The 2002 AGM address. The changing flora of the Essex countryside
I speak from my knowledge of the River Stort, which is now dry for 9 months of the year in the
parishes of Langley, Clavering and Manuden. Where there used to be a mill and watercress beds at
Farnham, the river is now only a trickle in summer. Further south on the navigable section of the
Stort, the only regular flow in summer is provided by the outfall from a number of sewage treatment
works.
I personally learnt to swim in this river 60 years ago when in summer the water was crystal clear.
Today it is 'enriched', and aquatic plants are harder to find. The pond weeds Potamogeton spp. in
particular are in decline, and swimming in the River Stort is unwise.
Motor vehicles are a major cause of change in our native flora, and new roads can destroy valuable
wildlife sites. In west Essex Birchanger Wood is one of our best sites for the Wood Anemone Anemone
nemorosa, but has been cut in half by the A120 trunk road. Alsa Wood at Elsenham is bisected by the
Mil motorway. Not all is lost as the new verges may eventually be colonised by plants from
surrounding areas. Wild Liquorice Astragalus glycyphyllos is now spreading on the banks of the
M11 at Newport while junctions 7 and 8 of this motorway now have 4 species of orchid growing on
the verges.
Inappropriate management, or lack of management, is causing concern regarding roadside verges
throughout Essex. Essex has some excellent verges but some are being lost through neglect. Along
with churchyards our road verges provide some of the best remnant sites for grassland plants. Pollution
and a poor or inadequate cutting regime is leading to a decline of species such as Greater Knapweed
Centauria scabiosa. Knapweed Broomrape Orobanche elatior and Clustered Bellflower Campanula
glomerata. Our roadsides are also subject to increased salinity caused by salting the road surfaces
each winter. Coastal plants such as Danish Scurvy grass Cochlearia danica, Sea Spurrey Spergularia
marina and Buck's-horn Plantain Plantago coronopus are now common throughout the county and
can easily be found along most roads, for example in Harlow over 40 miles from the sea.
While on the subject of pollution I should mention the atmospheric variety, about which I am not
qualified to say much, other than that I fear it can only be harmful to most plants. Essex also suffers
from an insatiable demand for new housing and industrial sites. Although it is fashionable nowadays
for politicians to advocate that all new development be confined to 'brownfieid' or 'derelict' land, it
is precisely these that contain some of the best of our remnant flora. To do the least damage to our
wildlife it would be best to build the houses in the arable prairie that now covers much of Essex. I
fear that this will not happen and we shall see a continuing loss of 'derelict' and scrubland sites.
Modern housing is invariably accompanied by modern 'landscaping'. Why we must have amenity
trees planted in thousands 1 cannot understand. Planting so close together ensures that many will die
and there will be no ground flora as the trees compete for light. If one tree in twenty survives that
surely would be enough. What a waste of money! Unfortunately many of the new trees and shrubs
are of imported stock and do not have the same genes as the our native species. Apparently tree
planting must be a good thing, as every local authority is so keen on it. Unfortunately little thought
seems to be given to what damage will be done to the existing flora.
Most of the changes 1 have mentioned have been due to human activities. There has also been
change through more natural causes, although the impact has been much less. Floods, drought,
storms, Dutch Elm Disease and myxomatosis arc all examples of this. I believe Essex has lost one
plant species every two years for most of the last half century, largely as a result of the changes
brought about by human activities.
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)