The 2003 AGM address. Veteran trees and saproxylic invertebrates at Hylands Park
Dead Wood
Hylands is one of the best dead-wood sites in Essex. The 'tidy-minded' approach to park management
practised by some local authorities has not happened at Hylands. This has resulted in a superb site
for decaying wood and its associated invertebrates. The range of fallen dead wood is considerable,
from the tiniest branches of Lime and Cherry to mighty trunks of Oak four feet (1.2m) in diameter.
The violent storms that have been a notable feature of many recent autumns have left their mark.
There are still dozens of decaying conifer trunks in the Lake Plantation, home now to the lovely
black crane-fly Dictenidia bimaculata. Many large Oak boughs and branches are also to be found,
often fortuitously moved from where they fell to the shade directly underneath the trees, such
branches often leaving a shattered end in the crown of the tree, making a good site for beetle and
fungus entry. The variety of species of dead wood is also of note, though probably not as important
as the stage of decay to many saproxylics. Oak is the dominant dead wood, but other species
include Lime, Walnut, Beech, Horse Chestnut, Pine and Sycamore, with much decaying Birch in
South Wood. Some Poplar trunks from trees felled in Central Park were deposited at the north end
of Swan Pond plantation and this has provided the only record of the Notable fly Solva marginata.
Nectar Sources
Another feature that has contributed to the success of Hylands Park as a site for saproxylic
invertebrates has been the supply of nectar-bearing shrubs and trees. In contrast to other sites, such
as Moccas Park, Herefordshire - where Hawthorn has had to be planted as a supplementary nectar
source for saproxylics - Hylands, because of its many plantings (native and ornamental) in particular
in the vicinity of the formal gardens and nearby Writtle Wood and Home Farm - has an almost
constant and probably inexhaustible supply from many species of nectar-bcaring shrubs and trees.
The list of shrubs below, all from this area, are in flower from late February to July - some only
with very few individuals, such as Blackthorn and Sallow, but others such as Cherry Laurel in
quantity. Hawthorn also flowers in substantial amounts throughout the park.
Flowering trees and shrubs found in the vicinity of the formal gardens, Home Farm
and Writtle Wood (in approximate flowering order):
Prunus cerasifera Aesculus hippocastanum
Salix caprea Crataegus crus-galli
Prunus laurocerasus Acer pseudoplatanus
Prunus padus Rhododendron (ponticum + hybrids)
Prunus avium Prunus lusitanica
Prunus (Ornamental Cherry) Pyracantha coccinea
Prunus spinosa Rubus fruticosus agg.
Crataegus monogyna Philadelphus coronarius
The Formal Gardens as a site for Saproxylic Invertebrates
The formal gardens, covering just six or so acres, are outstanding and one of the most important
sites for saproxylic invertebrates in Essex, with 13 nationally notable and 3 Red Data Book species
amongst those recorded here in the years 2001 - 2003. I suspect that the gardens, with their abundant
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)
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