During this century, large areas of Britain's natural woodlands have been cleared for cultivation, and as a result many of the plants which grew in them have become extinct or rare. But the danger to woodland plants does not come only from man. Although such plants are shade tolerant, they are affected by the type of wood in which they grow. Pine woods, for instance, have thick layers of needles which do not rot and which contain chemicals that are poisonous to other plants. Beech woods are often found on poor soils and, because the leaves do not rot easily, the leaf mould which helps plants to grow is thin. Oak woods, on the other hand, tend to occur on rich soils and make generous amounts of leaf mould.
Rare woodland plants part one.
Hetb Paris.
This distinctive plant has a single whorl of leaves and. Single large green flower. It grows in damp woods from Somerset and Kent to Caithness, but mainly in eastern Britain . It is very patchily distributed and flowers between May and August.
Linnaea.
A creeping evergreen with pink flowers in pairs, found in eastern Scotland and lowers between June and August.
Cyclamen.
Though familiar as a garden plant, cyclamen is rare in the wild. Some Kentish woodlands are probably the only places where it is still a native plant. Occasionally it escapes from gardens elsewhere, but does not establish itself. It flowers between August and September .
