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Totteridge Common is a 3.7 hectare Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, in Totteridge Manor Association home page
and comprised the lands of the former Manor of Totteridge which were transferred to the association in 1954.
Totteridge Common is a 3.7 hectare Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, in Totteridge
Totteridge is a residential area and former village in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a mixture of suburban development and open land (including some farmland) situated 8 miles (13 km) north north-west of Charing Cross. It ...
in the London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...
. The nature reserve is the southern verge of the road Totteridge Common, between Totteridge Park and Oak Lodge. It is registered common land owned by the Totteridge Manor Associationand comprised the lands of the former Manor of Totteridge which were transferred to the association in 1954.
Ecology
The most interesting feature ecologically is a chain of old ponds. Starting from the east, they are Burnham's Pond, Warren Pond, Long Pond, Ellern Mede Pond and Pink Cottage Pond. They vary in character, but all have interesting wetland flora, and most are valuable fordragonflies
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...
, other invertebrates and amphibians. Plants to be found around the edges of the ponds include lesser spearwort
''Ranunculus flammula'', the lesser spearwort, greater creeping spearwort or banewort, is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus ''Ranunculus'' (buttercup), growing in damp places throughout the Boreal Kingdom. It flowers June/July ...
, trifid bur-marigold
''Bidens tripartita'' is a common and widespread species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly known as three-lobe beggarticks, three-part beggarticks, leafy-bracted beggarticks or trifid bur-marigold. It is native to m ...
and fool's watercress (Apium nodiflorum
''Helosciadium nodiflorum'' (synonym: ''Apium nodiflorum''), fool's watercress, is a flowering plant found in ditches or streams, as well as fresh and brackish-water wetlands native to western Europe. It is not poisonous to humans but it could be ...
). In deeper water, white water-lily and curled and broad-leaved pondweeds can be found. Long Pond is used for angling.
The common also has grassland, scattered trees, overgrown hedgerows and several pockets of scrubby woodland. The woodland is mainly composed of sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry".
Species of trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplata ...
and elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
. Other trees include two young native black poplar ( Populus nigra ssp betulifolia), a rare tree in Britain and a priority species in the London Biodiversity Action Plan. There are also some fine mature oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s and horse-chestnut
''Aesculus hippocastanum'', the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, Europe ...
s scattered throughout the common. The grassland has a fairly good range of wild flowers, and damp areas near some of the ponds contain much tufted hair-grass
''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts ...
.
See also
*Nature reserves in Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet, on the northern outskirts of London, is mainly residential, but it has large areas of green space and farmland. The spread of suburban development into the countryside was halted by the designation of a statutory Gr ...
References
Further reading
*External links
{{Nature reserves in Barnet Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barnet Common land in London Totteridge