2004 Lesnes Abbey Woods Bexley London 20th March One Day Joint Meeting with the LNHS
Eighteen people met at Abbey Wood Railway Station for a joint meeting between the WFS and LNHS. Although the weather was rather blustery, we were lucky that the rain managed to hold off. The main reason for this meeting was to see the wonderful display of wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus ssp. pseudonarcissus, for which this wood is well known, but numerous other interesting plants were seen including a variety of mosses.
We began the day by botanising around the abbey ruins, here we gathered around an old and impressive Morus nigra, whilst our leader, John O'Reilly gave us a brief history of the abbey ruins and wood.
Upon the abbey walls grew numerous rosettes of the Saxifraga tridactylites (rue- leaved Saxifrage), whilst three small ferns, Asplenium trichomanes (maidenhair spleenwort), Asplenium adiantum-nigrum (black spleenwort) and Asplenium ruta- muraria (wall-rue) all grew in close proximity of each other.
Passing by a clump of planted Chionodoxa forbesii (glory-of-the-snow), with its vivid blue flowers, we made our way into Abbey Wood. At once we were greeted with an amazing display of wild daffodils. Having been known here for several hundred years, they grew in abundance and were at their peak. Amongst the daffodils, grew drifts of Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone) and the foliage of Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell) was also present further extending the interest of this lovely woodland in the spring.
Abbey Wood can be divided into three common and dry woodland types, each with their own plant community. Here, in the main woodland, Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut) was the dominant tree, but Quercus petraea (sessile oak) was rather frequent too. Paying particular attention to tree bud scales, we noted many different trees including: Sorbus aucuparia (rowan), Carpinus betulus (hornbeam), Fagus sylvatica(beech), Acer platanoides (Norway maple), Corylus avellana (hazel) and Populus tremula (aspen). Two very common mosses were pointed out, these being Kindbergia praelonga and Brachythecium rutabulum.
After a lunch stop we headed uphill, into the second woodland community, here the woodland is invading the heathland, the area is noticeably more exposed, the soil more acidic and the trees not as tall. Acid-loving Calluna vulgaris (heather) and Deschampsia flexuosa (wavy hair-grass) grew beneath Quercus petraea (sessile oak) and Betula pendula (silver birch). More mosses associated with acid conditions grew on the woodland floor: Polytichum juniperinum, a characteristic species of this kind of woodland, with its distinctive red leaf tips, Dicranum scoparium, with yellowy-green leaves and Hypnum cupressiforme, a moss that resembles the foliage of a cypresstree. Campylopus atrovirens and Campylopus introflexus were also present growing amongst the heather.
The third woodland community is situated in the northwest comer of the wood. Here the under-lying chalk is nearer to the surface and the soil is obviously more nutrient enriched, clearly evident from the plant species seen. Geranium robertianum (herb Robert), Urtica dioica (stinging nettle). Hedera helix (ivy), Mercurialis perennis (dog's mercury) Lonicera periclymenum (honeysuckle), Fraxinus excelsior (ash), Sambucus nigra (elderflower) and Corylus avellana (hazel) all grew in this part of the wood.
Before departing, a final stop was made within the abbey grounds to see Paulownia tomentosa (foxglove tree), a handsome tree with very distinct fruit capsules.
The meeting finished at 4.30pm with the group thanking John for such an interesting day and an introduction to woodland mosses.
KATHRYN HART