The distribution of the Oxlip Primula elatior (L.) Hill in Essex
differentiate it from the Common Oxlip, a nomenclature further confused by the habit in some
villages of calling Oxlips cowslips and cowslips 'Paigles'. A fuller account of these debates will be
found in Jermyn (1974), upon which these comments are based.
Habitat and distribution: In England Oxlips arc confined almost exclusively to ancient woodlands
on chalky boulder clay soils. These glacial deposits drain very poorly and, wherever there is a lack
of slope, they are prone to flooding and consequent waterlogging during the winter and early spring.
In summer they retain 36 - 43% moisture and Valentine (1948) accurately describes these sites as
'un-drained islands in drained agricultural land1. This preference for these moist sites reflects the
Oxlip's intolerance to drought (Whale 1983a, 1984; Abeywickrama 1948) and its greater tolerance
of high soil water levels than many of its competitors (Rackham 1975,1980; Whale 1983a, 1984).
Oxlips arc strongly associated with Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria L, Maxim. (Adamson
1912, Woodell 1969) a plant indicative of soils with high moisture. Jermyn's flora (1974) recorded
70 out of 81 sites as woodland, and Preston's (1993) report on Cambridgeshire had 61 of 64 sites
as woodland. Oxlips colonise new ground extremely slowly. Rackham recorded a rate of c. 122cm
per year, and this is probably helped in many instances by dispersal on animals or human feet
(Tabor 1998). As a result they are strong indicators of ancient woodland sites (Rackham 1975,
1980) and very rarely recorded from plantations (Christy 1892).
But the Oxlip is not exclusively a plant of woodlands. It thrives in sunlight. Where the competition
from other forbs and grasses is not excessive, it will flower and seed more prolifically than it will
in the shade of an un-coppiced woodland. Historical records tell us that Oxlips were not uncommon
in meadows. Gibson (1862) states it is a plant of 'woods and meadows', citing sites at Bardfield
and Grinsted Green. Doubleday (1842) describes the plant in Bardfield as 'growing by thousands
in the meadows...'. Forster (1842) describes a meadow at Takeley with a greater profusion that
even those at Bardfield. Christy (1884) noted that most of these sites were low, wet meadows on
'blackish alluvial soil lying in a narrow strip along the banks of various streams and rivers'. Although
virtually all of the meadow sites have been improved for agricultural purposes, a few sites remain
where the narrow alluvial strips and trees they bear are not worth clearing or draining. The flora
typically includes Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris L. and Alternate Leaved Golden Saxifrage,
Chrysosplenium allternifolium L.frequently under Hazel, Corylus avellana L. and Alder, Alnus
glutinosa. L. In Essex a majority of these sites occur in the south cast of the plant's range.
England marks the western limit of the Oxlip's range. It is found across Europe as far eastwards as
the Caucasus and south to the Alps and the Pyrenees. Christy (1884, 1897) was the first naturalist
to map the plant's distribution, first in Essex and then in the whole of East Anglia. His survey
showed the entire population contained in an area of c.475 square miles in north west Essex,
Cambridgeshire, and Suffolk. Subsequent work (Christy 1922,1924; Simpson 1982) has somewhat
extended the northern limits of this remarkable distribution. This distribution approximates to the
area of the boulder clay deposits, with the Cambridgeshire sites divided into east and west by the
Cam valley. A number of outlying colonies have been identified: those in Hertfordshire and
Buckinghamshire remain to have their status clarified; two in Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire;
and the last at Dickleborough in Norfolk (Woodell (1965). The Norfolk site was thought to be a
remnant of an extinct and larger population; the latest flora of Norfolk confirms that the plant is
now extinct in the county. This limited distribution means that Oxlips occur in fewer than one
hundred 10 x 10km grid squares, and the species thus appears in the J.N.C.C. scarce plants list
(Stewart et al. 1994).
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)
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