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PID Ash Common Local Nature Reserve Autumn & Winter Ash Priors Common is located approximately 6 miles north west of Taunton. It lies just off the A358 near Bishops Lydeard just beyond the West Somerset Railway. The trail starts at the main car park (Grid Reference 155 288). It is circular, and best attempted in a clockwise direction. It should take about 1 - 11/2 hours to complete (2.3km). Stout footwear is advisable as the ground may be uneven and muddy in sections. Please keep dogs under control. Mini Beast Hunt Lots of small animals live amongst the leaf litter and dead wood. Some hunt other animals; others eat the leaves, wood and fungi. Look under logs, bark and amongst the leaves. Springtails like dark damp places. They have a forked spring which hits the ground and makes the springtail leap. The False Scorpion hunts for smaller insects. It is a harmless animal and cannot sting. When Autumn comes nature’s activity starts to slow down. Plants die and lose their leaves, but there is still life going on, you just have to look more closely to find it. Fungi grow on wood on the ground. Fallen leaves are home to mini-beasts. Spiders are common hunters, hiding under logs, bark and leaves. N Page 1 of 3 Ash Common Local Nature Reserve in the Autumn and Winter Bristletails are wingless insects with segmented bodies and two long tails. The eat decaying plants. Others are quite small with a wavy edge and are much softer;some are banded like Many-Zoned Polypore. Woodlice and Snails eat the plant material. Woodlice also eat fungi and dead wood.You will find them in damp areas, such as under bark. Beetle larva like the Stag Beetle Larva live in and eat dead wood. Crust Fungus is quite hard to spot. It grows along twigs and branches of living trees and is skin like.The most easy to spot s purple in colour. Yellow Sulphur Tuft grows in clumps on dead wood. Look out for a yellow like jelly fungus Yellow Brain Fungus, found on dead fallen branches. The Devils Coach Horse Larvae hunt for spiders and smaller beetles, as well as dead animals.The adult beetle hunts at night, hiding under leaves and logs in the day. Wood Fungi The parts of fungi you can see are the fruit bodies. Hidden below the ground and bark are thin white threads - the mycelium.These are the parts of the fungi that attack wood and break it down. If you look under the bark and leaf litter you might find some of the threads. Fungi are decomposers, turning wood and other things such as leaves and dung into a dark brown soil (humus). Blackening Russula turns black when old.They are found in large numbers around trees. On the ground in ditches amongst leaf litter, you might be lucky to spot the Grey Coral Fungus. Candle Snuff Fungus is very small and hard to find which grows on dead wood. Grassland Fungi It is not just woods that have fungi.The grassy open areas also have their own kinds. Look out for the Parrot Toadstool - bluegreen in colour and covered in green slime. Milk Drop Mycena is brown and has a long, thin stem. It grows in dead leaves. Scarlet Hood is bright red in colour. Snowy Meadow Cap is white in colour and grows in groups. Look closely at mossy tree trunks and you might find a tiny white fungus - Mycena Corticola. Also look out for a bright yellow toadstool which is slimy - Hygrocybe Chlorophana. Fungi comes in all shapes and sizes, not just in mushroom/toadstool shapes. Look out for Puffballs. When the fruit body is ripe the spores come out of a split in the top. If pushed, a cloud of pores is often released. Bracket Fungi grow along dead tree tree trunks or on logs. Some are hard and leathery but have a sponge like look. There are many more kinds... How many can you spot? Page 2 of 3 Ash Common Local Nature Reserve in the Autumn and Winter Tree Identification Decay and Decomposition All things decay and are recycled to help new life grow. Trees lose their leaves As well as leaves found on the ground, bark and twigs can also be used to identify trees. Silver Birch - It has silver colour bark that peels in thin paper-like strips. It’s twigs are purple and rough with small knobbles. Oak - Oak has a very rough, cracked bark. Hazel - It has a brown smooth bark which can peel, and hairy twigs. It has lots of thin branches that often come from near the ground. Leaves litter the ground Soil feeds the growing plants Ash - Ash has a pale grey bark. It’s twigs have black buds. Dark brown soil Hawthorn - A small tree/shrub with a dark grey bark and brown, thorny twigs. Dead wood attacked by fungi Mini-beasts chew the leaves Blackthorn - A small thee/shrub with rough, blackbrown bark and spiny twigs. The common is currently managed by Taunton Deane Borough Council on behalf of the owners and commoners. During the Summer months the Common is vulnerable to fire damage, so please take care. Strictly no barbecues or fires are allowed. Adders may also be found on the Common. You and your dog may be at risk from Lyme disease when walking through bracken, grass and rough vegetation between April and October. Lyme disease is an infection which can affect the skin and occasionally cause serious illness of the nervous system, joints or the heart. It is caused by a bacterium, transmitted by the bite of an infected tick.To minimise the risk, keep skin covered and where possible avoid brushing against vegetation. After walking always check yourself and your dog for ticks and remove them as soon as possible. If You Require Further Information Please Contact: 01823 356562 Deane Design & Print sgir/9073/10/07 [email protected] The Heritage and Landscape Team, Taunton Deane Borough Council, The Deane House, Belvedere Road, Taunton,TA1 1HE Tel: 01823 356562 Fax: 01823 356595 Email: [email protected] www.tauntondeane.gov.uk If you would like this document translated into other languages or in Braille, large print, audio tape, or CD please telephone us on 01823 356493 or email us at: [email protected] 01823 356562 [email protected] 01823 356562 [email protected] 01823 356562 [email protected] 01823 356562 Page 3 of 3 [email protected]