Plashes Wood

Also within

Hertfordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Description

Area,71.9 hectares 117.6 ac Description A rich and diverse woodland site consisting largely of oak / hornbeam woodland close to the northern limit of its natural distribution. It is a relatively large wood in a predominantly agricultural part of the county. The rich ground flora reflects the variation in soil types from damp, heavy clays to lighter gravels on the higher ground. Management in the past has also contributed to the structural and species diversity. The principal components are firstly pedunculate oak/ hornbeam Quercus robur / Carpinus betulus as coppice with standards, whose typical ground flora, dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis is present, although suppressed by the low light intensity, due to the lack of recent management. Secondly, there are tracts of more open, mixed deciduous woodland influenced by planting and natural regeneration, mainly of pedunculate oak, ash Fraxinus excelsior, beech Fagus sylvatica and silver birch Betula pendula over a mixed shrub layer including hazel Corylus avellana, hornbeam, elder Sambucus nigra and blackthorn Prunus spinosa, with a diversity of ground flora species. There are also areas of coniferous plantation with varying proportions of oak, ash and beech, where despite the suppression of the shrub and field layers, species such as early purple orchid Orchis mascula still survive. Additional valuable habitats are provided by marshy clearings and ponds, wide rides and extensive clearings dominated by bracken Pteridium aquilinum, with an interesting flora including hoary cinquefoil Potentilla argentea.

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