The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
Downy Birch Betula pubescens; Common and widespread in all the major woodlands, reaching
abundance in a few areas, particularly where wet and low-lying. Less common elsewhere and absent
from many of the smaller copses, especially those on the chalky boulder-clay.
Alder Alnus glutinosa: One of the principal tree species in wet valleys in woodlands throughou the
main forest complex; absent from dry woods and most of those on the boulder-clay. Recorded from
Ellis, Barrow and Writtle Park Woods, Hockley Shaw, Coppice and Park Ponds Springs, Edney Common,
The Mores, The Grove and The Moors (Cooksmill Green). There is a small area of Alder carr in The
Grove, the fallen trees festooned in mosses, ferns and large clumps of Pendulous Sedge Carex pendula.
Hornbeam Carpinus betulus: Along with Sweet Chestnut, the principal coppice tree throughout the
main forest complex, a status shared with Ash Fraxinus excelsior in the smaller outlying woods on
sweeter soils. There are stands of pure Hornbeam coppice in all eight Forest springs. A few ancient
pollards survive in Horsfrith and on the edge of Mill Green Common and are widespread in hedgerows
in this area. Many coppice stools appear to be of a great age: several of those in Box Wood, for instance,
consisting of a ring of interlinked small stools, 1.5 - 3.0 m (5'-10') across, the centre of the tree having
rotted away.
Hazel Corylus avellana: A common hedgerow and woodland-edge shrub throughout the survey area.
In a few of the smaller woods on the boulder-clay, such as Horsfrith, Skreens and Nightingale Woods,
it is an important component of the shrub under-storey but in the main woodland complex it is largely
confined to the margins. An exception is Barrow Wood, where it remains fairly common in an area
coppiced in the 1980s. There are two mature standards in The Grove, both around 35'-40' tail, one of
which has a girth of 0.45 m (18").
Caryophyllaceae Pink Family
Three-nerved Sandwort Moehringia trinervia: Common and widespread throughout the Forest
recorded from all the woodlands in the survey area and numerous damp and shady situations elsewhere.
Bog Stitchwort Stellaria uliginosa: Widespread and common on acidic soils: recorded from all the
Forest Springs and Commons and also the woodlands in Ingatestone, Fryerning and Coptfold plus Lee
Wood, Lady Grove and South Wood. Less common on the chalky boulder clay but found in small
quantity in The Moors (Cooksmill Green), Sandpit Wood and Horsfrith.
Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi; There has been a disastrous decline in this species since the 1950s
and it is now confined to four sites in the survey area, namely, The Hyde Lake, Tanhousc Mead (Beggar
Hill), Ellis Wood and Ring Grove (Tye Hall). Around a dozen plants survive in a small marsh on the
edge of Ellis Wood but the other sites hold only 3-4 plants each and have done so throughout the past
decade.
Red Campion Silene dioica: Common and widespread in shady hedgerows and on woodland margins
throughout the area. In July 2001 an extraordinary looking plant with dense clusters of sessile, flore
pleno flowers was found in Bushy Wood. The hybrid with White Campion Silene latifolia is not
uncommon in some parts of the area but the latter is largely absent from the heavy clays of the main
Forest.
Polygonaceae Knotweed Family
Water Pepper Persicaria hydropiper: Common and widespread in woodlands on neutral to acidic
soils, less plentiful elsewhere. It often dominates the flora of muddy tracks and bridleways to the
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