Big Hyde Rough

Also within

Staffordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Bracken scrub, Fast flowing river and stream

Description

Description Big Hyde Rough is an ancient woodland to the west of Wolverhampton. It is an example of a valley alder wood on base rich soils derived from the underlying Keuper marl. The woodland canopy is dominated by alder Alnus glutinosa, pedunculate oak Quercus robur and ash Fraxinus excelsior with locally abundant field maple Acer campestre and scattered wych elm Ulmus glabra. The shrub layer contains hazel Corylus avellana, crack willow Salix fragilis, grey willow Salix cinerea, elder Sambucus nigra and dogwood Cornus sanguinea. The species rich ground flora includes ramsons Allium ursinum, pendulous sedge Carex pendula, sanicle Sanicula europaea, enchanter’s nightshade Circaea lutetiana, dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis and yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon. Better drained areas of the wood support ash, oak and hazel in association with a species poor ground flora containing bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and bracken Pteridium aquilinum. Parts of these areas have been planted with larch Larix sp. Adjacent to the stream running through the wood is an area of ungrazed marshy grassland with tall herbs such as hemp agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum, meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria and ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi with some invading tree and shrub species, demonstrating a natural succession to woodland.

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