Ashridge Wood is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of
Compton in
Berkshire.
It is in the
North Wessex Downs, which is an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...
.
The wood is a surviving section of a once larger ancient
coppiced
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...
woodland, although part was planted with conifers during the 20th century. It has many flowering woodland plants, including an abundance of
Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem ''Ornithogalum pyrenaicum''.
[
A visit by the Reading & District Natural History Society in June 2009 identified 34 species of flowering plants, 7 different lichens on Ash trees within the wood, and 22 species of insects.]
References
{{SSSIs Berks
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire