Ashen Wood
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Frithy Wood
|
|
| Area of Search | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TL 859 536 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 28.7 hectares |
| Notification | 1987 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Frithy and Chadacre Woods is a 28.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the parishes of Lawshall and Shimpling in Suffolk.
Three ancient and semi-natural woods form the SSSI, namely Frithy Wood in Lawshall parish and Ashen Wood and Bavins Wood on the Chadacre Estate in Shimpling parish.
All three woods are of the wet ash (Fraxinus excelsior) / maple (Acer campestre) type, with hazel (Corylus avellana) also present in considerable quantity. There are pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) trees and other tree and shrub species include aspen (Populus tremula), wild cherry (Prunus avium), midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), crab apple (Malus sylvestris), holly (Ilex aquifolium), spindle (Euonymus europaeus) and common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea). The structure of the woods has been greatly influenced by management of the coppice.
The three woods have a diverse woodland floor vegetation, which is dominated by either dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis) or brambles (Rubus spp.). They contain a number of plants characteristic of woodlands of this type including herb paris (Paris quadrifolia) in Ashen Wood and wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides), woodruff (Galium odoratum), sanicle (Sanicula europaea) and stinking iris (Iris foetidissima) in Frithy Wood. The SSSI lies within the distribution of oxlip (Primula elatior) and all three woods contain this species. There are many other woodland floor plants including early purple orchid (Orchis mascula), twayblade (Neottia ovata), gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) and bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus).
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