Twenty-five Acre Wood
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Habitats
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Ordovician
Description
Description A gently sloping south-facing oakwood developed on acidic, poorly draining clay overlying Ordovician strata. It has close affinities with the lowland hazel-sessile oak facies of the acid birch/oak woodland grouping. The wood is largely composed of mature maiden trees of oak with occasional alder and birch. Grazing in the southern portion is light and in the northern part is largely confined to winter and early spring. In winter cattle are fed in the northern part, but poaching of the soil is only localised. There is a well developed diverse shrub and ground flora. Damper areas support species such as meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, common valerian Valeriana officinalis and sanicle Sanicula europaea, whilst yellow pimpernel Lysimachia nemorum is generally abundant. Dry areas tend to be less species-rich with only occasional bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta in a predominant grass layer with wood stitchwort Stellaria nemorum and local occurrences of bracken Pteridium aquilinum.
Species mentioned
Show the 7 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status| English name search for this in other sites |
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IUCN / Red List | Type | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bracken | Pteridium aquilinum | LC | fern | dennstaedtiaceae |
| meadow sweet | Filipendula ulmaria | LC | herb | rosaceae |
| bluebell | Hyacinthoides non-scripta | LC | herb | liliaceae |
| yellow pimpernel | Lysimachia nemorum | LC | herb | primulaceae |
| sanicle | Sanicula europaea | LC | herb | apiaceae |
| wood stitchwort | Stellaria nemorum | LC | herb | carophyllacaea |
| common valerian | Valeriana officinalis | LC | herb | caprifoliaceae |
Plant communities
W25 — Bracken scrub
Pteridium aquilinum-Rubus fruticosus underscrub
Show 53 indicator speciesHedera helix, Acer pseudoplatanus, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior, Sambucus nigra, Ulex europaeus, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Luzula multiflora, Mnium hornum, Brachythecium rutabulum, Kindbergia praelonga, Angelica sylvestris, Conopodium majus, Heracleum sphondylium, Arum maculatum, Cirsium arvense, Lonicera periclymenum, Silene dioica, Stellaria holostea, Mercurialis perennis, Geranium robertianum, Glechoma hederacea, Teucrium scorodonia, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Chamerion angustifolium, Circaea lutetiana, Digitalis purpurea, Rumex acetosa, Anemone nemorosa, Ficaria verna, Potentilla erecta, Rosa arvensis, Rosa canina, Rubus fruticosus agg., Rubus idaeus, Galium aparine, Galium mollugo sens.lat., Galium saxatile, Urtica dioica, Viola riviniana, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Arrhenatherum elatius, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca rubra, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis, Poa trivialis, Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris dilatata, Dryopteris filix-mas