Problems in elm and rose identifications -
from a detailed study of woods and hedgerows near Earl's Colne
BRIAN WRIGHT AND URSULA BROUGHTON
'Farthings', Layer Breton Hill, Layer Breton, Colchester, COl OPP
Abstract
This paper describes problems encountered when trying to identify elms and roses during a larger
study of hedges and woods in a relatively small area of Essex between Earl's Colne and Coggeshall
(TL8525, 8526, 8625 and 8626).
Introduction
During a walk, in what was to become the study area (Fig. 1), we came across an old hedge with a
large variety of different plants and wondered why it seemed to end in the middle of a field. Begin-
ning our study, we recorded the number of woody species in each thirty-metre stretch according to
'Hooper's rule' (Pollard et al. 1974), which relates the number of woody species in thirty yards to the
number of centuries a hedge has been in existence. This 'rule1 suggested that the hedge had possibly
been there for between nine and twelve hundred years! A search in the map section of the local
library confirmed our suspicion that the hedge was a relict of an old wood boundary. We decided to
carry out an ecological study of it throughout a whole year.
Developing our study meant acquiring new skills. These, for example, included the detailed tax-
onomy of roses and elms (e.g. Graham & Primavesi 1993), the interpretation of aerial photographs
and local history records. The study grew to include other old wood boundaries and woods and the
uses that the local people may have had for the products of these woods.
The study was aimed at more than listing the plants and animals of the hedges and woods. It aimed
to look at species interactions and the changes, brought about by farming practices or climatic
variation, on the plant and animal communities. As a result the study extended over almost six years
(Broughton & Wright 2000).
Aims
1 To record the plants, including non-flowering, found in the hedge. This was later extended to
include those on old boundaries and to extant woodland.
2 To record as many of the animals associated with the hedge as possible, and later this was
similarly extended.
3 To make a record of the physical characteristics of hedges and ditches, and to record the
nature of the local soils.
4 To record as many aspects of the environment affecting the life of the area as were possible,
including temperatures and management.
5 To investigate its history, both by examination of the hedge itself and the use of archive
material in the local studies centre and in the Essex Record Office.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 18 (2001)
147