As the daylight hours and warmth increases, spring flora are one of the first to appear including celandines, primroses, and bluebells. Many of these species we see are special to woodlands. They have adapted to flower early before the leaves on the trees develop and block out the sunshine to the ground floor below.  

If you take a more careful look, you can spot some rarer plants such as early purple orchids, or the beautiful moschatel. Moschatel is also called ‘town hall clock’ because its four flowers face out at 90 degrees from one another thus resembling a town hall clock. Other specialist species such as toothwort are a parasitic plant. Toothworts have a strange flowering spike and are ghostly pail due to the lack of any chlorophyll. The plant survives by tapping into the roots of trees, such as hazel and field maple, and then taking the nutrients it needs.  

The presence of the species can be used to indicate the age of a woodland and whether it can be regarded as ancient woodland. For many species, it can take an awfully long time for them to become established. Think of a woodland as a huge living organism composed of multiple parts all working together and depending on one another to create this amazing habitat. We maintain ancient woodlands by trying to mimic natural processes, but the key is not the management of trees but the management of light.  

Light stimulates plant growth and allows opportunities for new trees to emerge. It creates a habitat for insects and small mammals to thrive which in turn feed other species such as birds and bats. It creates edge habitat for nesting birds, and it stimulates the regeneration of habitat that can be utilised by iconic woodland species such as dormice and red squirrels.  

A visit to a woodland in the spring is an absolute joy for the senses, the array of flora, the smells of wild garlic, the call of bird song and the calming effect of connecting with nature are fantastic for our wellbeing. Help look after your local woodland by treating the site sensitively when you visit, in that way you will see so much more.