The fungi of Fryerning Churchyard
churchyard and the Victorian extension as the soil (which has a surface pH of between 5.5 and 6.0
throughout the churchyard) is naturally poor in nutrients and, despite being frequently manured
with mortal remains, the grass seldom exceeds fifteen inches in height even if left uncut all summer.
Unfortunately, this seldom happens as in most parishioners' minds, as in those of most farmers,
untidiness is associated with neglect and there is considerable pressure on the parish council to
keep the lawns mowed.
However, in recent years an area of grassland behind the church has been left uncut during the
summer months, allowing many of the taller herbs to flower and set seed, while elsewhere most
species have proved remarkably adaptable, colonising neglected graves or developing stunted and
prostrate forms. There is also a small conservation corner where such species are encouraged. In
the spring the dominant grasses arc Meadow Foxtail Alopecurus pratensis and Sweet Vernal-grass
Anthoxanthum odoratum, quickly followed by Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis, Red Fescue
Festuca rubra, Yorkshire-fog Holcus lanatus, Yellow Oat-grass Trisetum flavescens and, finally,
Common Bent Agrostis capillaries, while typical broad-leaved plants include Creeping Ranunculus
repens, Meadow R. acris and Bulbous Buttercups R. bulbosus. Red Trifolium pratense & White
Clovers T repens, Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis, Hairy Sedge Carex hirta, Field Wood-
rush Luzula campestris. Common Dog-violet Viola riviniana, Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa.
Bird's-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus, Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare. Common Vetch Vicia
sativa, Cat's-ear Hypochaeris radicata. Mouse-ear Hawkweed Pilosella officinalis, Common
Knapweed Centaura nigra. Yarrow Achillea millefolium, Self-heal Prunella vulgaris and Autumn
Hawkbit Leontodon autumnalis. A few stunted Green-winged Orchids Orchis morio - barely four
inches tall - appeal" most years in the Victorian churchyard, while Lesser Snapdragon Misopates
orontium occurs from time to time on disturbed soils and in the past few years a patch of Chamomile
Chamaemelum nobile has begun to establish itself; the last named species a once widespread herb
that is now nationally scarce: there have been very few Essex records in the past fifty years.
The Norman churchyard boasts five species that are not shared with its neighbour - Spring Beauty
Claytonia perfoliata, Lady's Bedstraw Galium verum, Heath Bedstraw G. saxatile, Betony Stachys
officinalis and Burnet-saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga - all of which are scarce locally - while the
sandy paths which crisscross the churchyard have a quite distinct flora - their specialities including
Common Wrhitlow-grass Erophila verna, Thalc-crEss Arabidopsis thaliana, Early Hair-grass Aira
praecox, Sand Spurrey Spergularia rubra, Trailing St John's- wort Hypericum humifusum and Lesser
Hawkbit Leontodon saxatilis.
There is also an interesting bryophyte flora, the likes of Brachythecium albicans, rutabulum and
velutinum, Eurhynchium praelongum, Hypnum cupressiforme and Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
dominating the grassland while Isothecium myurum, Pleuridium acuminatum and Pottia intermedia
have been among the less common plants recorded. These floral riches attract large numbers of
insects, including many common butterflies and moths, lots of marauding dragonflies, around fifty
species of hoverfly (to date) and a good selection of bees, among which is Andrena fulvago, a
Nationally Scarce species associated with flower-rich grassland and which nationally is in steep
decline along with the grasslands that support it.
Fryerning is probably not special, as country churchyards go, but its rich diversity of plants and
insects, including the fungi described below, amply illustrate that although small may currently be
unfashionable it is undoubtedly still beautiful and as a guide for the perplexed such places are now,
as in the past, an ideal sanctuary for periods of quiet reflection.
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)