Dingle 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 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, notified in 1972.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).Forest of Dean District Local Plan Review, adopted November 2005, Appendix D 'Nature Conservation Site Designations Within the Forest of Dean District', Key Wildlife Sites
The wood is located within the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

Forest Park and the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

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 ...

Location

The Forest of Dean has been an area for timber production for hundreds of years. This has been maintained by careful planting and woodland management regimes. There is a ''mosaic'' of woodland types. The central region of the Dean lies on Coal Measures of the Carboniferous time period. This supports

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 ...

and the ground flora is lime-hating. Around this central area are the Carboniferous

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s and Devonian

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s. These produce fertile soils and support a variety of woodland types with a richer ground flora.

Woodland types and ground flora

Dingle Wood is a planted woodland but considered to be an example of the best type of woodland habitat. Types of trees include Oak,

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 ...

, Beech, some Cherry and Rowan. Shrubs include

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, Yew,

Field Maple ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

and Hazel. The wood to the east is dominated by

Bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

, Bluebell, Wood Anemone,

Wood Sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...

and

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

. The wood to the west has uneven terrain, and deep pits (

Scowles Scowles are landscape features that range from amorphous shallow pits to irregular labyrinthine hollows up to several metres deep and are possibly unique to the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. They have traditionally been interpr ...

) from old iron workings, and supports uncommon plants, for example Herb Paris, Common Wintergreen,

Bird's Nest Orchid ''Neottia nidus-avis'', the bird's-nest orchid, is a non- photosynthetic orchid, native to Europe, Russia and some parts of the Middle East. Description ''Neottia nidus-avis'' grows to tall and each shoot can carry up to 60 flowers. Plants a ...

and the

Greater Butterfly Orchid ''Platanthera chlorantha'', commonly known as greater butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Platanthera''. It can be found throughout Europe and Morocco. The name ''Platanthera'' is derived from Greek, meaning "broad anthers" ...

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Dingle Wood unit

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information)
Forestry Commission
{{authority control Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1972 Forest of Dean Forests and woodlands of Gloucestershire River Wye