Blackmoor Copse

Also within

Wiltshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Description

Description An area of botanically and entomologically rich broadleaved woodland east of Salisbury. The site includes stands of wet ash maple, pedunculate oak hazel ash and hazel pedunculate oak wood on the Tertiary deposits of the London Clay and in small part the Reading Beds. The Copse slopes gently from west to east, with a range of soils from light freely drained to heavier more water logged conditions. Standards of oak and ash, including some large mature trees, occur over a predominantly hazel understorey. Birch es Betula pendula and Betula pubescens, are widespread. Field maple occurs locally in areas of wet ash maple woodland, as both coppiced trees and standards. A small stand of alder is present at the south of the wood and yew is found along several of the rides. A wide range of shrub species occur, including privet Ligustrum vulgare, guelder rose Viburnum opulus, alder buckthorn Frangula alnus and sallow Salix spp. The dominants in the field layer tend to be bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis, with bracken Pteridium aquilinum and bramble Rubus fruticosus agg. On lighter more acidic soils. Blackmoor Copse has one of the richest floras recorded from a Wiltshire wood on Tertiary strata. Noteworthy species include orpine Sedum telephium, bitter vetchling Lathyrus montanus, greater butterfly orchid Platanthera chlorantha and Solomon's seal Polygonatum multiflorum. A system of glades and rides adds to the diversity of the flora, with devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, water avens Geum rivale and remote sedge Carex remota widespread. adder's tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum and pale sedge Carex pallescens are also present. Ride management is undertaken to maintain and improve this habitat, particularly for invertebrates. A coppicing regime over part of the site and selective fellings, increase the structural diversity of the wood. Small Bonds, one with lesser pond sedge Carex acutiformis and water whorl grass Catabrosa aquatica add to the variety of habitats. Blackmoor Copse is well known as a butterfly site, over 40 species were recorded in the 1950's. The contemporary fauna is more limited, with 29 species recorded. However, this does include species typical of established woodland, such as the white admiral Limenitis camilla, purple emperor Apatura iris, pearl bordered fritillary Boloria euphrosyne and a large population of silver washed fritillary Argynnis paphia. The dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius is also well established on this site. Recent work has shown its Wiltshire distribution to be closely correlated with sites containing hazel, bramble, bracken and honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum, all of which are common here.

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