Which seasons do the following plants grow?
Deana3
Posts: 4
Could you please tell me which seasons I could expect to find the following plants in a UK forest or woodland?
Primroses
Heather
Wild roses
Violets
Lavender
Passion Flower
Lemon Balm
Sandalwood
Camomile
Also is it politically correct to use the term woodland and forest to mean the same thing or do they have completely different meanings?
0
Posts
primroses spring
heather summer
wild roses summer
violets spring
lavender, passion flower and sandalwood are not British plants
lemon balm summer
woodland and forest are sort of the same but in my mind not interchangeable. Forest seems a much larger thing than woodland.
Heather is a moorland plant not a woodland one.
the flowering time I suggested for lemon balm is Ok but that's not a British plant either
The last 5 plants do not grow in the wild here in the UK. Wild roses grow in hedgerows not woods. And heather as has been pointed out, grows on moors.
Woodland to me means a mixed wood whereas a forest to me means a conifer plantation. Probably not scientifically correct..............
Lavender, passion flower, lemon balm and camomile grow in gardens in the UK when people plant them, but aren't wild plants.
I always think that forests cover a much bigger area than woodland. I don't think of any of those plants growing in forests. Small woods with deciduous trees and dappled sunlight may have violets and primroses. Primroses are often on damp roadside banks with shade from a hedge. Bluebells grow in beech woods.
Where do you come from Deana?
And a forest is not necessarily covered in trees either! In the UK it was a historical term referring to the monarch's hunting ground, for example the New Forest in Hampshire, and the much smaller one in which I live.
Forest is sometimes also used for the larger heathlands, like the New Forest, a mixture of heathland and woods.
So what sort of plants/herbs would I find in an English forest in the summer? This is really fascinating!
Where do you live, Deana?
This should answer your questions about what grows in woodland. The Woodland Trust is a charity that helps look after English woodland. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants-and-fungi/woodland-wildflowers/
As has been said, there's all sorts of woodland and they differ from area to area. Some types have more of one sort of trees and plants than another e.g.predominantly beech woodland on acid soil will have a different mix of plants making up the 'under storey' to the mixed woodland with a lot of oak and ash that you find on chalky soil.
It will also depend on how the woodland is managed and what wildlife there is - woodland that is regularly coppiced and has the undergrowth cleared will have more woodland flowers such as bluebells and primroses than woodland that is left to grow thickets of bushier smaller shrubs and trees among the large ones.
And then of course, there's the effect of the browsing deer ...
Last edited: 26 January 2017 10:42:02
Every day is a school day! I always thought the New Forest was originally all trees. Forests in Scotland are definitely all trees!