Ancient woods often contain a rich and characteristic flora. Some of their plants are widespread like bracken and bramble. Others are more particular to woods, and places with a history of woodland cover. Many of these plants particular to woods will be familiar, for example wood spurge and yellow archangel in the lowlands, or cow wheat and sanicle in the uplands. Some are so strongly associated with old woods that they are called ‘ancient woodland indicator species’.
To tell woodland plants from other, more widespread species, it is easiest to define them by what they are not; ie fast-growing, weedy plants. If you find smaller, more delicate looking plants, flowering and growing in the spring before the trees are in full leaf, then you should take a closer look.
Where to find them
- Woodland plants are able to endure periods of dense or dappled shade giving them a competitive advantage over other vegetation.
- ‘Hotspot’ patches of woodland flora survive in most PAWS
- Woodland plants can be more abundant in recently cut coppice
- Woodland plants can occur on the edges of old field systems and in upland pastures, often among bracken, scrub or rocky outcrops
- Ride edges may contain open-ground species, such as orchids, as well as being rich in woodland plants
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