Lord's Wood

Also within

Devon County South Devon Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Devonian

Description

Lords Wood SSSI Description The site comprises one of the best examples of oak-hazel-ash woodland in Devon and is an important representative of woods developed on loamy soils in western and northern Britain. Lords Wood occupies an outstanding scenic position lying on steep north and east facing slopes overlooking the tidal reaches of the lower River Dart. Soils are derived from shales and slates of Devonian age and comprise, in the main, freely-draining, somewhat acid, clay loams which show evidence of base-enrichment locally. The wood is dominated by sessile oak Quercus petraea which occurs together with pedunculate oak Quercus robur, sessile-pedunculate oak hybrids, beech Fagus sylvatica and, in the southern part of the wood, ash Fraxinus excelsior and silver birch Betula pendula. The shrub layer is characterised by the abundance of hazel Corylus avellana and holly Ilex aquifolium and there is vigorous development of woody climbers and ramblers, particularly bramble Rubus fruticosus, honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum and ivy Hedera helix. In the boundary hedges spindle Euonymus europaeus and wild service tree Sorbus torminalis occur. The ground flora is dominated by bramble and great woodrush Luzula sylvatica and contains male fern Dryopteris filix-mas and broad buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata. A wide variety of herbs characteristic of ancient woodland occurs including woodruff Galium odoratum, sanicle Sanicula europaea, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, wood spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides, golden rod Solidago virgaurea, wood violet Viola reichenbachiana and, in wetter areas, opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. There are also a number of plants of local or restricted distribution, including butcher’s broom Ruscus aculeatus, pale sedge Carex pallescens, narrow buckler-fern Dryopteris carthusiana and wild madder Rubia peregrina.

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.

Plant communities