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land, and as a result of habitat destruction
are yearly becoming scarcer. As the year
unfolds the rich and varied flora of the
flood meadows is revealed. Spring sees
such plants as ladies smock and kingcup
flowering in the damper parts of the meadows,
followed by ragged robin (easily recognised
by its deeply cleft pink petals) and also
numerous sedges and grasses. Some of the
sedges found in the valley are quite uncommon
in Essex, including tufted sedge, carnation
grass (a sedge despite it's name!) and brown
sedge. The first and last mentioned are
species typically found in marshy areas.
The largest group represented in the flora
is undoubtedly the grasses. So far thirty-3
species have been recorded in the valley,
among them many common species, from the
delicate meadow barley and the aromatic sweet
vernal grass to the robust cocks-foot and
the large and very coarse tufted hair grass.
Two special grasses are hybrid fescue and
meadow brome, both characteristic plants of
old meadows.
The hay meadows, too, have their interesting
plants. Worthy of note are the thousands
of ox-eye daisies, which appear in one
meadow, and elsewhere pepper saxifrage and
devil's bit scabious occur; the blue pin-
cushion-like flowers of the last mentioned
are very attractive to insects in the late
summer.
The meadows and hedgerows have a rich
invertebrate fauna. Eighteen species of
butterfly have been recorded here. Meadow
browns can sometimes be seen here in their
hundreds on a hot summer's day. Other
butterflies found here include hedge brown,