mouse (Micromys minutus Pall.) was found in bramble. Although the mole
(Talpa europaeus Linn.) is resident, there is only one record of the hedgehog
(Erinaceus europaeus Linn.). They are rare on northern hill heaths, so possibly
the absence of trees with their accompanying deep food-rich humus and leaf
litter is the answer. The thin, patchy woodland on the Heath is very recent. Most
of the mammals data was obtained by Mr P. Winter in a series of Longworth
trap surveys in 1977. Mr Winter is the Mammal Recorder for CNHS.
Plants
Over a century ago the botanist George Stacey Gibson considered Tiptree
Heath to be one of the finest botanical sites in Essex and his Flora contains
nearly 100 references to the 19th century Heath. That of course was only a
remnant of the original heathland area and our Heath today is a mere fragment.
Gibson's records are interesting; round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia
Linn.) upright moenchia (Moenchia erecta Linn.) pennyroyal (Mentha
pulegium Linn.) small butterfly orchis (Habenaria bifolia) white horehound
(Marrubium vulgare Linn.) large wild thyme (Thymus chamaedrys Fries.) and
needle whin (Genista anglica Linn.) are just a few in a list that makes mournful
present-day reading.
Heather
The greater part is ling which fortunately is a tall and robust species able to
survive in gorse for a long time. Bell heather, a smaller more attractive plant,
often grows with ling but is quickly smothered by gorse. Cross-leaved heath
(Erica tetralix Linn.) is the earliest to flower and prefers wet heath sites often
where gorse cannot get established. Of the three species, bell heather is a county
rarity and we are pleased that it is not only plentiful but spreading fast in dry
grassland. As the Heath progressively dries out due to the lowered water table, it
is likely that cross-leaved heath will become the species in jeopardy.
Ling has a life cycle marked by distinct phases. It can live for 30 years and
starts life as a seedling exploiting open spaces among old plants and in
grassland. This pioneer phase lasts about five years and merges into the
building phase, where the plants lock canopies, exclude competition and flower
prolifically. The plant enters the mature phase at about 20 years, after which
the annual out-put is mainly wood with few flowers. The canopy becomes open
in places as individual plants collapse from the centre. At 30 years the plant is in
the degenerate phase, with collapsed branches horizontal in a radial pattern
exposing bare ground at the centre. This is quickly colonised by new heather
seedlings, mosses (Polytrichum spp.) lichens (Cladonia spp) fungi and birch
seedlings. The oldest post-1955 ling on the Heath is 23 years old (in 1978).
Heather burning or swayling as practiced on northern grouse moors is the
best form of management to produce a patchwork of different-aged blocks, but
the technique is not practicable on the Heath as the enriching effect of the ash
on the impoverished soil could result in a changed plant community. Where
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