Harlow Woods

Also within

Essex County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Description Harlow Woods comprise three adjacent ancient semi natural woods, Parndon Wood, Hospital Wood and Risden's Wood, situated to the south of Harlow. The pedunculate oak hornbeam woodland includes both the rare birch hazel variant developed over London Clay and the ash maple variant developed over Chalky Boulder Clay in the southern part of Parndon Wood. The canopy in these woods is dominated by pedunculate oak Quercus robur standards over hornbeam Carpinus betulus coppice. There are also some standards of sessile oak Quercus petraea and hornbeam, with ash Fraxinus excelsior and field maple Acer campestre standards in the southern area of Parndon Wood and Hospital Wood. The shrub layer is sparse, with scattered elder Sambucus nigra and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna. hazel Corylus avellana, midland hawthorn Crataegus laevigata and field maple occur locally where the canopy is less dense. There is a small amount of elm Ulmus sp. along the southern edge of Hospital Wood. Some of the trees have been killed by Dutch Elm Disease but others are regenerating strongly from coppice. The ground flora is generally species poor and is dominated by bramble Rubus spp. and Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus. Bracken Pteridium aquilinum and creeping soft grass Holcus mollis are abundant over the more acidic soils. Large areas of bare leaf litter occur under the dense canopy of the older hornbeam coppice. Some coppice management has recently been undertaken in all the woods and recently coppiced areas support species such as wood sedge Carex sylvatica, violet Viola spp., early purple orchid Orchis mascula, remote sedge Carex remota and primrose Primula vulgaris. There is often vigorous invasion by downy birch Betula pubescens, silver birch B. pendula and aspen Populus tremula in these areas. Rides and clearings within the woods support a neutral grassland flora with creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera, tufted hair grass Deschampsia cespitosa, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi, heath wood rush Luzula multiflora and greater bird's foot trefoil Lotus pedunculatus and there are a number of small pond and water courses within the site which provide valuable additional habitat for invertebrates.

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