isolated portion of the Forest at Buckhurst Hill, suffered particularly, much of the central part of the
woodi and being burnt, and many of the dead and dying trees were subsequently cleared. This clearance
left a large open area of disturbed ground. I subsequently surveyed the flora of this site between 1977
and 1979 (Hanson. 1983). The woodland went from being densely tree-covered with a relatively
species-poor flora, to one, admittedly for a short period of time, with a large number of plant species.
Ignoring the ephemeral 'waste site' plants that appeared, the most interesting groups of plants noted
here were the sedges and rushes. Neither were well represented in the woodland in Lords Bushes prior
to 1976 but the cleared area produced records of nine species of sedge and six species of rush. Amongst
the sedges were Ribbed Sedge (Carex binervis), Straight-beaked Sedge (C. demissa). Star Sedge (C.
echinata) and Pill Sedge (C. pilulifera) and the rushes included Toad Rush (Juncus bufonius). Bulbous
Rush (./ bulbosus) and Soft Rush (J. effusus). I suspect that the seeds of these species had remained
dormant in the soil for many decades and on the gross disturbance during clearance had germinated,
perhaps as they would have done when pollarded areas were cut in the past and the ground disturbed
during and after the cutting. Other plants noted on the cleared area of Lords Bushes at this time included
Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula), Wavy Bitter-cress (Cardamine flexuosa). Bog Stitchwort
(Stellaria alsine). Trailing St. John's Wort (Hypericum humifusum), Birdsfoot (Ornithopus
perpusillus) and the little annual. Early Hairgrass (Aira praecox), all species that may well have
occurred in recently pollarded areas. A list of selected plants from various sites in Lords Bushes is
given in Table 1. Other recently cleared areas in the Forest have provided similar lists of plants. In
May, 1988 I surveyed the plants in a cleared area of pollard woodland off the Verderers' Ride in Honey
Lane Quarters ('The Big View'). I found Soft Rush (abundantly), Ribbed Sedge, Pill Sedge, Remote
Sedge (Carex remota). Bog Stitchwort and Heath Woodrush (Luzula multiflora) and its tight-headed
form (subsp. congesta). In the Broadstrood area, Hangboy Slade, cleared prior to 1987, included
amongst its flora Remote Sedge, Bog Stitchwort (very common on boggy ground). Heath Woodrush
(including subsp, congesta), Pill Sedge and single plants each of Star Sedge and Straight-beaked
Sedge, the latter also being found near the Wake Arms on recently cleared ground in 1987. The buried
seed in the soil beneath the old pollard trees is probably important to the survival of many species of
plant in the Forest. Many of the sedges listed above, particularly Star and Straight-beaked are not only
rare in Essex, but in eastern England, although they are rather more frequent in western and northern
Britain. Many of the sedges, and particularly the tough-stemmed rushes, are not palatable to livestock,
hence their survival amongst the pollard trees. Recently-cleared pollard woodland in Bury Wood (Plate
21) may yet turn up some interesting species of plant but, being Hornbeam woodland on clay, will
almost certainly have different species from those found in Lords Bushes. Also of note is the fact that
the soil has not suffered the gross disturbance that happened in Lords Bushes and other sites.
Other unpalatable woodland plants formerly found more frequently in the Forest but which are
rather rare today include Spurge Laurel (Daphne laureola) reported by Warner (1771) to be not
uncommon and at the turn of this century reported from Hawk Wood, Bury Wood, the Cuckoo Pits
and from High Beach. Today it is known from a single site on the margin of the Forest. Wood Spurge
was reported by Richard Warner in 1771 and exactly 100 years later William Cole noted it from the
Forest at Woodford. It always seems to have been an uncommon plant in the Forest, being more typical
of coppiced woodland. Spurge Laurel may have been unable to survive under the very dense shade
of the uncut pollard trees. Butchers Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) is still widespread in the Forest,
tolerating deep shade. It presumably survived in Epping Forest because its sharp-pointed cladodes
('leaves') made it impossible for cattle or horses to eat. I have seen it, particularly between Connaught
Water and the Epping New Road where about a dozen bushes are to be found in a small area. Holly
abounds in the Forest, apparently a feature of wood-pasture in which the grazing has greatly declined.
I have never seen a Holly pollard in the Forest, although they are found in the New Forest. It may be
because, along with Crab and Thorn, Holly was accorded the status of special vert and would have
been reserved for the deer.
The Midland Thorn (Crataegus oxycanthoides) is not uncommon in the Forest growing with
Hornbeam and Oak. It is usually thought of as a species of ancient woodland. It will readily hybridise
with its relative, the Common Hawthorn (C. monogyna) and the hybrid is found in the Forest.
One species of fern has been particularly associated with pollard trees in the Forest; the Polypody
(Polypodium sp.), once frequent in the Forest it is now extinct. The last specimens were reported from
the Lower Forest in the 1960s by R. M. Payne. Miller Christy wrote in the Essex Naturalist of 1924
'... which may be described as most characteristic of the Forest... the common polypody
fern which grows in the crowns of the pollard trees. ... In the early part of last century, the
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