Woodland plants
The most dramatic woodland plants flower in spring and many die away completely by June. In summer woodlands tend to have just the tough, woody plants, such as blackberry and raspberry, burdock, or ferns. During autumn, many species of fungi are found.
Plants to look out for are:
• Trees and shrubs: beech, oak, ash, yew, cherry, holly, hazel, hawthorn, wayfaring tree, whitebeam, blackthorn, dogwood, elder. These are most colourful in spring during leaf break and in autumn when the Chilte
rns are magnificent with autumn colours. During autumn there is added interest from seeds, nuts and fruit.
• Flowering plants: wood anemones, violets, primroses, foxgloves, bluebells, wood spurge, dog’s mercury, woodbine (honeysuckle) and travellers' joy (old man’s beard, clematis)
• Non-flowering plants:, harts tongue fern, male and female fern
Butterflies
These tend to congregate in clearings, rides or woodland edges with some species inhabiting the tree canopy and rarely being seen at ground level.
• Common species: speckled wood, gatekeeper and ringlet
• Uncommon or rare species: wood white, white admiral, dark green fritillary, purple hairstreak, green hairstreak, purple emperor