Grass Wood, Wharfedale
Encyclopedia
Grass Wood is an ancient woodland
of 88 hectares (217.5 acre) in Wharfedale
, North Yorkshire
, England
, that has an exceptional ground flora of woodland wildflowers.
The area was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
in 1955 for upland broadleaved woodland. The site is also listed in A Nature Conservation Review
under the entry for "Conistone Old Pasture and Bastow Wood".
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
completed the purchase of the site in 1983 and manages it as a nature reserve
. The whole of the area of the SSSI is registered common land
.
Two adjacent sites Bastow Wood and Conistone Old Pasture are also notified as SSSIs, the former for broadleaved woodland and calcareous grassland, and the latter for calcareous grassland and limestone pavement.
spur in Upper Wharfedale, to the south of Conistone Moor. Rock outcrops, scree and limestone pavement areas occur throughout the wood, along with two significant scar precipices. The original woodland would have been Ash Fraxinus excelsior dominating over the limestone soils, with Wych elm
Ulmus glabra and Oak
probably Quercus petraea and with an understorey of Hazel
Corylus avellana.
Felling and replanting has altered the dominant woodland structure, extensively modifying its composition and making it a less natural woodland than the adjacent Bastow Wood. During the 19th century the lower slopes were interplanted with Beech
Fagus sylvatica and Sycamore
Acer pseudoplatanus, and in the 1960s the north-eastern part of the site was replanted with Norway Spruce
, European Larch
, Scots Pine
and Beech.
A management objective now is to remove areas of non-native tree species and replant with broadleaves from local seed sources. As well as these areas cleared through selective felling, many areas of the woodland have the appearance of an early successional stage of advance natural regeneration through mainly saplings of ash, birch and sycamore, this enclosed within a variable canopy of ash, sycamore, beech, oak, and with some birch. Shrubs and small trees in the understorey include Bird Cherry
Prunus padus, Hazel, Spindle
Euonymus europea, Buckthorn
Rhamnus carthartica, Wild Privet Ligustrum vulgare, Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa and Guelder-Rose Viburnum opulus.
The underlying geology ensures that most of the site is well drained, favouring lime-loving plants – the calcicole
s. There are, however, localised areas with poorer drainage and in which some lime-hating plants can be found – the calcifuge
s - such as Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum, as well as plants associated with water-logged conditions such as Common Valerian Valeriana Officinalis and Wild Angelica
Angelica sylvestris.
The floristic interest of Grass Wood is described and explained in a book by Sylvia Arnold on the wildflowers of the Yorkshire Dales, and there is a description of a wildflower walk that points out the location of particular wildflowers as the walk progresses around and through the wood.
The woodland is served by one public footpath, and as a registered commons is open access within its boundaries. There is however an extensive network of paths that have arisen through common usage over the years. It is a popular location for dog walkers, which often limits the chance of seeing the local roe deer feeding in the woodland.
There is a good variety of vascular plants that are considered to be indicators of undisturbed, ancient woodland. These include Herb Paris Paris quadrifolia, Lily-of-the-valley Convallaria majalis, Ramsons
Alium ursinum, Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella, Wood Anemone
Anemone nemorosa, Dog's Mercury
Mercurialis perennis, Woodruff Galium odoratum, and Wood-sedge Carex sylvatica.
There is also an extraordinary range of geophytes, the plants that have bulbs or bulbous growths that make them especially adapted to woodland. These include the ancient woodland indicators of lily-of-the-valley, herb paris and ramsons, but also the uncommon in angular Solomon'-seal Polygonatum odoratum as well as the common in bluebells
Hyacinthoides non-scripta and lord-and-ladies Arum maculatum. The one patch of Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum multiflorum is considered to be of garden origin.
Early-purple Orchid Orchis mascula, another geophyte, is found under the lighter shade of sparser woodland cover in Grass Wood. This shows its ability to occupy a range of habitat since it is more often associated with open grassland, and can be seen in profusion in the nearby Conistone Old Pasture. . The conditions in Grass Wood would also seem ideal for a rare and highly endangered orchid, the Lady’s-slipper ‘’Cypripedium calceolus’’ that is known historically to have grown in the limestone area of the Yorkshire Dales. It is found in continental Europe growing in the decomposed humus of semi-shaded woodland cover on limestone. While the virtual extinction of the Lady’s-slipper orchid from its historical range is often blamed on uprooting by gardeners and botanists, it is also the case that its preferred habitat shrunk markedly with human clearance of woodland from the limestone landscape, and the grazing of sheep will have finished it off. It is to be hoped that the rescue plan for the Lady’s-slipper orchid is successful, and that Grass Wood may eventually be chosen as one of the locations for its general re-introduction.
Other woodland species found in Grass Wood include Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca, Red Campion
Silene dioica, Wood Cranesbill
Geranium sylvaticum, Primrose
Primula vulgaris, Bugle Ajuga reptans, St John's wort
Hypericum hirsutum, and a few Columbine
Aquilegia vulgaris are found at woodland edges. There are scarce clumps of Stinking iris Iris foetidissima and of Stinking Hellebore Helleborus foetidus. The grassland species of Lady's-mantle Alchemilla glabra, Great Burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, Melancholy Thistle Cirsium helenioides and Goldilocks Buttercup Ranunculus auricomus are found in clearings.
The open landscape species of dry, rocky calcareous grassland are also found in refuge in Grass Wood on the steep un-wooded scar edges of the limestone, especially along the sunlit areas of Dewbottom Scar. Here can be found the locally uncommon Rock Whitebeam Sorbus rupicola as well as Burnet Rose Rosa pimpinellifolia, Common Rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium, Bloody Crane's-bill Geranium sanguineum, Salad-burnet Sanguisorba minor, Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare and Wild Thyme
Thymus polytrichus.
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
of 88 hectares (217.5 acre) in Wharfedale
Wharfedale
Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale include Buckden, Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham, and Wetherby...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, that has an exceptional ground flora of woodland wildflowers.
The area was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in 1955 for upland broadleaved woodland. The site is also listed in A Nature Conservation Review
A Nature Conservation Review
A Nature Conservation Review is a 2-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain...
under the entry for "Conistone Old Pasture and Bastow Wood".
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the traditional county of Yorkshire, England.The Trust is part of the UK-wide partnership of 47 Wildlife Trusts.It was formed in 1946, as the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust, essentially to preserve its first nature reserve Askham Bog on the...
completed the purchase of the site in 1983 and manages it as a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. The whole of the area of the SSSI is registered common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
.
Two adjacent sites Bastow Wood and Conistone Old Pasture are also notified as SSSIs, the former for broadleaved woodland and calcareous grassland, and the latter for calcareous grassland and limestone pavement.
Site description
Grass Wood is on the west and south-facing slopes of a Carboniferous LimestoneCarboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...
spur in Upper Wharfedale, to the south of Conistone Moor. Rock outcrops, scree and limestone pavement areas occur throughout the wood, along with two significant scar precipices. The original woodland would have been Ash Fraxinus excelsior dominating over the limestone soils, with Wych elm
Wych Elm
Ulmus glabra, the Wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese in Greece; it is also found in Iran...
Ulmus glabra and Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
probably Quercus petraea and with an understorey of Hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
Corylus avellana.
Felling and replanting has altered the dominant woodland structure, extensively modifying its composition and making it a less natural woodland than the adjacent Bastow Wood. During the 19th century the lower slopes were interplanted with Beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
Fagus sylvatica and Sycamore
Sycamore
Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
Acer pseudoplatanus, and in the 1960s the north-eastern part of the site was replanted with Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
, European Larch
European Larch
Larix decidua, common name European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathians, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania.-Description:...
, Scots Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
and Beech.
A management objective now is to remove areas of non-native tree species and replant with broadleaves from local seed sources. As well as these areas cleared through selective felling, many areas of the woodland have the appearance of an early successional stage of advance natural regeneration through mainly saplings of ash, birch and sycamore, this enclosed within a variable canopy of ash, sycamore, beech, oak, and with some birch. Shrubs and small trees in the understorey include Bird Cherry
Bird Cherry
Prunus padus, known as Bird Cherry or Hackberry, is a species of cherry, native to northern Europe and northern Asia. It is a deciduous small tree or large shrub, 8–16 m tall, which grows north of the Arctic Circle in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia...
Prunus padus, Hazel, Spindle
Euonymus
Euonymus , often called spindle or spindle tree, is a genus of flowering plants in the staff vine family, Celastraceae. It comprises about 170–180 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and small trees...
Euonymus europea, Buckthorn
Buckthorn
The Buckthorns are a genus of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall , in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae...
Rhamnus carthartica, Wild Privet Ligustrum vulgare, Blackthorn
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
Prunus spinosa and Guelder-Rose Viburnum opulus.
The underlying geology ensures that most of the site is well drained, favouring lime-loving plants – the calcicole
Calcicole
A calcicole or calciphyte is a plant that does not tolerate acidic soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate-less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown on acidic soils often develop the symptoms of aluminium...
s. There are, however, localised areas with poorer drainage and in which some lime-hating plants can be found – the calcifuge
Calcifuge
A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus Erica...
s - such as Bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
Pteridium aquilinum, as well as plants associated with water-logged conditions such as Common Valerian Valeriana Officinalis and Wild Angelica
Wild Angelica
Wild Angelica is a species of plant that grows about one metre tall. It has broad, double-finned leaves. The stem is coarse, tubular and violet at the bottom, with broad leaf shafts.At the top the stem has fine hairs....
Angelica sylvestris.
The floristic interest of Grass Wood is described and explained in a book by Sylvia Arnold on the wildflowers of the Yorkshire Dales, and there is a description of a wildflower walk that points out the location of particular wildflowers as the walk progresses around and through the wood.
The woodland is served by one public footpath, and as a registered commons is open access within its boundaries. There is however an extensive network of paths that have arisen through common usage over the years. It is a popular location for dog walkers, which often limits the chance of seeing the local roe deer feeding in the woodland.
Botanical interest
An extensive remnant upland woodland area of this size is uncommon on limestone in the Yorkshire Dales, hence the notification of Grass Wood as a SSSI. The woodland element is presently unsettled and is atypical of its location—Bastow Wood is more settled since it has not been replanted - but the very rich ground flora of Grass Wood is characteristic of an ancient woodland on limestone. This floristic value owes its continuing existence to the continuity of the woodland cover, which gives it recognition as ancient woodland, but also because of the lack of sheep grazing in the wood that has evidently in the past cleared through the woodland ground flora of the adjacent Bastow Wood.There is a good variety of vascular plants that are considered to be indicators of undisturbed, ancient woodland. These include Herb Paris Paris quadrifolia, Lily-of-the-valley Convallaria majalis, Ramsons
Ramsons
Ramsons — also known as buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, and bear's garlic — is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia...
Alium ursinum, Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella, Wood Anemone
Anemone nemorosa
Anemone nemorosa is an early-spring flowering plant in the genus Anemone in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Common names include wood anemone, windflower, thimbleweed and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves...
Anemone nemorosa, Dog's Mercury
Dog's Mercury
Mercurialis perennis, commonly known as dog's mercury, is a woodland plant found in much of Europe, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland. A member of the spurge family , it is a herbaceous, downy perennial with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves. The dioecious inflorescences...
Mercurialis perennis, Woodruff Galium odoratum, and Wood-sedge Carex sylvatica.
There is also an extraordinary range of geophytes, the plants that have bulbs or bulbous growths that make them especially adapted to woodland. These include the ancient woodland indicators of lily-of-the-valley, herb paris and ramsons, but also the uncommon in angular Solomon'-seal Polygonatum odoratum as well as the common in bluebells
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
Hyacinthoides non-scripta and lord-and-ladies Arum maculatum. The one patch of Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum multiflorum
Polygonatum multiflorum is a plant species of the genus Polygonatum. In Britain it is one of three native species of the genus, the others being Angular Solomon's-seal and Whorled Solomon's-seal.-References:*Matthew Wood. Random House, 1997. ISBN 9781556432323; pp. 397–408...
Polygonatum multiflorum is considered to be of garden origin.
Early-purple Orchid Orchis mascula, another geophyte, is found under the lighter shade of sparser woodland cover in Grass Wood. This shows its ability to occupy a range of habitat since it is more often associated with open grassland, and can be seen in profusion in the nearby Conistone Old Pasture. . The conditions in Grass Wood would also seem ideal for a rare and highly endangered orchid, the Lady’s-slipper ‘’Cypripedium calceolus’’ that is known historically to have grown in the limestone area of the Yorkshire Dales. It is found in continental Europe growing in the decomposed humus of semi-shaded woodland cover on limestone. While the virtual extinction of the Lady’s-slipper orchid from its historical range is often blamed on uprooting by gardeners and botanists, it is also the case that its preferred habitat shrunk markedly with human clearance of woodland from the limestone landscape, and the grazing of sheep will have finished it off. It is to be hoped that the rescue plan for the Lady’s-slipper orchid is successful, and that Grass Wood may eventually be chosen as one of the locations for its general re-introduction.
Other woodland species found in Grass Wood include Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca, Red Campion
Red Campion
Red campion is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native throughout central, western and northern Europe, and locally in southern Europe....
Silene dioica, Wood Cranesbill
Wood Cranesbill
Geranium sylvaticum, commonly called Wood Cranesbill or Woodland Geranium, is a plant species in the genus Geranium belonging to Geraniaceae. The Wood Geranium of North America is the related G...
Geranium sylvaticum, Primrose
Primula vulgaris
Primula vulgaris is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe , northwest Africa , and southwest Asia...
Primula vulgaris, Bugle Ajuga reptans, St John's wort
St John's wort
St John's wort is the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton's Weed, Chase-devil, or Klamath weed....
Hypericum hirsutum, and a few Columbine
Aquilegia
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...
Aquilegia vulgaris are found at woodland edges. There are scarce clumps of Stinking iris Iris foetidissima and of Stinking Hellebore Helleborus foetidus. The grassland species of Lady's-mantle Alchemilla glabra, Great Burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, Melancholy Thistle Cirsium helenioides and Goldilocks Buttercup Ranunculus auricomus are found in clearings.
The open landscape species of dry, rocky calcareous grassland are also found in refuge in Grass Wood on the steep un-wooded scar edges of the limestone, especially along the sunlit areas of Dewbottom Scar. Here can be found the locally uncommon Rock Whitebeam Sorbus rupicola as well as Burnet Rose Rosa pimpinellifolia, Common Rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium, Bloody Crane's-bill Geranium sanguineum, Salad-burnet Sanguisorba minor, Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare and Wild Thyme
Wild thyme
Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland Thyme, Wild Thyme or Creeping Thyme is a species of thyme native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm long, with oval evergreen leaves...
Thymus polytrichus.