Old Copse, Beenham is an 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 ...
south of
Beenham
Beenham is a village and civil parish centred east of Newbury in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England.
Geography
Beenham is north of Aldermaston. The Old Copse is a woodland within the village that is a Site of Special Scient ...
in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
.
The site is private land with no public access.
Geography
The coppice woodland is on London Clay situated on the north side of the Kennet valley. The site is on gently sloping ground, with damp to poorly-drained wet clay soils. A few small streams with associated wet flushes arise in the wood.
History
The copse is classed as ancient woodland having been there for at least from 1600 and still retains tree and shrub cover which has not obviously been planted.
In 1984 the site was registered as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Flora
The site has the following Flora:
Trees
*
Oak
*
Hazel
*
Ash
*''
Ulmus glabra''
*
Alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
*''
Prunus avium''
*
Maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
*
Birch
*''
Salix caprea''
*''
Ilex aquifolium''
*''
Viburnum opulus
''Viburnum opulus'', commonly known as the guelder-rose, or guelder rose (), is an Old World species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae.
Description
''Viburnum opulus'' is a deciduous shrub growing to tall. The leaves are opposite, th ...
''
*''
Sambucus nigra''
*''
Cornus sanguinea''
Plants
*''
Narcissus pseudonarcissus''
*''
Carex strigosa''
*''
Hylotelephium telephium''
*''
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used ...
''
*''
Anemone nemorosa
''Anemonoides nemorosa'' (syn. ''Anemone nemorosa''), the wood anemone, is an early-spring flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Other common names include windflower, European thimbleweed, and smell fox, an all ...
''
*''
Mercurialis perennis''
*''
Primula vulgaris
''Primula vulgaris'', also called the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Primulaceae, native plant, native to Eurasia.''Flora Europaea'Primula vulgaris''/ref> The common name of this plant is prim ...
''
*''
Equisetum telmateia''
*''
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium''
*''
Ranunculus flammula''
References
{{SSSIs Berks
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire