Mains Wood

Also within

Herefordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Sandstone

Description

Area, 8.49 ha. 21 ac. Description A remnant of ancient primary woodland lying on the north eastern edge of the Woolhope Hills. It is part of the larger Mains Wood complex and is the only remaining piece unaffected by modem forestry. The woodland lies on neutral to acidic soils overlying the Old Red Sandstone. It is mainly dominated by sessile oak Quercus petraea, but includes other species such as ash Fraxinus excelsior, birch Betula pendula, yew Taxus baccata, rowan Sorbus aucuparia and guelder rose Viburnum opulus. Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa is also present and managed as coppice. The ground flora includes a number of species which are locally rare or uncommon in this part of the West Midlands, including violet helleborine Epipactis purpurata, broad helleborine Epipactis helleborine and birds nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis. In the more acidic parts of the woodland, ling Calluna vulgaris and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus occur. The woodland is noted for the richness of its lower plant groups particularly ferns and fungi. The ferns include hard fern Blechnum spicant and lemon scented fern Thelypteris limbosperma, species more characteristic of upland areas and rare in this part of Herefordshire. Over 120 species of fungi have been recorded from the Wood, including several very uncommon species such as Pseudoboletus parasiticus, Cortinarius sanguineus and Pholiota tuberculosa.

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.