The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
exclusion of most other species.
Sheep's Sorrel Rumex acetosella: Very common in Great Edney set-aside field and the heather-grassland
at Mill Green Common: widespread in small quantity in all the woodlands on neutral to acidic soils.
Wood Dock Rumex sanguineus: Widespread: recorded from all the woodlands in the survey area but
often only in small quantity.
Clusiaceae St. John's-Wort Family
Tutsan Hypericum androsaemum: Gibson recorded it from a heathy roadside verge between Fryerning
and Blackmore, probably alongside Fur/e Hall (TL622008) as 1 am told it used to occur there until the
1950s. No subsequent records.
Imperforate St. John's-Wort Hypericum maculatum: The only record of this scarce species from the
area concerns around a dozen plants found on the northern edge of Skreens Wood in June 1999.
Square-stalked St. John's-Wort Hypericum tetrapterum: Although not strictly a woodland plant it
occurs in a coppiced area of Birch Spring, Great Edney set-aside field, Edney Common, South Wood,
The Grove and in a surviving boundary ditch of Coppice Spring. Widespread in small quantity in damp
situations throughout the area.
Trailing St. John's-Wort Hypericum humifusum: Local and declining on acidic soils in the main
woodland complex. It responds well to disturbance, though, and flourished for a few years following
coppicing work in Barrow Wood during the 1980s and Great Edney, Deerslade, Stoneymore, Fryerning,
Furness and King Woods a decade later. It also still survives along grassy rides in Ellis Wood, a few
areas of South Wood, on roadside verges at Mill Green Common and in Fryerning Churchyard.
Slender St. John's-Wort Hypericum pulchrum: Much the same comments apply to this species as to
the last. Like that, it responds well to coppicing and has been recorded from coppiced areas of Birch
Spring; Barrow, Deerslade, Stoneymore, College, Fryerning and King Woods. It also occurs in The
Mores while several dozen plants appeared in 1997 on the recently dredged banks of a stream at the
south-east corner of Mill Green Common and in June 2002 a large patch was found in Great Edney set-
aside field.
Tiliaceae Lime Family
Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata: This species is present at two sites in Hylands Park, namely, Writtle
Wood (TL683405) and Lake Copse (TL688046), while a hybrid showing strong cordata characteristics
occurs in the Tower Belt extension of South Wood. All were presumably planted as it is not native to
the survey area and none of these sites are ancient woodland.
Common Lime Tilia x europaea: Not a woodland tree, of course, but there are at least three mature
coppice stools in The Grove which present a handsome appearance in summer and give one cause to
view this much maligned species in a fresh light.
Violaceae Violet Family
Sweet Violet Viola odorata: Widely naturalised on roadside verges throughout the survey area but
largely absent from long established woodland. It is quick Io colonise secondary growth, though, and is
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)