Mather Wood

Also within

Nottinghamshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
SK724592	—	Unfavourable Recovering	8.03	2015-07-10

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Triassic

Description

Area, 8.12 hectares Description The site comprises one of the best remaining examples of ash oak maple woodland in Nottinghamshire and is representative of semi natural woodland on clay soils in Central and Eastern England. Biology A fine example of an ash oak maple wood developed on stiff, rather poorly drained soils derived primarily from the Triassic Keuper Marl. Mather Wood is one of the wetter woods in the Keuper Marl series being dominated by ash Fraxinus excelsior, oak Quercus robur, birch Betula spp. and locally, aspen Populus tremula. The shrub layer is characterised by hazel Corylus avellana, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and field maple Acer campestre, while the ground flora is dominated by honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum, bramble Rubus fruticosus and rough meadow grass Poa trivialis. The wood contains a diverse flora typical of ancient clay woods including such plants as primrose Primula vulgaris, sweet woodruff Asperula odorata, valerian Valeriana officinalis and wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella.

Species mentioned

Show the 13 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status ▾

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Grouped by host-plant — open a plant to see its insects. Some insects feed on more than one of these plants, so they appear under each.

Common oak Quercus 19

Oak lutestring Cymatophorina diluta	Endangered	Quercus robur
Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Quercus
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Early moth Theria primaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Oak hook-tip Watsonalla binaria	Vulnerable	Quercus robur
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Light crimson underwing Catocala promissa	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Dark crimson underwing Catocala sponsa	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Heart moth Dicycla oo	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
September thorn Ennomos erosaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Clay fan-foot Paracolax tristalis	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Common fan-foot Pechipogo strigilata	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Frosted green Polyploca ridens	Near Threatened	Quercus robur

Hawthorn Crataegus 16

Figure of eight Diloba caeruleocephala	Endangered	any Crataegus
The lappet Gastropacha quercifolia	Endangered	Crataegus monogyna
Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Crataegus
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	any Crataegus
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Crataegus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Crataegus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	Crataegus monogyna
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Crataegus monogyna
Early moth Theria primaria	Vulnerable	Crataegus monogyna
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Crataegus monogyna
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	Crataegus monogyna
Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis	Near Threatened	Crataegus monogyna
Grey chi Antitype chi	Near Threatened	Crataegus monogyna
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Crataegus
Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata	Near Threatened	Crataegus monogyna
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Crataegus

Aspen Populus 12

Dark bordered beauty Epione vespertaria	Endangered	Populus tremula
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Populus
Scarce chocolate-tip Clostera anachoreta	Vulnerable	any Populus, Populus tremula
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Populus tremula
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	any Populus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	any Populus
No common name Zeugophora turneri	Vulnerable	Populus tremula
Purple emperor Apatura iris	Near Threatened	Populus tremula
Minor shoulder-knot Brachylomia viminalis	Near Threatened	Populus tremula
The sallow Cirrhia icteritia	Near Threatened	any Populus
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Populus
Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata	Near Threatened	Populus tremula

Hazel Corylus avellana 7

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Corylus avellana
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	Corylus avellana

Bramble Rubus fruticosus 5

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Rubus fruticosus
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	Rubus fruticosus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	Rubus fruticosus
Grizzled skipper Pyrgus malvae	Vulnerable	Rubus fruticosus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Rubus fruticosus

Ash Fraxinus excelsior 3

The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Dusky thorn Ennomos fuscantaria	Near Threatened	Fraxinus excelsior

Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum 3

Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Lonicera periclymenum
Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia	Vulnerable	Lonicera periclymenum
White admiral Limenitis camilla	Vulnerable	Lonicera periclymenum

Field maple Acer campestre 2

Maple pug Eupithecia inturbata	Endangered	Acer campestre
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Acer campestre

Rough meadow grass Poa 1

Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus

Near Threatened

any Poa

Primrose Primula vulgaris 1

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

Endangered

Primula vulgaris

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.