Cleeve Wood, Hanham

Also within

Gloucestershire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic · Rock Type: Limestone

Description

Area, 8.9 ha. 21.9 ac. Description Cleeve Wood is situated on the steep south facing slopes of the River Avon valley near to the City of Bristol. Although much of the wood has been planted with non native species it contains a very large population of an uncommon plant. The soil is of the Sherborne Association type, has developed over Jurassic limestone and clay and is a slowly permeable, calcareous, clay. The primary scientific interest of the wood is the particularly large population of Bath asparagus Ornithagalum pyrenacium which it supports. The Bath asparagus in Cleeve Wood represents what is considered to be the largest and most stable population of this plant in this its centre of distribution. The wood is derived from the calcareous ash wych elm southern variant type but has been much planted with non native species mainly beech Fagus sylvatica and sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus but with some horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum and cypress trees Cupressus sp.. In the more natural areas of the wood ash Fraxinus excelsior is dominant with occasional pedunculate oak Quercus robur standards. In such places the shrub layer is dominated by field maple Acer campestre, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, elder Sambucus nigra, hazel Corylus avellana and young wych elm Ulmus glabra. The field layer in many areas is dominated by ivy Hedera helix, especially on the disturbed slopes. Other common ground flora includes dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, stinking iris Iris foetidissima, clematis Clematis vitalba and slender false brome Brachypodium sylvaticum.

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