The Mens

Also within

West Sussex County SOUTH DOWNS National Park

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Limestone

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 204.4 ha. 505.1 ac. Description The Mens remains as one of the most extensive examples of Wealden Woodland in West Sussex. It is important for its size, structural diversity and the extremely rich fungal and lichen floras which occur here. The wood supports a diverse community of breeding birds and is the locality of a nationally endangered species of fly. Much of the woodland lies on Weald Clay although in some places Paludina limestone outcrops at the surface. The woodland is predominantly high forest of sessile and pedunculate oak Quercus petraea and Quercus robur respectively, beech Fagus sylvatica holly Ilex aquifolium and locally, ash Fraxinus excelsior, birches Betula spp. and wild service tree Sorbus torminalis. Beech dominates the lighter soils over an understorey of holly and yew Taxus baccata. On the heavier clay soils oak ash woodland occurs over a mixed shrub layer which includes hazel Corylus avellana, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, crab apple Malus sylvestris and blackthorn Prunus spinosa. In more open areas the dense ground flora is dominated by honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum, bramble Rubus fruticosus, wood melick Melica uniflora and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta with occasional butcher’s broom Ruscus aculeatus and hairy wood rush Luzula pilosa. In the extreme north of the site the wood has been intensively managed on a coppice, or coppice with standards system. Here the shrub layer and ground flora are more diverse and include dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis, sanicle Sanicula europaea and a number of orchids. Several uncommon tree species occur here, notably small leaved lime Tilia cordata and the wild service tree, both of which are indicators of ancient woodland sites. The Mens has one of the richest lichen floras in the south east, including several species closely associated with ancient woodlands. The site also supports a rich bryophyte flora mosses and liverworts, with a number of locally rare species such as the moss Brachydontium trichodes. In addition The Mens is one of the richest woods in the country for fungi with three species of Russula for which this is the only known site. Two other species have been recorded from only two other sites in Britain. The Mens has an important insect fauna. Many rare beetles Coleoptera are found here together with one species of fly Chetostoma curvinerve which is endangered with extinction. Woodland butterflies and moths Lepidoptera are also well represented here and include such notable species as the purple emperor Apatura iris and the orange footman moth Eilema sororcula. There is a diverse woodland breeding bird population; nightingale, woodcock, wood warbler and all three British woodpecker are amongst the birds which breed here. *‘A Nature Conservation Review’, D A Ratcliffe 1977 Cambridge.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.