with wood-pasture and probably was able to establish itself only on the cessation of
grazing in Lords Bushes, interestingly it shares its root-base with a hornbeam tree.
Yew (Taxus baccata) occurs as a single small tree in the undisturbed woodland near
Squirrels Lane and also on the burnt and disturbed area as seedlings. It is a rare tree in
Epping Forest, probably because it is poisonous to livestock and efforts would have been
made to abolish it from the Forest.
The Native Tree and Shrub Species
Lords Bushes contains a number of interesting native tree and shrub species. Wild
service would seem to underline the long established nature of the woodland.
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Prior to the drought of 1976, this was undoubtedly the dominant tree species in
Lords Bushes. The tall beech trees, until 1976. were overshading and thus killing other
tree species particularly the oak pollards; the beech tending to become the sole
dominant in the woodland. In the undisturbed woodland beech occurs mainly as a
standard and pollard but there are several trees that have been coppiced one of these
being a particularly fine example, (Plate 11.) which shows evidence that an attempt was
made to pollard the coppice poles. Perhaps this is evidence of an unsuccessful attempt at
introducing coppicing (coppicing is easier than pollarding) into a wood-pasture system.
Also of note in Lords Bushes is the presence of the beech scale insect (Cryptococcus
fagi), a true bug (Hemiptera: Coccidae) specific to beech. The insects presence is
characterised by a 'woolly' protective wax scale under which the colonial females live.
They are parthenogenetic, no males are known. Heavy infestations of the scale insect
often occur on overmature trees, especially those weakened in any way. The infestation
can be severely debilitating, but it is this insect's association with a pathogenic fungus of
the genus Nectria which, in many parts of Britain, notably in the Chilterns, has led to
the deaths of many trees. Infestations of the insect are not invariably followed by fungal
infection (47).
Oak (Quercus robur)
All oaks bar one so far examined are English oak (Quercus robur). The exception
appears to have predominantly sessile oak (Quercus petraea) characteristics, namely the
acorn cups are sessile, in most cases flush against the stem, while the leaves have
relatively long petioles and lack well developed auricles (in many leaves this feature is
totally lacking). It is interesting to note that Warner writing in 1771 (74) records the
"Oak tree with the acorns on the short shoot stalks found on the Forest between
Muncombe and the Bald Faced Stag" and it is thus likely that more diligent searching
would turn up further examples of this species. Mature oaks occur in Lords Bushes only
as standards and pollards, though the latter are declining due to overshading by beech.
Oak is a light demanding species (44) and presumably, in a pollard woodland where the
majority of trees in a given area are pollarded at the same time, there is no competition
for light between individual trees for much of the time and hence the oak trees are able
to survive. E. N. Buxton wrote of the oaks in Lords Bushes "It is the old oak pollards
which give it a character of its own . . . many of these have been killed by the over-
shadowing of the lusty young beeches but others have been taken in time and saved from
the slow but sure process of choking ... no one can doubt that the ancient boles will
continue to give a venerable air to this wood for many years to come" (14).
Perhaps the finest of these trees is the Pulpit Oak (Plate 5) situated in the far north
west corner of the wood, bordering Monkhams Lane. This magnificent tree, which has a
girth at breast height of 4.57m (15ft 91/2"), could well be over 600 years old and is by its
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