Download Little things mean a lot

CONSERVATION
Little things
mean a lot
In Wakehurst’s Francis Rose Reserve you’ll find some of our more understated native plants
– Andrew Jackson sheds light on the fascinating inhabitants of this rare and valuable habitat
ou are not welcome to visit Wakehurst’s Site of Special Scientific
Interest. Furthermore, should you
encounter my gamekeeper he has
my instruction to shoot.’ The year was 1953
and a young graduate scientist was asking
permission to conduct ecological research on
the sandstone outcrops at Wakehurst. Luckily, the letter arrived at her London flat the
day after she’d completed the field work and,
more importantly, this ecological ‘poacher’
wasn’t confronted by the gamekeeper.
That September, Jean Paton was awarded
a Master’s degree for her thesis An ecological
study of the sandrocks of the Weald of
Kent and Sussex, with special reference
to bryophytes and environmental factors.
This remains an important reference work
today, and the young scientist has become
a world-renowned specialist on liverworts, which together with mosses are
known as bryophytes.
Six years earlier, a truly extraordinary
British botanist, Francis Rose, had cycled
around Kent and Sussex recording the
ferns, lichens, mosses and liverworts
(known collectively as cryptogams) that
abound on the sandstone outcrops. He
described the Wakehurst and Chiddingly
Woods as the best example of ancient
woodland with sandstone rocks in the UK.
PHOTOGRAPH: ANDREW McROBB/RBG KEW
‘Y
It was his scientific work, enthusiasm
and drive that led to the designation of
Wakehurst as a Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) in 1950. He also inspired
Jean to undertake her research.
In Francis’s own words: ‘This beautiful,
wooded valley is of national importance
for its plant life, above all the mosses,
liverworts, hornworts, lichens and ferns.
This is due to the special features of its
topography and ecology, and to the shelter
from drying winds in this deep humid
valley, which has enabled many plants to
survive here as relics of the ancient flora
of the High Weald of prehistory, that have
disappeared in most of the highly modified
woodlands of the Weald.’
Many of the cryptogams that thrive here
in the mild, dappled woodland conditions
are more characteristic of the oceanic
climate of western and northern Britain
than of the south east, and one of the most
notable of the species found here by
Francis was the rare Tunbridge filmy fern
(Hymenophyllum tunbrigense), which clings
to the underside of rocks. It is still flourishing in the same location.
Some of the mosses and liverworts that
Francis described were only known in
small local populations, including Scapania
gracilis, Harpanthus scutatus, Blepharostoma
trichophyllum and Orthodontium gracile. b
Swan’s-neck thymemoss (Mnium hornum)
produces its spore
capsules in spring
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CONSERVATION
Its close resemblance to the
feathery foliage of tamarisk
gave the moss Thuidium
tamariscinum its name
Overleaf pellia
(Pellia epiphylla)
can be found on wet
sandstone outcrops
The Tunbridge filmy
fern (Hymenophyllum
tunbrigense) is one of the
reserve’s rarest species
PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREW McROBB/RBG KEW
Lichens, including
Cladonia, comprise
an algae and a fungus
growing together
Above right: Andrew
Jackson is fascinated
by the reserve’s many
and varied cryptogams
Sadly, the latter, also known as slender
thread moss, is no longer found at Wakehurst. However, using Kew’s scientific skills
in micropropagation we have attempted
to propagate it from a nearby location and
reintroduce it to the rocks. This is scientifically and technically challenging and is best
described as work in progress.
Sandstone rock outcrops in sheltered,
humid sites with a community of cryptogams are very rare in the lowlands of
western and central Europe, but throughout the High Weald they occur in fairly
extensive areas and the Sussex sandrocks
have a rich flora. In a scientific conference
at Wakehurst, Francis raised the question
of just why these woods were so crucial for
these species. He concluded that ‘it is
partly the humid microclimate of these
deep valleys, where strong, drying sunlight does not normally reach, but probably
more important is the spongy, porous,
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water-holding nature of the acid sandstone
itself.’ The relatively high rainfall and
extensive woodland canopy are also crucial
elements of this habitat.
The mosses, liverworts, lichens and
ferns that grow at Wakehurst are a dynamic
community, but are easily damaged – either
by accident or even by neglect of the habitat. Francis identified that key threats to
these species included the massive invasion
of rhododendrons from Victorian plantings.
These cast dense shade over the rocks, making them unsuitable for most cryptogams.
He was also concerned about the lack of
grazing and other management, which was
leading to a proliferation of beech, yew and
holly that also heavily shaded the habitat.
The ideal cover is a more open oak, rowan
and birch woodland, which Francis identified as once dominant in the Weald. Air
pollution was also a significant threat until
the mid-1970s, while the effects of damage
to the woodlands by storms such as the Great
Storm of 1987 is still not fully understood.
The notification of SSSIs wasn’t always
popular with landowners, and this may have
been one reason why Jean Paton wasn’t
welcomed. Today, however, landowners are
often supported with grants to help bring
such sites to favourable conservation status
or to keep them in good condition. Part of
the Wakehurst SSSI is in recovery and Natural England is providing Environmental
Stewardship grants for the removal of
Rhododendron ponticum, so that our SSSI
can attain favourable conservation status
(see Kew magazine, winter 2009). Over the
next ten years, we hope to almost eradicate
this species from Wakehurst, but to be successful in the long term we will require the
surrounding landowners to do the same to
prevent it from reinvading.
This SSSI is special for a very particular
reason though – part of it is named after the
person who saw its value all those years ago.
Francis Rose visited Wakehurst many times
over a period of 55 years and I was thrilled
when Kew’s Board of Trustees recognised
his contribution to nature conservation
by creating the Francis Rose Reserve at
Wakehurst in 2003. In 2000, Francis was
awarded the MBE for his lifetime contribution to nature conservation.
The reserve is a fitting tribute, as it contains many interesting and rare species, and
brings cryptogams to the attention of the b
The habitat of humid,
sheltered woodland and
sandstone rocks is ideal
for many cryptogams
CONSERVATION
Dense, glossy carpets
of waved silk-moss
(Plagiothecium undulatum)
are relatively easy to spot
PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREW McROBB/RBG KEW, DAVID WHITAKER/ALAMY
Large white-moss
(Leucobryum glaucum)
forms furry cushions
on tree trunks
Cryptogams soon
take up residence on
fallen trees that are left
to rot down naturally
Francis Rose
Reserve
Mansion
Left: the Francis Rose
Reserve (shown in pale
green) covers 25 hectares
of the Wakehurst Estate
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Above: Francis Rose
pioneered the study
of mosses, liverworts,
lichens and filmy ferns
public. For me, Francis’s greatest contribution was to inspire others. He would make
time to bring a sense of joy to a child when
they discovered a new plant, as well as help
first-time field botanists feel at ease. He also
had a strong belief that it was never too late
to learn. He decided to learn about lichens in
his 40s and 50s and became a leading authority on lichens and their response to acid rain.
At the official opening of his reserve at
Wakehurst, and four years later when we
celebrated his life, I found myself surrounded by the most famous names in
plant science, including David Bellamy, who
had been one of Francis’s doctoral students,
and Clive Stace, author of the authoritative
text New Flora of the British Isles. Each
speaker had wonderful stories to tell of him
in the field, including not wanting to stop
at the end of a day and identifying mosses
by match-light while smoking his pipe
upside-down in the rain.
I, too, was inspired by Francis. Firstly to
see, then to recognise, then love and finally
conserve the small green plants and multicoloured lichens that cling to the sandstone
What is a cryptogam?
rocks. Some 20 years after first meeting him,
I found myself editing a book on the sandstone landscapes of Europe. Such is the
power of inspiration – it can make you do
things that you never imagined and take
profound joy in sharing what you see and
value with others.
Next time you come to Wakehurst, do
visit the Francis Rose Reserve hide, near the
Wetland Conservation Area, or the viewpoint that overlooks the LoderValley Nature
Reserve, and see if you can spot these special
small plants and lichens – in the words of
Francis, ‘open your eyes, they are all around
you.’ These are also good places to pause to
think what direct action you can take for
conservation and to inspire others.
n
A cryptogam is an organism that
reproduces using spores rather
than seeds. These include algae,
fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts
and hornworts, ferns and
horsetails. Together they make
up an enormous proportion of the
world’s botanical diversity. The
strange-sounding name comes
from the Greek words kryptos,
meaning hidden, and gameein,
meaning to marry, referring to
their mode of reproduction.
Below: western earwort (Scapania gracilis)
thrives on Wakehurst’s rocks and tree bases
Andrew Jackson is head of Wakehurst Place
The Francis Rose Reserve covers the part of
Wakehurst’s SSSI that is rich in lower plants.
The majority of this 25-hectare reserve lies
within the public part of the Wakehurst Estate
– see map opposite for location. For further
information, go to www.kew.org
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