Wykery Copse

Also within

Berkshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Description

Description Wykery Copse is a fragment of ancient broadleaved woodland of a kind now drastically reduced in Berkshire, situated on London Clay on the fringe of Bracknell. It is exceptionally diverse for its size, in terms of both woodland stand types and herbaceous flora and it contains several rarities. Its interest is enhanced still further by the small stream which flows through it. Woodland types include wet ash maple, valley and base rich springline alder and oak, with birch and hazel. There are intermediate grades and all types except oak have been coppiced at various times. Some English elm survives and there is a thriving colony of the rare wild service tree Sorbus torminalis. Other trees include gean, rowan, holly, crack and grey willows, aspen, crab apple and poplars Populus xcanadensis of planted origin. Coppiced hazel is a major component of the dense and varied understorey, which also includes blackthorn, hawthorn, honeysuckle, wild red currant Ribes rubrum, guelder rose and dogwood, this last unusual on London Clay. The ground flora contains a mosaic of bramble and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, with more open areas, including the course of the stream, favouring a very wide range of herbaceous species, many of which like wild service and several of the shrubs testify to the long history of the copse. These include several rare or local species, such as the sedges Carex strigosa and C. pallescens, early purple orchid Orchis mascula, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, pignut Conopodium majus, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, yellow pimpernel Lysimachia nemorum, wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella, primrose Primula vulgaris, figwort Scrophularia nodosa, wood speedwell Veronica montana and the grasses Melica uniflora, Milium effusum and Bromus ramosa. There is a luxuriant moss flora in parts, with Hypnum cupressiforme being particularly abundant. The range of invertebrates and breeding birds appears to be good and warrants further investigation.

Species mentioned

Plant communities