Launde Big Wood is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

east of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. It is part of

Launde Woods Launde Woods is a nature reserve north of Launde in Leicestershire. It is owned by the Leicester Diocesan Board of Finance and leased to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The site is in two areas, Launde Big Wood, which is a Site o ...

nature reserve, which is owned by the Leicester

Diocesan Board of Finance A Diocesan Board of Finance, often abbreviated to DBF, is an institution of the Church of England which owns land and controls a number of financial matters in each of the Church's dioceses. Such Boards have existed in every diocese of the Church s ...

and managed by the

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Con ...

. This wood on heavy clay is dominated by

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, and in some areas by

wych elm ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...

. The ground layer has flora typical of ancient clay woods, such as bluebell,

forget-me-not ''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots ...

yellow archangel ''Lamium galeobdolon'', commonly known as yellow archangel, artillery plant, aluminium plant, or yellow weasel-snout, is a widespread wildflower in Europe, and has been introduced elsewhere as a garden plant. It displays the zygomorphic flower mo ...

and giant bellflower. There is access to the site by a public footpath.

References

{{SSSIs Leicestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire