Perry Woods

Also within

Cambridgeshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Description

Description The site is of the ash maple ancient woodland type characteristic of the heavy Oxford and Boulder Clays. It represents a habitat type which has become increasingly scarce in the county and over its natural range in lowland England. The dominant tree community is of mixed coppice of ash Fraxinus excelsior, hazel Corylus avellan and field maple Acer campestre with frequent standards of pedunculate oak Quercus robur. The ground flora is of a richness typical of ancient woodlands. Old woodland ‘indicators’ present includewood melick Melica uniflora and early purple orchid Orchis mascula. The dominant field layer plants are of the characteristic dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta type. Additional valuable habitats are provided by the shrubby woodland fringes, the system of rides, streams and an adjacent area of grassland which holds plants such as cowslip Primula veris and salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba. Such adjacent grassland strips enhance the value of the woodland edges as habitats for invertebrates in particular.

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.