History. The Wealden coppices fuelled the furnaces that made the weapons the made Britain’s early modern imperial colonialism possible

Cast-iron guns were particularly needed by the government at this
time. … There are many references to Levett’s deliveries of guns and shot to the Crown in the 1540s. In 1546 he was paid £300 for making iron guns, and typical of his trade in ammunition is an order of 1545 for 300 shot for cannon. The Iron Industry of the Weald. Henry Cleere and David Crossley with contributions from Bernard Worssam and members of The Wealden Iron Research, Second Edition Edited By Jeremy Hodgkinson Merton Priory Press 1995. Available online

Coppiced woodland in the weald was not only used for charcoal to produce the iron that produced munitions, in places Oak was planted to be cut later for ship building. The thick multi-stems of relict coppiced Sessile Oak at Highwoods near Bexhill, provides the only opportunity to see lichens on coppiced Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) in Sussex. But these Sessile Oaks were not planed for their beauty, or to be a substrate for liches, they were planted to build Henty VIII’s navy. Ship building has always had a strong reliance on natural resources and Britain would not have been able to conquer the seas without the abundance of wood that was available to construct its mighty vessels. … Overall, Britain built its place in the world through the power of its maritime endeavours, and in this way, the forests of Britain helped to build the nation that it became. This quotation from Rural History obscures the fact that the nation that the UK became because of its exploitation of oak woods for its naval ships, was a nation that ruthlessly subjugated people to colonial slavery.

A postscript: another class-based use of Wealden iron from Ashburnham:

The stocks and whipping post by Ninfield Green (TQ 707124, above) were cast locally in the seventeenth century, probably at Ashburnham. Hammer Ponds A Brief History of the Iron History

The lichens we saw are detailed in Part 1 of this post: Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI 12.06.25. Part 1: The Lichens.

Orders of Insects. Petworth Park. 10.06.25

I saw quite a few insects coincidentally at Petworth as I was searching for lichens. It made me realise that my knowledge of insect orders is quite sketchy; so this post presents the insects I saw classified in to orders. I used the website of the Amateur Entomologists Society to learn more. This is an excellent resource for amateur entomologists.

The class insect (Insecta) are part of the phylum Arthropoda

The Arthropoda are a Phylum of invertebrates (animals without backbones) that have a joined exoskeleton. The Arthropods include the arachnids, crustaceans, insects and others.

The arthropod body is supported by an hard outer layer. This acts as an external skeleton – or exoskeleton. The body muscles are attached to the inside of this exoskeleton. It is made up of rings (called segments) which are attached to one another by flexible membranes. This allows movement of the body to take place. The name arthropod refers to their jointed limbs, which are their chief characteristic. (Arthros = joint, Podium = foot). AMS: Arthropod

What is an insect

  • Invertebrates (lacking a backbone)
  • Three body segments: head, abdomen, and thorax.
  • Jointed legs attached to the thorax.
  • Hexapoda (have 6 legs)
  • Antennae on head.
  • 2 compound eyes, usually situated on either side of the head.

The Insects (Class Insecta) are divided into a number of Orders. These are grouped together into two sub-classes called the Apterygota (wingless insects) and the Pterygota (winged insects) – In addition to the Class Insecta there are three other classes of invertebrates that have six legs, these three classes are known as non-insect hexapods.

This list of insect orders comes from from the Amateur Entomological Society’s page on Insect Orders Clicking on the links will take you to pages of Amateur Entomological Society’s website giving more information on the orders.

  • [Division] Endopterygota The word Endopterygota refers to the development of the wings inside the body. Insects that develop in this way are said to show complete metamorphosis.

ENDOPTERYGOTA – WINGS INSIDE THE BODY. INSECTS THAT DEVELOP IN THIS WAY ARE SAID TO SHOW COMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS.

Hemiptera – True bugs

Iassus lanio Oak Leafhopper

ENDOPTERYGOTA – WINGS INSIDE THE BODY. INSECTS THAT DEVELOP IN THIS WAY ARE SAID TO SHOW COMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS.

Coleoptera – Beetles

Lymexylon navale

Carabus violaceus Violet Ground Beetle

Odonata – Dragonflies and Damselflies 

Anax imperator Emperor Dragonfly

Hemiptera – True Bugs

Rhabdomiris striatellus Striped Oak Bug

Lepidoptera – Butterflies and Moths 

Coenonympha pamphilus Small Heath

Hymenoptera – Bees, Wasps and Ants

Trypoxylon attenuatum