The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
from the margins of Stoneymore Wood, Mill Green Common and College Wood together with a roadside
verge at Beggar Hill.
Common Fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica; As with Marsh Thistle, above, a fairly common and
widespread plant of wet grassy habitats but has also been recorded from Mill Green Common, The
Hyde Lake and Portsmorhall Wood.
Golden-rod Solidago virgaurea; Confined to Mill Green Common, where it ekes out a living on
roadside verges. Up to 120 plants were counted during the early 1990s but it has declined rapidly in
the last few years.
Heath Groundsel Senecio sylvaticus; Surprisingly scarce, given the abundance of seemingly ideal
habitat in the area. The only records concern a handful of plants on the edge of College Wood in 1993,
coppiced areas of Writtle Park Wood in 1994-98 and Fryerning Churchyard and Edney Common, both
in 1999.
Araceae Lords-and-Ladies Family
Lords-and-Ladies Arum maculatum: Widespread and very common in shady sites throughout the
area, including woodland. It is scarce, or even absent, from large blocks of mature ancient woodland
but common in smaller copses and particularly so in secondary woodland such as Elmfield Farm Copse.
Juncaceae Rush Family
Toad Bush Juncus bufonius: Common and widespread on damp ground throughout the area. It often
attains abundance on peaty soils, as occurred in coppiced areas of Deerslade Wood in 1997 and Mill
Green Common a couple of years later.
Bulbous Rush Juncus bulbosus: Confined to acidic soils on the Fryerning-Mill Green ridge, records
coming from Mill Green Common and College Wood in 1994 (and sporadically since), Deerslade Wood in
1997 and The Mores in 2003, the habitat in each instance being water-filled ruts.
Hard Rush Juncus inflexus
Soft Rush Juncus effusus
Compact Rush Juncus conglomerates
These three species arc all common and widespread throughout the area in damp woodland clearings
and associated grassland, inflexus preferring the chalky boulder-clay while conglomeratus is largely
confined to acidic soils.
Hairy Wood-rush Luzula pilosa: The apparent scarcity of this species in the survey area can probably
be explained by the lack of coppicing but it is an inconspicuous plant and even in those woods where
it does occur is only present in very small quantity; thus it could easily be overlooked. Recorded during
the past decade from Ellis and Dccrsladc Woods, Birch Spring, The Mores, Fryerning Wood and Box
Wood.
Field Wood-rush Luzula campestris: Due to the destruction of so much ancient grassland in recent
decades this species is largely confined to garden lawns in the survey area, where it is often common,
but it does occur along grassy rides in Ellis Wood, in Great Edney set-aside field and at Mill Green
Common.
Heath Wood-rush Luzula multiflora; Restricted to acid soils in the main Forest. Ssp. multiflorum is
212
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)