in Black Dog Woods

 

Carex flacca (Glaucous Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 12 June 2021.

Black Dog Woods (aka Black Dog Wood) is a large wood on the Wiltshire/Somerset border. (It stretches from Dilton Marsh in Wiltshire to Chapmanslade in Somerset, bisected about midway by the A36.) I've spent a lot of time there in the last year, intrigued by its scale and wildness. I suppose you would characterize a lot of it as PAWS (Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site). It doesn't have the typical species richness of conserved "ancient woodland" and it's managed, though patchily, for timber (e.g. spruce and other conifers as well as poplar). But this big wet wood certainly has an ancient atmosphere, it feels wild, lonely and a bit sinister. In some parts it's become a basically inaccessible barrier of swamp and thicket. (This is what all of lowland Britain was like in Neolithic times, which is why the old trackways and temples and barrows are up on the chalk downs.)

The lay-by on the A36 is a well-known meeting-place for sex games with strangers, but it's also the parking spot that gives quickest access to the heart of the wood.

The dominant herbaceous species is Pendulous Sedge, which grows in enormous quantities. There's also a lot of wild rose, in this case more notable for its fabric-tearing qualities than for its flowers. 

Anyway, here are some photos from the more open parts. 

Callitriche stagnalis (Common Water-starwort) on mud. Black Dog Woods, 12 June 2021.

Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted Hair-grass), the early panicle still bunched together. Black Dog Woods, 12 June 2021.

Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted Hair-grass), the early panicle just opening out. Black Dog Woods, 12 June 2021.

Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted Hair-grass), fully open panicles (left) and half-open (right). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted Hair-grass), detail of open panicle. Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

I've actually no idea what I thought I was photographing here! Black Dog Woods, 12 June 2021.

Glyceria fluitans (Floating Sweet-grass). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Lysimachia nemorum (Yellow Pimpernel). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Carex pallescens (Pale Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Carex pallescens (Pale Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Carex pallescens (Pale Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 9 June 2021.

Carex pendula (Pendulous Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 2 June 2021.

Carex pendula (Pendulous Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 2 June 2021.

Carex pendula (Pendulous Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

After fighting my way through this lot in July, my pockets and shoes were filled with the smooth green seeds. 

Carex sylvatica (Wood Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 2 June 2021.

Carex remota (Remote Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

Carex remota (Remote Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

Carex remota (Remote Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.

Carex remota (Remote Sedge). Black Dog Woods, 4 July 2021.