The Wilderness & Vermin Valley

Also within

Staffordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous

Description

Area, 4.5 ha. 11.1 ac. Description The site consists of two remnants of ancient woodland lying in the valley of the Crompton Brook to the west of Kinver. The site overlies grey clays, shales and sandstones of the Upper Coal Measures Carboniferous. These have given rise to coarse, loamy soils prone to seasonal water logging. The variable drainage and presence of base rich springs have had a marked influence on the composition of the woodland. The site is an example of ash Fraxinus excelsior wood with hazel Corylus avellana understorey in association with one of the finest stands of ash and field maple Acer campestre in the county. Ash and pedunculate oak Quercus robur are common throughout the canopy especially on drier parts of the site. Also present are the occasional wild cherry Prunus avium and wild service tree Sorbus torminalis, the latter being particularly rare in Staffordshire. Field maple and ash are present on the damper soils and in the wettest areas alongside the stream and around the silted pools, alder Alnus glutinosa and crack willow Salix fragilis are dominant. At the top of the slope the shrub layer consists almost entirely of hazel coppice and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna. On the lower slopes where the soils are deeper and more base rich the shrubs are more varied and include dogwood Cornus sanguinea, guelder rose Viburnum opulus, spindle Euonymus europaeus and wild privet Ligustrum vulgare. The diverse ground flora includes, on the drier soils bramble Rubus fruticosus, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis and enchanter's nightshade Circaea lutetiana. meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, great hairy willowherb Epilobium hirsutum, opposite leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and pendulous sedge Carex pendula occur in the damper areas. Several uncommon species are found on the site including some which are very rare in Staffordshire, such as thin spiked wood sedge Carex strigosa, stinking hellebore Helleborus foetidus and violet helleborine Epipactis purpurata, here at its only known Staffordshire locality.

Species mentioned

Plant communities