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)
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
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.
All the photos in the post were taken by me on one day (10.06.25). apart from the Great Spotted Woodpeckers, all the species photographed in this blog were living on, in or under a single Pendunculate oak at SU 96936 22927
I approached this Oak from a distance, walking through the pasture woodland of Petworth Park. Wood pasture is classified as a mosaic habitat valued for individual park-like trees particularly veteran and ancient, and the fauna, flora and fungi it supports, including a number of species that only occur in wood pasture and parkland. Grazing animals are fundamental to the habitats existence and many sites are also important historic landscapes. Woodland Trust Wood Pasture
As I got near, I realised that there was a bright green shape on the trunk, highlighted by the grey of the oak’s trunk. As I got closer I realised it was a beautiful moth.
I used the Obsidenity App to make a preliminary identification in the field as I hadn’t seen this species of moth before. I then checked this identification in my field guide later. I used Obsidentify for all the invertebrates I saw around this Oak, and checked the observations with field guides at home. It is a Scarce Silver-lines Moth, Bena bicolorana. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of oak (Quercus).
When I reached the Oak I could see that part of it was dead; this part appeared to have been killed, probably by heart-rot fungi. This is the way most Quercus robur die, but the process of dying is long. The decorticated decomposing heart wood had many holes.
Most of the known species dependent on oak trees are invertebrates, and a majority of these interact with the fungi in the tree in some way. Many make their homes and find their food where heart-rot decay fungi have been in action, leaving partially decayed material that is physically broken down by insects, creating mounds of composting wood mulch that creates further habitat for other invertebrates.Oaks and fungi in the UK. R. Wright, J. Finch & N. Brown. 31/05/2022
An insect landed on my hand. A believe it is a Lymexylon navale. A beetle belonging to the family Lymexylidae. The size of this beetle can vary a lot, between 8-15mm. Its yellow with black head and orange pronotum. The larval development take place in fresh oak wood in parts lost the bark. Saproxylic beetles
Saprolyxic organisms, especially insects, that are directly or indirectly dependent on dead or decaying wood for at least part of their lifecycle. Buglife: Saprolyxic Invertebrates
Lymexylon navale, commonly known as the ship-timber beetle, is a type of wood-boring beetle that is associated with wood structures, including ships, houses, and trees. Specifically, its larvae are wood-boring and can damage both sapwood and heartwood in living and decaying trees, as well as timber structures like ships.
An uncommon beetle in Britain it is which is currently designated as Red Data Book 2 (vulnerable).Nature Spot Lymexylon navale
The larvae of Lymexylon navale bore into wood, which can weaken and damage ship and other wooden structures. Lymexylidae, including Lymexylon navale, have a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi. The larvae create tunnels in the wood, and the fungi grow within these tunnels, providing a food source for the larvae. Ship-timber beetles have been found in ancient shipwrecks, indicating their long-standing association with human-made wooden structures. Lymexylidae also play a role in the ecosystem by helping to break down wood and are an important food source for other animals. Sources: Sônia A. CasariLarva of Atractocerus Brasiliensis (Lepeletier & Audinet-Serville, 1825) (Lymexylidae, Atractocerinae) Universidade de São Paulo, Museu de Zoologia , São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Cletus P. Kurtzman, Christie J. Robnett (2013) Alloascoidea hylecoeti gen. nov., comb. nov., Alloascoidea africana comb. nov., Ascoidea tarda sp. nov., and Nadsonia starkeyi-henricii comb. nov., new members of the Saccharomycotina (Ascomycota). FEMS Yeast Research 13: 423–432. doi: 10.1111/1567-1364.12044 (published in Spanish and English) and Piper, Ross 2007 Extraordinary animals : an encyclopaedia of curious and unusual animals.
This Lymexylon navale (and its many mates) may have made the holes into which I saw, what I believe to be Trypoxylon attenuatum.
A widely distributed species recorded from much of Britain, including the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands. … Has been recorded from a variety of habitats including woodland, parkland, gravel pits, sandy sites, chalk grassland and heathland. … On the wing between mid-May and mid-September… Nest burrows are stocked with small spiders such as Tetragnatha (Tetragnathidae) (Lomholdt, 1984).Nests are constructed in pre-existing cavities. Richards (1980). … Richards (1980) gives a generalised overview of Trypoxylon nesting sites such as “Anobium burrows, cut stems, hollow roots, rarely in small holes in vertical earth-faces”, but T. attenuatum seems to nest “exclusively in hollow plant stems” (Lomholdt, 1984). Nests are constructed in cavities 2-4 mm in diameter (Tormos et al., 2005).Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society Trypoxylon attenuatum..
So it sounds as if Oaks may not be a typical nesting sites for this solitary wasp.
I then moved on to looking at lichens – the primary purpose of my trip to Petworth Park.
First I saw Gold Dust Lichen, Chrysothrix candelaris
I initially got very excited because I thought it may be the rare pin lichen Chaenotheca chrysocephala; which had been recorded on a specific Quercus robur nearby, but it wasn’t!
When I was looking at lichens on the bark I saw two more invertebrates. One on the bark next to a lichen I was examining, and one which fell on my jumper.
The one on the bark was Oak Leafhopper nymph, Iassus lanio. Leafhoppers are [sap sucking] insects belonging to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera. They are recognized by their piercing-sucking mouthparts and by the presence of rows of spine-like setae (hairs) in their hind tibiae. Dietich Leaferhopper Lab
The relatively short and broad form of this genus is characteristic; the head is wide (equal to the width of the pronotum) and the sides of the pronotum are shorter than the eye.In I. lanio the forewings vary in colour from green to pale brown and the vertex, pronotum and scutellum are heavily dark-mottled. The vertex is rounded and uniformly narrow from above. …common on oak across the UK.Adult: June to OctoberLength 6.5-8 mmBritish Bugs: Iassus lanio
The insect that fell on my jumper:
was a Striped Oak Bug, Rhabdomiris striatellus
A very striking bug which is frequently found on or near oak across Britain, but particularly in the south. Females are usually paler then males. The only possible confusion risk is the larger and more elongate Miris striatus, which has a completely yellow/orange cuneus and an entirely dark head. Overwintered eggs hatch in April, the larvae feeding on unripe catkins and becoming adult from mid-May onwards. Adult: May-JulyBritish Bugs: Rhabdomiris striatellus
There were many lichens on the Oak; here are few of them:
Physconia grisea Grey Frost Lichen
Dendrographa decolorans.
Thin whitish, lilac-grey or pinkish-grey thallus. When the surface (fungal hyphae) of the thallus is scratched, its photobiont (an alga of the orange Trentepohlia) is revealed.
Evernia prunastri. The vernacular name of this lichen is Oak Moss; even though it is not a moss! It is very common on Oaks, but it is common on other trees too.
Most of the lichens on this oak were of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae); shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant. They are particularly characteristic of Beech and Ash, but also on less damp Oak bark. The basic community is composed of widespread species particularly Pertusaria s. lat. speciesBritish Lichen Society Lichen Communities
Pertusaria pertusa Sometimes called Pepper Pot lichen, for obvious reasons.
Pertusaria flavida; the orange part of this photo, which can only be identified (by turning orange) with UV light and/or a chemical spot reagent test, which reacts to lichen substances (mostly secondary metabolites). I did both the UV and the reagebts tests in the filed
Lepra amara The vernacular name of this lichen is Bitter Wart Lichen, because it tastes very butter if licked. I do not lick it to confirm its identification!
As I was identifying these lichens I head a Crow, Corvus corone, directly above my head. When I looked up a parent crow was feeding a juvenile. Here is the juvenile
Crows can nest almost anywhere, but they prefers well-covered trees with broad branches and solid tree forks, like Oaks
Crows are not the only birds to use Oaks. Earlier in the day I saw two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Dendrocopos major, drumming on the trunk of another Pendunculate Oak. Great spotted woodpeckers can be found across mainland Britain, but are limited to the west of Ireland. Mature broadleaved woodland is prime habitatWoodland Trust Great Spotted Woodpeckers
At this point I walked into Petworth to get a coffee. When I came back I could see Fallow Deer under the tree. A social, elegant species with a signature speckled coat and mighty palmate antlers. First introduced by the Romans, fallow deer became extinct in Britain until they were reintroduced before the Norman Conquest around the year 1,000.Woodland Trust Fallow Deer
The herd of Fallow Deer have been at Petworth Park, according to the National Trust, for 500 years. The magnificent herd of fallow deer have called Petworth Park home for over 500 years; they were reportedly hunted by Henry VIII on his visit to Petworth in the 1520s.National Trust Petworth Park. There were probably Fallow Deer in the park since the land was gifted by Henry I (the fourth son of William the Conqueror) to Joscelin de Louvain, a Norman feudal baron. The pasture oaks of the deer park have provided shade for Fallow Deer for nearly 1000 years; this ancient oak has been shading deer for probably 400 years. The Fallow Deer I saw today are johnny-come-latelys!
LEAF stands for Laboratory Extension and Fieldwork. I would really recommend the British Lichen Society’s courses, for dates of courses see British Lichen Society Latest News It was a fabulously enjoyable and informative course. Tutors: Nicola Bacciu, Pat Wolseley, Fred Gibson and Lindsay Mahon
I travelled to Taunton from Brighton on 29.05, and kindly got a lift from one of the course participants to Nettlecombe Court. The court and its parkland is on the fringes of the Brendon Hills, within the Exmoor National Park, Sommerset,
Its a Grade I listed building, see Nettlecombe Court for Historic England’s listing; with a Late medieval hall, cross passage and wing, a 1599 entrance front, porch, great hall and parlour, a circa 1641 addition to rear of great hall, a 1703-7 South West front extended and staircase added in angle, and plasterwork on stair added in 1753.
The court is surrounded by 60 hectares of parkland, once a part of the estate. The park surrounding the house is Grade II listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
In 1066 Nettlecombe was held by Godwin, son of Harold. In 1086 the Domesday Survey described it as held by the King for a knight’s fee. It was granted by the King to Hugh de Ralegh in 1160 and the grant of free warren was made to Simon de Ralegh in 1304. In 1440 the then owner, also Simon de Ralegh, died childless, leaving the estate to his nephew, Thomas Whalesborough. Thomas’ son, Edmund, died during his father’s lifetime and the estate descended to Edmund’s sister, Elizabeth, who was married to John Trevelyan of Cornwall. Since 1440, the Trevelyan family has kept a record of the management of the estate, now held in the Somerset Record Office, Taunton. The first mention of a park at Nettlecombe appears in a survey of 1532, recorded as being of 80 acres (c 33ha) in a later survey of 1556, and deer were first recorded in 1593. Although deer parks are known to have existed at Nettlecombe since the late C16, the first conclusive evidence of a designed landscape appears in an engraving, published in 1787, The park was enlarged with the addition of the Great Park in 1755 and South Park in 1792. National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens Listing
Here are Lichens we saw (all photos taken by me; Lichens marked * were new-tom-me and were identified by the tutors, Nicola Bacciu, Pat Worsley, Fred Gibson and/or Lindsay Mahon)
One of the main learning points for me was considering lichen communities
The Lobarion pulmonariae community
The Lobarion pulmonaria is composed mainly of large foliose lichens and robust bryophytes and appears to be the natural forest climax community on mature hardwood trees with barks of pH 5.0-6.0 in western Europe outside areas with Mediterranean climates. It is now very much fragmented in distribution due to the felling and management of primeval forests, drainage and various forms of pollution. In drier areas it tends to be confined either to sheltered glades in more open forests where there is more light, or to the upper boughs of trees. James, P.W., Hawksworth, D.L. & Rose, F. (1977) Lichen communities in the British Isles: a preliminary conspectus. In: Lichen Ecology (ed. M.R.D. Seaward): 295-413. Academic Press, London.
Old forest and parkland – (the Lobarion pulmonariae alliance)
The Lobarion pulmonariae alliance includes a mixture of bryophytes and lichens found on basic barked trees more than 150-200 years old, mainly Ash and Oak, but sometimes on Lime, Maple and Sycamore. It is a characteristic community of ancient woodland and parkland and contains many local and rare species.
The large leafy Lobaria pulmonaria and Ricasolia virens are both present and although rare, they locally form luxuriant colonies in ancient woodlands where they are both found fertile. Leptogium lichenoides and Peltigera horizontalis occur rather frequently, but other large leafy lichens with a blue-green photobiont such as Ricasolia amplissima, Nephroma laevigatum, Pannaria conoplea, Parmeliella triptophylla, Peltigera collina, Sticta limbata and S. sylvatica are all now rare. There are many small, crust-forming species associated with this community including Bacidia biatorina, Catinaria atropurpurea, Coenogonium luteum, Gyalecta truncigena, Leptogium teretiusculum, Biatora epixanthoides, Mycobilimbia pilularis, Thelopsis corticola, Pachyphiale carneola, Rinodina roboris and Thelopsis rubella, plus the rarer Agonimia allobata, A. octospora, Lecania chlorotiza, Piccolia ochrophora, Porina coralloidea, P. rosei, Strigula jamesii, S. phaea and Wadeana dendrographa. Bryophytes associated with this community include Homalothecium sericeum, Leptodon smithii, Leucodon sciuroides, Metzgeria furcata, Tortula laevipila and Zygodon baumgartneri. British Lichen Society Document. John Skinner et al. 2024 Revised FG 2025Rev. 1.2 EPIPHYTIC LICHEN COMMUNITIES NETTLECOMBE – June 2025
We saw most of the following lichens on Quercus petraea and asingle Q. cerris in Nettlecomb. In Sussex, where I live, this community is only found in a few places, viz. Paddockurst Estate, Eridge Park, East Dean Park Wood , Parham Park, Ashburnham Park and Pads Wood, but only Eridge Park, still has Lobaria pulmonaria itself.
Lobaria pulmonaria
Parmotrema crinitum *
Arthonia vinosa *
Gyalecta truncigena *
Aquacidia viridifarinosa *
Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae)
The Pertusarietum amarae are shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant. They are particularly characteristic of Beech and Ash, but also on less damp Oak bark. The basic community is composed of widespread species particularly Pertusaria s. lat. species: Pertusaria albescens, Lepra amara (Pertusaria amara f amara), Pertusaria flavida, Pertusaria hymenea and Pertusaria pertusa along with Phlyctis argena and Ochrolechia subviridis. This is a common community in drier areas but gets displaced by moss dominated communities in strongly oceanic areas. Within old growth stands it can be rich in old woodland species including Arthonia vinosa, Cliostomum flavidulum, Mycoporum antecellens, Phaeographis dendritica, Lepra multipuncta (Pertusaria multipuncta) and Thelotrema lepadinum. The rare taxa include Reichlingia zwackhii (Arthonia zwackhii), Melaspilea amota, Stictographa lentiginosa (Melaspilea lentiginosa), Lepra pulvinata (Pertusaria amara f. pulvinata), Pertusaria pustalata, Varicellaria velata (Pertusaria velata) and Phaeographis lyellii.British Lichen Society Lichen Communities
We saw these lichens on a Nothofagus fusca and mostly Quercus petraea at Nettlecombe. In Sussex this community can be seen at Eridge Park, Parham Park, Petworth Park, Wadhurst Park and Buxted Park in particular
Pertusaria hemisphaerica
This Pentatoma rufipes Forest Bug fell onto my bag whilst standing under the Nothofagus fusca
Pertusaria coronata *
Lepra corallina *
Pertusaria flavida *
Ochrolechia androgyna *
Opegrapha vulgata
Thelotrema lueckingii *
On decorticated lignum (Quercus pretera)
Calicium glaucellum *
Twig flora community Lecanora chlarotera-Arthonia radiata– the Lecanoretum subfuscae In open grown wood pasture and parkland the canopy is well lit and the twig flora is well developed. The most frequent species are Arthonia radiata, Lecanora chlarotera, L. hybocarpa and Lecidella elaeochroma, with Evernia prunastri, Fuscidea lightfootii, Hypogymnia physodes, H. tubulosa, Melanelixia subaurifera, Parmelia sulcata, Punctelia subrudecta and Physcia aipolia also present. In more exposed sites the presence of Melanohalea laciniatula, Physcia tenella, Xanthoria parietina and X. polycarpa indicates slight levels of ammonia or nitrogen enrichment British Lichen Society Document. John Skinner et al. 2024 Revised FG 2025Rev. 1.2 EPIPHYTIC LICHEN COMMUNITIES NETTLECOMBE – June 2025
We saw these lichens in the orchard at Nettlecombe. This is a very familiar community to me, as it is the community on Hawthorn and younger trees in Sussex
Physcia aipolia
Hypotrachyna revoluta (with Ramalina fastigiata)
Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta
Glaucomaria carpinea
Ramalina fastigiata with Xanthoria parietina
We also saw Ramalina farinacea,Lecanora hybocarpa,Lecidella eleachroma,Usnea cornuta; but I did not photo these.
Newtimber Holt is a small but very biological interesting area of ancient woodland on Newtimber Hill. It is owned by the National Trust and managed by Saddlescombe Farm. It is probably the most interesting chalk scarp face ancient wood along the eastern South Downs. It is easily reachable by Stagecoach bus 17 stops Newtimber, Redhouse Farm or Newtimber, Beggar’s Lane Stagecoach 17 Timetable
When we think of ancient woodland, many people may think about our Temperate Rain Forest (Atlantic Woodland) in northwest Scotland, north Wales of the West Country. Or we may think of our nationally famous medieval royal deer parks, e.g. the New Forest, Hatfield Forest, or Windsor Great Park (pasture woodland).
Or if we’re in Sussex, we may think of our High Weald ancient Ghyll Woods, which have microclimates similar to Atlantic woodland; or Sussex’s medieval deer parks (pasture woodland) e.g. Parham Park, or the (very rare) chalk dry valley woods, e.g., East Dean Park Wood (itself once a Medieval deer park) or the very rare dip slope ancient woodland of Pad’s Wood. Or perhaps we may think the numerous small ancient woods, some tiny, relict stands, of the Sussex Low Weald; although much ancient woodland in the Low Weald has been lost to development, especially new housing, especially in the Brighton to Crawley corridor of Hassocks, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath.
The ancient woodland of the scarp slopes of the South Downs relicts of the former wider woodland that covered the South Downs, which was cleared and then grazed by sheep in the distant past, are probably least known ancient woodland in the UK. When we think of the Down’s we think of its historic sheep gazed short calcareous grassland that supports rare vascular plants and invertebrates; it is biologically magnificent and of national ecological importance, and itself rare now that business arable and pastoral farming has taken so much of the short grassland. But “23% of the South Downs National Park is covered by woodland, [but only half of this [11.5%] has been there for over 400 years [ancient woodland]. “Trees of the South Downs
Only 4% of the South Downs is calcareous short grassland; almost exactly the same percentage as when the national park came into being. When we think of the South Downs we think of rolling hills of short calcareous grassland; but very little of it is that; most of it is farmed arable land, and 23% is woodland (with only half of that being ancient woodland).
It is important to separate ancient woodland from ancient trees. Woodland classed as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, which are mainly made up of trees and other vascular plants native to the site, that have constantly regenerated for over 500 years, some have very few or no ancient trees; they are just areas that have been wooded continuously since at least 1600. Very few trees in ancient woodland are themselves ancient; although some might be.
Many notable, veteran, and ancient trees can be found not in ancient woods but in pasture, former deer parks or hedges. For example, many of the most ancient Pendunculate Oaks, Quercus robur, of the Low Weald are in grazing pasture, probably relicts of former woodland that was cleared for pasture and left for shelter for livestock, or planted as field, parish or other boundaries in hedgerows
At Newtimber Holt there are some magnificent ancient trees in ancient Woodland
This post attempts to refocus our attention on the ancient woodland of the scarp faces of the South Downs. There are areas of ancient woodland on the dip slopes of South Downs in West Sussex; but most of these are replanted ancient woodland, replanted with conifers or Sweet Chestnut. There are a few notable exceptions, such as Pads Wood (private), which is still ancient and semi-natural woodland.
Ancient Woodland Indicator Vascular Plants at Newtimber Halt
Ancient Woodland Indicator Vascular Plants are listed in Francis Rose Indicators of ancient woodland – the use of vascular plants in evaluating ancient woods for nature conservation, British Wildlife 10.4 April 1999
Acer campestre Field Maple
Allium ursinum Ramsons
Asplenium scolopendrium Hart’s-tongue Fern
Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell
Ilex aquifolium European Holly
Lamium galeobdolon Yellow Archangel
Melica uniflora Wood Melick
Mercurialis perennis Dog’s Mercury
Polystichum setiferum Soft Shield Fern
Sanicula europaea Sanicle
Ulmus glabra Wych Elm
Veronica montana Wood Speedwell
Other vascular plants
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry
Primula veris Cowslip
Rosa canina Dog-Rose
Silene dioica Red Campion
Cardamine flexuosa Wavy Bittercress
Geum urbanum Wood Avens
Ajuga reptans Bugle
Geranium robertianum Herb Robert
Genus Rubus Brambles
Lithospermum officinale Common Gromwell
Veronica chamaedrys Germander Speedwell
Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet
A view of a woodland glade in Newtimber Holt
Arum maculatum Cuckoo-Pint
Viola riviniana Common Dog-Violet
Carex sylvatica Wood Sedge
Poa trivialis Rough Meadow-Grass
Rumex sanguineus Wood Dock
Ranunculus repens Creeping Buttercup
Creeping Buttercup, Wood Dock and Rough Meadow Grass
Trees
Tilia platyphyllos Large-leaved Lime
Large leaved lime is the rarest [of the Limes] and although planted for several hundred years most ancient trees are confined to woodland coppice on chalk or limestone soils. Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory
The Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory, shows these veteran (green flags) at Newtimber Hold.
To search the Ancient Tree Inventory for you area, click here.
Sambucus, nigra Elder and Hawthorn, Crataegus monpgyna
Corylus avellana Hazel
Taxus baccata English Yew
Fagus sylvatica Beech There are several veteran Beech at Newtimber
144ft beech in Sussex named Britain’s tallest native tree
A beech tree on the South Downs in West Sussex is thought to be almost 200 years old and beat the previous champion by 3ft
A beech tree standing 144ft (44 metres) high has been declared the tallest native tree in Britain.
The tree, which is thought to be almost 200 years old, stands in Newtimber Woods on the National Trust’s Devil’s Dyke Estate in West Sussex, in the South Downs landscape.
The discovery of a new record for the tallest native tree title was made by Owen Johnson, the honourable registrar for the Tree Register, a charity which holds records of more than 200,000 exceptional trees in Britain and Ireland.
He was alerted to the possible new champion, one of a clump of trees planted together which has achieved its great height by continued competition to reach the light and being allowed to grow unmanaged for 90 years, by dendrologist Peter Bourne.
The full height of Britain’s champion native tree. Photograph: John Miller/National Trust/PA
Dr Johnson said: “I didn’t quite believe Peter when he said the tallest tree in the woods could be 44 metres tall as I know the South Downs so well. When I finally got around to visiting I found my scepticism entirely unjustified. Guardian 15.04.2915 Press Association
Lichens
On Large Leaved Lime
Lepraria finkii Fluffy Dust Lichen
Phlyctis argena Whitewash Lichen
On Beech
Enterographa crassa
Enterographa crassa is often found in the bases of old beech trees, but it is very difficult to see as it is very small. Their Apothecia (fruiting bodies, in this species, tiny black dots are usually very numerous, brown-black, deeply immersed, without a rim, minutely punctiform or ± broadly elliptical in surface view, 0.1–0.25 × 0.05–0.1 mm, often in dotted or thread-like linesBritish Lichen Society Enterographa crassa
Cladonia caespiticia Stubby-stalked Cladonia
Fuscidea lightfootii
Lecidella elaeochroma Lecidella Lichen
Xanthoria parietina Golden Shield Lichen
On Ash
Flavoparmelia caperata Common Greenshield Lichen
Parmotrema perlatum Black Stone Flower
Punctelia jeckeri Powdered Speckled Shield Lichen
Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta
Parmelia sulcata Netted Shield Lichen
On Hazel
Probably Graphis scripta Common Script Lichen; very common on Hazel and other smooth-barked trees. The Graphidaceae (script lichen) family can only be definitively identified to species level with microscopy of spores.
This is the most beautiful area of downland ancient woodland I have ever visited. It is a “hanger wood”; a wood of the steep slopes of an escarpment. Ancient woodland is much rarer on the South Downs than in the Low and High Wealds of Sussex, due to historic sheep gazing; although the short calcareous grassland that supports rare vascular plants and invertebrates because of that grazing is biologically magnificent and of national ecological importance. Sadly, short calcareous grassland makes up only 4% of the South Downs.
Most of the remaining ancient woodland of the South Downs is on the scarp face of the Downs; such as at Newtimber Holt, and the scarp from Steyning to just south of Washington, and Rooks Clift. Although there are some very rare examples of chalk dry valley ancient woodland e.g. East Dean Park Wood SSSI (in the Goodwood Estate, private) and dip slope ancient woodland e.g. Pads Wood SSSI (in the Uppark Estate, private)
The extent of the coppiced Large-Leaved Lime, and ground flora including abundant Solomon’s Seal and Ramsons was extraordinary.
Large Leaved Lime, Tilia platyphyllos
Ramsons, Allium ursinum, and Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum multiflorum
Rook Clift is a small wooded combe on the scarp slope of the South Downs. … This site is an ancient woodland which remains in a semi-natural condition. Large leaved lime Tilia platyphyllos dominates the canopy, together with ash Fraxinus excelsior and some beech Fagus sylvatica. Large leaved lime is a nationally scarce tree, with its natural range concentrated on the limestones of the Wye Valley and Peak District. Thus the high concentration of mature coppice stools, occurring on chalk, make this site nationally important and unique within West Sussex and the South Downs Natural Area.
… The field layer is dominated by vernal species such as ramsons Allium ursinum and bluebell Endymion non-scripta, or shade tolerant species including dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, spurge laurel Daphne laureola and sanicle Sanicula europaea.
The steep sided valley around the steam is more open with a canopy dominated by ash and wych elm Ulmus glabra. Here the field and ground layers are more developed with stands of hart’s tongue fern Phyllitis scolopendrium and soft shield fern Polystichum setiferum abundant, and opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium common the stream side. Helicodonta obvoluta and several which are indicative of ancient woodlandRooks Clift Nature England SSSI specification
There are many ancient woodland indicator species in Rooks Clift. Aside from Large-Leaved Lime, Ramsons, and Solomons Seal, I saw Yellow Archangel, Wood Spurge, Wych Elm, and Enterographa Crassa (a relatively common lichen in old Southern woodlands, but on the indices of Ecological Continuity for Scotland). The wood also has Spurge-Laurel; but I didn’t find any.
Yellow Archangel, Lamium galeobdolon
Wood Spurge, Euphorbia amygdaloides
Wych Elm, Ulmus glabra
Enterographa crassa lichen
on Large Leaved Lime
Dog’s Mercury, Mercurialis perennis
Eld Ear Lichen, Normandina pulchella, on the liverwort Forked Veilwort, Metzgeria furcata. Elf Ear lichen always grows on bryophytes (mosses and liverworts)
Looking up at Rooks Clift from the Greensand fields of the Low Weald.
This wood also supports a rich mollusc fauna including the Red Data Book species Helicodonta obvoluta and several which are indicative of ancient woodland. [SSSI specification]. On a visit the week before, focussed on molluscs, with a friend and mollusc expert, we didn’t find Helicodonta obvoluta, but we did find these common snails:
Hairy Snail, Trochulus hispidus Genus Hemicycla; Round-mouthed Snail Pomatias elegans
Possibly Macrogastra ventricosain the family Clausiliidae, the door snails
Looking up to Rooks Clift from the farmland at the bottom (lower greensand of the Low Weald)
Looking down the footpath, with native Yew Taxus baccata, a native South Downs Tree. The path follows a ancient bostal, a Sussex dialect word referring to medieval track running up the scarp slops in the South Downs, typically diagonally to reduce the gradient.
Location: near South Harting, West Sussex, between Chichester and Petersfield
I got to Rook Clift by public transport. Train to Chichester then Stagecoach bus to South Harting 54 Bus Timetable It is a very irregular bus service with only 5 busses a day; so plan carefully!
“Markstakes Common is a small nature reserve with a mix of landscapes; grassland, ancient woodland, wood pasture and mire. Past use is likely to have been bracken harvesting, rough pasturage and ad hoc extraction of timber” Friends of Markstakes Common
Marstakes us a wonderful location with much biological interest; this post focusses only on lichens and vascular plants.
The most interesting thing I saw was Calicium viride; a pin lichen, growing on Oak. I saw it just outside the boundary of the commons in ancient woodland between It’s apotothecia is ca. 1-2mm long and is pin shaped. Theoretically “common” but incredibly difficult to see. On acid barked broad leaved trees in ancient woodland. Look out for bright green granular thallus – looks like Psilolechia lucida, but P. lucida on grows on rocks. So, if you see something like P. lucida on a tree, it might be C. viride. Pin 1-2mm long so probably need 20x hand lens or macro camera.
Soon after entering Marstakes Common, I saw a huge ancient birch, Fagus sylvatica. On it was the tiny lichen, Enterographa crassa
“A distinctive species often dominating large areas of trunk in pure mosaics of small interlocking waxy brown thalli, spotted with small dot like apothecia, which often line up in dendritic patterns. Very common in south western and Irish woodlands on humid shaded trunks. Rare to the north and east”British Lichen Society Enterographa crassa
Enterographa crassa is very difficult to see, as it is the colour of bark. It often occurs in large patches. It’s tiny apotothecia form in lines that look like lirrelate apothecia (writing-like apothecia), but they are lines of dots 0.1-0.2mm across.
Marstakes has many beautiful trees, including Ancient Oaks, Birches, Hornbeam, Wild Cherry and Midland Hawthorn. Hornbeam (when in the middle of woods, not a boundary tree), Midland Hawthorns and Wild Cherry are ancient woodland indicator plants.
Wild Cherry (Gean), Prunus avium
Ancient Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus
Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, with Bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, another Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants
Flowers of another Midland Hawthorn
Midland Hawthorn has two styles; ordinary Hawthorn only has one. A style of an flower is an organ of variable length that connects the ovary to the stigma.
A stunning ancient Pendunculate Oak
and a huge Goat Willow, Salix caprea
Marstakes Common and its adjacent wood Grantham’s Rough; had a variety of ancient woodland indicator plants
Home to myth and legend, where folk tales began. It fuelled our ancestors and still houses thousands of species. Ancient woodland has grown and adapted with native wildlife, yet what remains only covers 2.5% of the UK.Woodland Trust
This afternoon I walked through the ancient woodland of Butcher’s Wood (Woodland Trust), Lag Wood (private but with permissive access), both just south of Hassocks and Newer Copse (Wolstonbury Hill, National Trust) near Clayton. I am a volunteer with the Woodland Trust and Action for Rural Sussex’s Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs project and my particular biological interest is the lichens of woods, and I lead introduction to lichen walks. But in spring, my attention is drawn to the beauty of wild plants in ancient woodland.
This post is written for the general public; especially those new to wild plant identification.
All these woods are a short walk from Hassocks Rail Station or the Jack and Jill bus stop at Clayton (Metrobus 270, 271, 272, 273)
Butcher’s Wood and Lag Wood are woods of the Low Weald (and their underlying geology is the clay of the Gault Formation). Newer Copse, Wolstonbury Hill, is woodland of the South Downs (chalk of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation). Underlying geology determines soil type, and this affects which plants grow where. You can find out the geology of anywhere in the the UK by using the British Geology Survey Geology Viewer Viewer
Butcher’s Wood
I could find out if I was in ancient woodland simply by consulting Natural England’s index of ancient woodland; it’s map of ancient woodland can be explored here: Natural England Ancient Woodland; and these three woods are indeed Ancient Woodland (Ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW))
Natural England classifies ancient woodland thus:
Firstly, woodland can be calassified as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland; mainly made up of trees and shrubs native to the site, usually arising from natural regeneration. They are areas that have been wooded continuously since at least 1600. This does not mean the trees in ancient woodland are themselves ancient; although some might be.
Moreover, ancient trees can be found not in woods. Ancient Pendunculate Oaks, Quercus robur, can be found in Low Weald grazing pasture and hedge rows. These are probably relics of former woodland that was cleared for pasture and left for shelter for livestock or for ield boundaries.
The oldest trees in Sussex are polllarded pasture Oaks in ancient medieval Deer Parks; those in the Low Weald include Danny Park south of Hurspierpoint and Plashett Park north of Ringmer. There is only limited public access by public footpath to these parks
Alternatively, Natural Englsnd designates ancient woodland as Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sights (or Ancient Replanted Woodland) – replanted with conifer or broadleaved trees (e.g. Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa) that retain ancient woodland features, such as undisturbed soil, ground flora and fungi
Another way of determining whether you are in ancient woodland, without looking at the Natural England ancient woodland maps, is to look at the plants growing in the woodland you are walking through. Certain plants indicate that the wood you are walking through may be ancient; as these plants take a bery long time to establish themselves in woods.
This post illustrates the Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants that I found in Butcher’s Wood, Lag Wood and Newer Copse today. Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants are listed in Indicators Of Ancient Woodland – the use of vascular plants in evaluating ancient woods for nature conservation. Francis Rose, British Wildlife 10.4 April 1999, Pages 241-251. At the end of this post is a full list of the ancient woodland indicator plants listed by Rose
Resources that can help you identify wild plants:
Harrap’s Wild Flowers is an excellent and easy-to-use field guide, that uses photos with key identification features. Simon Harrap: Harrap’s Wild Flowers A Field Guide to the Wild Flowersof Britain & Ireland ( 2nd edition 2015)
This also useful for identification and has the added advantage that it records your observations if you want to. Saved onservations are checked by others and records which reach “Research Grade” are submitted to county recorders and if agreed they will be added to the National Biodiversity Network Atlas . There are questions about the reliability of Research Grade verification; but iNaturalist is extremely useful for community projects as your records can be seen by anyone; and can be seen in “projects” e.g. the Henfield Nature Challenge . As you progress with identification, I would recommend that you use iRecord, as your plant records will automatically be seen and checked by the County Recorders for vascular plants and if verified they will be added to the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland’s database and could appear in the next edition of the Sussex Plant Atlas. iRecord
N.B. AI photo identification gets things wrong at times; always check an AI identification with a field guide or an expert botanist (if you know one!)
All of the photos in this post were taken today (07.04.25) in Butcher’s Wood, Lag Wood or Newer Copse; except for some examples of other indicator plants that can be found in other Low Weald woods (Butcher’s Broom and Wild Service Trees). All the photos in the post were taken by me.
Wood Anemones turn their flowers to the direction of the sun. The yellow flowers are Lesser Celandine, Ficaria verna. It is not an ancient woodland indicator plant but is a very common flowering plant in woodland; and is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, and so is very important to pollinating insects.
Ilex aquifolium European Holly
An ancient pollarded Carpinus betulus, European Hornbeam, within Lag Wood. Rose makes it clear in his list that Carpinus betulus should only be considered an ancient woodland indicator only if they occur well within the wood and do not appear to have been planted.
Polypodium sp., Polypody Fern (Lag Wood)
The exact species of polypodies is only determinable by microscopic inspection of their spore; but all species of Polypody Ferns are ancient woodland indicators.
This epiphytic Polypody was growing at the top of a Pendunculate Oak, Quercus robur. It looks a bit shrivelled due to the lack of rain of late, and it is being exposed to the full sun while the Oak has no leaves. A branch had fallen from this tree, with Polypody on it; this look more like what Polypody typically looks like
Carex sylvatica, Wood-sedge (Butcher’s Wood)
Carex pendula, Pendulous sedge (Lag Wood)
Theses sedges are a feature of Low Weald woodland, because clay is a soil type which retains water and these sedges grow in wet woodland.
In Lag Wood an ancient field boundary can be seen, consisting of a bank and coppiced Hornbeam. Ancient (medieval) field and wood boundaries often indicate that woodland is ancient.
Ancient woodland has not been “wild” since the delopment of agriculture; since the Neolithic Revolution, between 3100 and 2900 BC. Ancient woodlands have been coppiced and pollarded for 1000s of years. The beauty and biodiversity of these woods comes from sensitive, appropriate human management.
Newer Copse (Wolstonbury Hill), South Downs
Many of the ancient woodland indicator plants of the clay Low Weald and found growing on chalk Downland and vice versa.
I saw Bluebells, Wood Anemones and Holly, in Newer Copse, but I also saw Early-Dog Violets, Moschatel, Yellow Archangel, Soft Shield Fern and Dog’s Mercury; all ancient woodland indicator plants. On other occasions, I have seen Ransoms, Spurge-Laurel Early Purple Orchids and Spurge-Laurel here, also ancient woodland indicator plants.
Viola reichenbachiana Early-Dog Violets
Early Dog Violets are difficult to separate from Common Dog Violets; the Early Dog-violet has a darker purple spur behind the petals. PlantLife: Early Dog Violet
Adoxa moschatellina Moschatel or Townhall Clock
These are very small; and easy to overlook
Laminate galeobdomon Yellow Archangel, not yet in flower.
Polystichum setiferum, Soft Shield-fern
Ferns are difficult to identify, and differentiating between Soft and Hard Shield Fern is very difficult. But both species are indicators of ancient woodland. The shield ferns have this characteristic “thumb” on the leaflets of the fronds and the spores cover both the leaflets and the thumb – you can just about make this out in one or two of the leaflet British Wild Plants Polystichum setiferum
Mercurialis perennis Dog’s Mercury
This is a greatly magnified photo; the flowers of Dog’s Mercury are VERY small!
Dog’s Mercury with no magnification.
Orchis mascula Early Purple Orchid May 24, 2024 Newer Copse (Wolstonbury Hill)
Allium ursinum Ramsons or Wild Garlic 30 May 2023 Newer Copse (Wolstonbury Hill)
Daphne laureola Spurge-Laurel May 24, 2024 Newer Copse (Wolstonbury Hill)
Spurge-Laurel is neither a spurge nor a laurel; it flowers shortly after Christmas.
Newer Copse has a hollowway bostal running up Wolstonbury Hill. Bostals are ancient drover tracks, that generally go up the scarp (steep) slopes of Downs diagonally. It is a Sussex dialect word.
Other Low Weald ancient woodland indicator plants.
I have seen both Butcher’s Broom and Wild Service Trees in Low Weald woods; but not in Butchers Wood or Lag Wood
Ruscus aculeatus Butcher’s-Broom, Ebernoe Common
Butchers broom is uncommon in southern UK and gets rarer the further north you go. … [it] is rare on the chalk.
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.
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.
A true springtime stunner, it’s not so long ago that you could find wild-service fruit at a market. These days it’s rare and hard to find but it’s still a favourite with wildlife like the wood pigeon, whose gut softens its seeds for propagation.
* Consider these species only if they occur well within the wood and do not appear to have been planted.
It should be noted that when calculating Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants scores:
A high AWVP score is a reliable indication of natural diversity.
It also indicates ancient woodland, but does not on its own constitute proof.
Some woods which are undoubtedly ancient have a low AWVP score. Study of other components of the woodland biodiversity such as lichens, or invertebrates in rotting wood, may give clearer indications of ancient woodland status. Quite often, ancient sites that are rich in AWVP’s will be poor in lichens and rotting wood invertebrates and vice-versa.
Not all indicator species are strictly limited to ancient woodlands. For example, where secondary woodland adjoins older woodland, it will acquire species associated with older woods much more quickly than isolated secondary woods.
Plants which are also cultivated in gardens (e.g. Wild Daffodil) should be used with great caution.
Certain woodlands can credibly be established as being ‘ancient’ through the study of old historical records such as maps and estate records. Observations of landscape features such as banks, ditches and other topographical features within a wood will also give clues to previous land use. By surveying a number of these ‘proven’ ancient woodlands, species which are usually confined to this type of habitat can be identified. From: Countryside Information Ancient Woodland Indicator Species
This post illustrates the species of Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants that I found in Fore Wood that are listed in Indicators Of Ancient Woodland – the use of vascular plants in evaluating ancient woods for nature conservation. Francis Rose, British Wildlife 10.4 April 1999, Pages 241-251
Natural England classifies ancient woodland as either:
(a) (ASNW) Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland mainly made up of trees and shrubs native to the site, usually arising from natural regeneration
or
(b) (PAWS) Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sights (or Ancient Replanted Woodland) – replanted with conifer or broadleaved trees (e.g. Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa) that retain ancient woodland features, such as undisturbed soil, ground flora and fungi
Fore Wood is designated by Natural England as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, but it does have some small areas of planted Sweet Chestnut which the RSPB is removing.
Fore Wood is managed by the RSPB:
Fore Wood is a stretch of peaceful woodland near Crowhurst, dotted by gyhlls – steep-sided little ravines in the sandstone where rare ferns grow and wildlife thrives. In the spring, Fore Wood is a riot of Bluebells and Wood Anemones, with Early Purple Orchids adding to the show, an ideal place for East Sussex walks.
This ancient woodland is a mix of Hornbeam, oak and Sweet Chestnut trees. We carefully manage the woodland for the benefit of the wildlife using coppicing – a traditional woodland management practice. RSPB Fore Wood
Fore Wood is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest: SSSI citation
Here are the Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants that I saw:
Lonicera periclymenum Honeysuckle
Oxalis acetosella Wood-Sorrel
Primula vulgaris Primrose
Ribes rubrum Red Currant, by one of the ghylls
Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell
Ruscus aculeatus Butcher’s-Broom
Anemonoides nemorosa Wood Anemone
with Psectrotanypus varius a species of non biting midge.
By one of the ghylls; Opposite-leaved Golden-Saxifrage is mostly a plant of damp stream/ghyll sides, or wet flushes
A view of one of the ghylls with Lesser Celandine, Ficaria verna. Lesser Celandine is not an AWVP indicator but it is a very important early source of pollen for pollinators. There are two ghyll is Fire Wood – this one has shallow sides
but the other ghyll has much steeper sides and is more typical of the upper reaches of ghylls in High Weald Ghyll Woods, like Fore Wood.
Ardingly Sandrock can be seen in this photograph. Where the porous Ardingly Sandrock meets the impervious Wadhurst Clay springs are formed that feed the ghylls. Global heating is a great threat to the survival of the internationaly important ghyll wood habitat of the High Weald.
In the south-east of England mean annual temperatures have increased by approximately 1.7°C over the past 50 years,(UKCIP 2013). Average rainfall remained unchanged during the same period, but patterns of precipitation did change with mean rainfall levels decreasing in the spring and summer months, but increasing in the autumn and winter. Over the same period the average annual and seasonal levels of relative humidity fell by up to 5% in the south and east of England (UKCIP 2013). The presence of regionally and nationally important vascular and non-vascular plant communities within the Wealden ghylls is attributed to the cool, humid microclimatic conditions associated with the ghyll valleys (Paton 1956, Ratcliffe 1968, Rose and Patmore 1997). The rising temperature levels coupled with the existence within the ghyll woodlands is closely related to a cool, humid ghyll microclimate.
Orange-Tip Butterfly, Anthocharis cardamines, a butterfly of damp places, on Lesser Celandine
Bee-Flies and Orange Tip Butterflies are some of the earliest pollinators to appear in spring; but they have finished in the adult flying form by May/June; although Orange Tip Butterflies sometimes have a second brrod
An ancient pollarded Carpinus betulus European Hornbeam within the wood. Rose makes it clear in his list that Carpinus betulus should only be considered an AWVP indicator only if they occur well within the wood and do not appear to have been planted.
Theses Hornbeams form a boundary around the wood; whilst theses trees as species can not be considered as AWVP indicators; the structure of the ancient boundary (raised bank with coppiced trees) is probably an indicator of ancient woodland.
This is Francis Rose’s list of Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants (AWVP) for South East Woodland
* Consider these species only if they occur well within the wood and do not appear to have been planted.
It should be noted that when calculating Ancient Woodland Indicator Plants scores:
A high AWVP score is a reliable indication of natural diversity.
It also indicates ancient woodland, but does not on its own constitute proof.
Some woods which are undoubtedly ancient have a low AWVP score. Study of other components of the woodland biodiversity such as lichens, or invertebrates in rotting wood, may give clearer indications of ancient woodland status. Quite often, ancient sites that are rich in AWVP’s will be poor in lichens and rotting wood invertebrates and vice-versa.
Not all indicator species are strictly limited to ancient woodlands. For example, where secondary woodland adjoins older woodland, it will acquire species associated with older woods much more quickly than isolated secondary woods.
Plants which are also cultivated in gardens (e.g. Wild Daffodil) should be used with great caution.
Certain woodlands can credibly be established as being ‘ancient’ through the study of old historical records such as maps and estate records. Observations of landscape features such as banks, ditches and other topographical features within a wood will also give clues to previous land use. By surveying a number of these ‘proven’ ancient woodlands, species which are usually confined to this type of habitat can be identified. From: Countryside Information Ancient Woodland Indicator Species
The edge of Fore Wood, with Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa, in blook, and behind Pedunculate Oak, Quercus robur, Silver Birch, Betula pendula and Holly, Ilex aquifolium
I visited with a friend, and fellow naturalist, a high weald ghyll wood to explores its bryophytes and lichens. This ghyll had the features of most high weald ghyll woods; a ghyll fed by springs from the sides of the ghyll valley. The springs form where the porous Tunbridge Wells sands, meet the Wadhurst Clay, of the impervious Wealden Group. These springs produce wet flushes which are a highly propitious habitats for bryophytes. Ghyll woods often have outcrops of Ardingly Sandrock, where bryophytes, ferns and lichens grow.
Most Ghyll Woodlands have ancient, veteran and notable tress; often Pedunculate Oaks Quercus robur, and Beech, Fagus sylvatica. This wood did, but only around the ghyll; other parts of the ancient woodland have been replanted with pines, often Scots Pines, Pinus sylvestris, and other trees for ornamental purposes and timber. Unfortunately much of the ancient woodland of the High Weald have been replanted either for landscaping or timber.
“Due to their isolation and enclosed nature, Ghylls have a unique microclimate, often rich in bryophytes and other moisture loving plant species. Ghyll woodlands are found in the extreme upper reaches of rivers, where springs and streams first form in small, steep, wooded valleys. The steep sided nature of Ghylls has also ensured that many Ghyll woodlands have remained untouched and undisturbed by human activity. Ghyll woodlands have an unusual micro-climate and they are therefore unique.
The flora found in these sites is very characteristic of former Atlantic conditions – including lush growths of ferns (such as Hay Scented Buckler Fern), mosses and liverworts. Many are likely to be primary woodland sites (potentially dating from the ice-age) and some have received relatively little disturbance, pollution or management. Ghylls provide an important function within the wider river catchment. They help to capture and slow down rainfall and overland run-off which would otherwise have a high capacity for erosion in these steep areas. They also provide shade and protection from sunlight, which provides a kind of ‘thermostatic regulation’ to downstream areas of river by cooling down water temperatures. Cool river temperatures are particularly important for the reproduction of a number of fish species.
Over 6% of the High Weald in Sussex is classed as ‘Ghyll’ woodland. This rare habitat type is a unique landscape feature of this part of Sussex and of the UK. Ghyll woodland in these terms specifically applies to the woodland found in the Sandstone and Hastings beds of the High Weald. There is currently no agreed definition of the riverine/floodplain limits at which Ghyll woodland becomes a floodplain woodland, and as such it is difficult to assign an accurate figure to the known area of Wealden and non Wealden Ghyll woodlands in Sussex.”Sussex Wildlife Trust – Wet Woodland
Bryophytes
Bryophytes are a group of plants that include mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Currently (January 2021), there are 1098 species of bryophyte in Britain and Ireland, which represents around 58 percent of the total European flora. Conversely, our islands have less than 20 per cent of the European flowering plants.
Like the ‘higher’ plants (flowering plants and ferns) the majority of bryophytes make their own food via photosynthesis and because they contain chlorophyll, the majority are green. However, bryophytes lack proper roots, structural strength and an advanced vascular system to move water and dissolved substances around efficiently and so are size-limited.
The mosses, liverworts and hornworts are believed to have evolved from ancestral green algae and are thought to comprise the earliest lineages of plants. Because of their unassuming nature and small stature, bryophytes are easily overlooked or even dismissed as boring, but their beauty and complexity under the microscope easily puts them on a par with their higher plant relatives.British Bryological Society – what are bryophytes
… bryophytes can’t grow very big because they have no way to efficiently move water from their base to the rest of the plant. Instead, they grow close to the ground and absorb water directly from the environment into their cells.
Despite their preference for damp habitats, bryophytes can live for a long time without water. Some plants … survive droughts by storing water, but bryophytes have a different strategy. They go into a state of dormancy, or suspended animation, and simply wait. Water … isn’t just important for hydration. Bryophytes rely on it to reproduce as well. … bryophyte sperm has to “swim” to an egg cell to fertilize it.
… mosses have a midrib in the middle of each leaf, whereas liverworts have no midrib. Liverworts are relatively flat in comparison to mosses because their leaves are in two parallel rows, whereas mosses tend to have a more spiral shape, with leaves emerging from all sides of the stem. … . Another feature to consider if you’re trying to distinguish mosses and liverworts is the presence of lobed leaves, or leaves with protuberances off the main leaf … Some liverworts (but not all) have lobed leaves, but no mosses do.. With mosses … one of the first questions to ask is whether it’s pleurocarpous or acrocarpous. Pleurocarp mosses … tend to have highly branching stems and grow in sprawling patches. The stems of acrocarp mosses, meanwhile, have little or no branching and grow mostly vertically, often forming tight clumps.
With Liverworts, one of the first question to ask whether its a thalloid of leafy liverwort; thallose liverwort, set apart from so-called leafy liverworts by the presence of thallus (a ribbon-like structure) instead of leaves. … Interestingly, liverworts also have a distinctive smell, sharp and earthy. The scent can be so strong that you might sometimes smell liverworts before you see them. Duke University Research BlogInto the Damp, Shady World of the Bryophytes
Some of the mosses and liverworts of this high weal wood:
Pleurocarp mosses:
Thamnobryum alopecurum Fox-tail Feather-Moss.
Growing at the base of a Pedunculate Oak
A shade-tolerant species which occurs in several distinct habitats. It grows on the ground, on exposed tree roots and tree bases in woodland and on the banks of ditches and sheltered lanes, occurring on mildly acid, neutral or basic soils but in particular abundance in woods over chalk, limestone and calcareous boulder clay. BBS Thamnobryum alepercurum
Acrocarp mosses:
Dichodontium pellucidum Transparent Fork-Moss
D. pellucidum is a moss often growing on rocks by streams and rivers in the North and West (Atlantic Woodlands); but it is also found in the High Weald
Hookeria lucens Shining Hookeria
A plant of shaded, moist, humid sites, found in flushes on woodland banks and on streamsides and riversides, of North and West (Atlantic Woodlands); but it is also found in the High Weald
Those who have not encountered Hookeria before are wowed by its beauty and distinctiveness but because it’s very complanate and quite large, may assume it is a leafy liverwort. However, it lacks complicate-folded leaves, underleaves, trigones, oil bodies and any of the other features that are often present in the leafy liverworts.BBS Hookeria luncens
Orthodontium lineare Cape Thread-Moss
Pogonatum aloides, Aloe Haircap
Although very common in the uplands, the species has declined in C and E England from the loss of suitably open acid substrates, although many of these loses are of long standing.BBS Pognotum aloides
This moss emerges from a low, persistent, vividly green protonemal felt.
The protonema is the first part of the moss that develops from the germinating spore. Its filamentous form is remarkably similar to green algae. This photosynthetic colonizer lies flat against its substrate, making it seem as if the rock or tree it grows on is painted green. University of British Columbia Introduction to moss morphology
Mala Rhizomnium punctatum Dotted Thyme-Moss
Its shoots come in two forms – sterile and fertile. The sterile shoots of Plagiomnium lie flat or low to the ground (procumbent or arcuate) and look somewhat flattened (complanate). Stem leaves are toothed. Sterile shoots of Rhizomnium are erect, and stem leaves are entire. In both genera the fertile shoots are erect.
Plants are dioicous and male plants of R. punctatum are particularly striking and resemble small flowers
This is one of the commonest leafy liverworts to be found on rocks and other surfaces in watercourses and lakes where it usually grows at least partially submerged. You’re unlikely to find it in chalk or limestone streams or in other base-rich water as it prefers water with a pH of 6.5 or less.BBS Chiloscyphus polyanthos
Diplophyllum albicans White Earwort
Frullania tamarisci Tamarisk Scalewort
Growing on an Oak.
Frullania dilitata, Dilated Scalewort, is very common epiphytic liverwort in Sussex, and can bee seen on may trees in most landscape types in Sussex.
Ftamarisci; it is primarily a liverwort of western Atlantic woodland, and is rare in Sussex. Ftamarisci has more “body” and grows slight “out” of the tree; whereas F. dilitata grows flat and is adpressed to the tree trunk.
It is a humidity-demanding species and sheltered valley or ravine woodlands in western areas will often have a substantial population on trees and boulders. It’s usually easily picked out from F. dilatata by its glossiness (when dry) and by the way the shoots grow away from the substrate.BBS Frullania tamarisci
Lophocolea bidentata Bifid Crestwort
This is likely to be the first leafy liverwort you will encounter as a beginner, since it is very common and occurs in almost any habitat. Look at it closely, the first few times you find it as it is very beautiful and has some interesting features. All of the leaves are conspicuously bilobed and of a pale green, translucent hue. The underleaves are large, bilobed and with each lobe itself bearing a side-tooth.BBS Lophocolea bidentata
Lophozia ventricosa Tumid Notchwort
Common in Sussex in High Weald ghylls, but not anywhere else in Sussex
Aery common species wherever acid soil or peaty ground is found, so rare only in the more calcareous lowlands of England and Ireland.BBS Lophozia ventricosa
Male Metzgeria furcata Forked Veilwort
Forked Veilwort is an extremely common epiphytic liverwort in Sussex, and can bee seen on many trees in most landscape types in Sussex.
Metzgeria furcata is dioicous and so plants will either be male or female but not both. Reproductive structures are found in bud-like, highly modified branches that more or less enclose the archegonia (female) or antheridia (male) on the underside of the thallus. Male branches have a costa, which gives them a stripy appearance.
Scapania undulata Water Earwort
Solenostoma gracillimum Crenulated Flapwort
Thalloid Liverworts
Conocephalum conicumsensu lato, Great Scented Liverwort
This, along with Pellia epiphylla, Common Pellia and Pellia endiviifolia, Endive Pellia, are extremely common in Sussex often on the banks of ghylls and streams in the low or high weald
The cone shaped structures are the female archegonia, multicellular structure or organ of the gametophyte phase liverworts of certain producing and containing the ovum (female gamete) The corresponding male organ is called the antheridium. . Archegonia are typically located on the surface of the plant thallus. Conocephalum conicum is complex (aggregate) of various similar species.
Pellia epiphylla, Common Pellia
This is hard to distinguish from Pellia endiviifolia, Endive Pellia; it is easier to distinguish between the two in winter when Endive Pellia had “frilly” edges to its thalli.
Pellia endiviifolia, Endive Pellia
This is a picture of Endive Pellia from Tilgate Forest, not the location visited on 23.03.24; because it clearly shows the frilly thalli.
Pellia neesiana Ring Pellia
One of two dioicous species of Pellia – the other is P. endiviifolia – and there is no problem identifying it with confidence when female thalli with more or less untoothed involucral flaps are present, usually in spring.
Male plants are a little more challenging. If antheridial pits extend nearly to the apex of the thallus and there is no involucral flap [after fertilization, the capsule starts to develop and is protected by an involucre] then it is unlikely to be P. epiphylla, our only monoicous species . But how to separate from male P. endiviifolia if the thalli are unbranched? There are two good ways. Firstly, the antheridial pits [antheridia are haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes (sperm)] of P. neesiana always look very conspicuous because there are raised, papilliform cells surrounding the pit aperture (see Claire’s excellent close-up images of this feature below). P. endiviifolia does not have these conspicuous cells and so its antheridial pits are less obvious.BBS Pellia neesiana
N.B. Monoecious bryophytes (and other plants) have have both male and female sex organs. Dioecious species have only one (either male or female) sex organ.
Pellia neesiana is much rarer in Sussex that the other Pellia spp. and is predominantly a liverwort of Western Atlantic woodland; it is only found in Sussex in the high weald.
any area that’s been wooded continuously since at least 1600 AD. It includes:
plantations on ancient woodland sites – replanted with conifer or broadleaved trees that retain ancient woodland features, such as undisturbed soil, ground flora and fungi
ancient semi-natural woodland mainly made up of trees and shrubs native to the site, usually arising from natural regeneration
There is only one Ancient, Veteran or Notable tree listed in Fittleworth Wood in the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory; the “notable” Quercus robur above
but there are other Oaks, Quercus robur, and Beech, Fagus sylvatica, amongst the mostly replanted Sweet Chestnut
Fittleworth Forest is designated by Natural England as mostly ancient semi-natural woodland, with compartments of replanted ancient woodland
The smaller compartments are listed as Replanted Ancient Woodland; but all of the woodland looked to have been replanted to me, with a few relics of older trees.
The British Lichen Society has no records for the monads (1k x 1k squares) of Fittleworth Forest
which suggests that it has not been of wood of significance for lichenologists; although there are many monads with no records, not because there of little lichenological interest but because there are very few lichen recorders.
Some of the most beautiful tree relics – of the times before replanting occurred – are some ancient boundary banks of Oak, Quercus robur and Beech, Fagus sylvatica. Theses banks and trees are also a propitious habitat for bryophytes (mosses and liverworts)
There are some more notable Pendunculate Oak surviving amongst the huge area of coppiced Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa
These Oaks are richer in terms lichens than the Sweet Chestnut; although very old stools of felled coppiced Sweet Chestnut can have rich assemblages of Cladonia spp. lichens; but the Sweet Chestnut in Fittleworth wood is to too young to have much lichen diversity, with only Cladonia coniocraea evident:
Many of the Oaks have much Common Greenshield Lichen, Flavoparmelia caperata.
Flavoparmelia caperata is in the Parmelion community of lichens that demonstrate that a tree is probably older than 50 years.
Young coppiced Sweet Chestnut mostly have Pertusaria spp., especially Pertusaria leioplaca, and Graphidaceae family lichens e.g. Graphis sctipta sensu lato.
Sweet Chestnut
Pertusaria leioplaca
Probably Graphis scripta s.l.
Script lichens are of the Graphidion community and start growing toward the end of the first year of a trunk’s life. The Graphidaceae family require spore microscopy to identify to species level.
Amongst the sweet chestnut there were a lot of Leucobryum spp. mosses
And where felled trees had been and burnt, there were areas of Funaria hygrometrica Bonfire Moss, as would be expected.
Funaria hygrometrica
As I moved eastwards, and down from the higher ground of Fittleworth Wood, into the valley of Chance Copse, the ground flora seemed much more indicative of ancient woodland soil despite the presence still of much replanted woodland, but not dominated by Sweet Chestnut. Large amounts of replanted Sweet Chestnut does not seem propitious for the growth of ancient woodland ground flora from the seed bank of ancient woodland soil.
Plants like Hairy Woodrush, Luzula pilosa; Wildlife Daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus and Primrose, Primula vulgaris in Chance Wood are ancient woodland indictor plants; these were absent in Fittleworth Wood.
The banks of the stream in Chance Copse have many wet flushes arising from springs in the greensand; these are probably a good habitat for rare bryophytes, but I had little time as it was getting dark by the time I got to Chance Corpse I only found a few common bryophytes:
Sim's Nature Notes 