Farningham Wood

Gully with fallen trees.  Farningham Wood, 28 November 2013.

I walked through Farningham Wood recently and came across a depression, a sort of dry gully, full of fallen trees.  They had been there for a long while, perhaps since the storm of 1987, or perhaps they had fallen individually at various times, but none looked recent.  A strange place.

I was watching out for late fungi, but saw very few.  There were probably many more, but the fallen leaves will have covered some up, and also a single person always misses a lot compared to a group.  The only fungus photo I came back with was this:

Ascocoryne sarcoides, Purple Jellydisc.   Farningham Wood, 28 November 2013.

 I find it hard to resist taking a photo of this species, which looks like miniature intestines.  This growth was about three inches across. 

Broad Buckler Fern, Dryopteris dilatata.  Farningham Wood, 28 November 2013.

Not everything is brown.  You can see some leafage in the top photo.  And when there is less greenery, ferns stand out better, and there were a few of these Broad Buckler Ferns.  They are tripinnate; the individual fronds branch three times. 

At the top of a rise at the north end of the wood I saw a crudely made memorial seat.

Crude memorial seat.  Farningham Wood, 28 November 2013.

There were dedications on the oaks at either side, one of them quite old:

Dedication by crude memorial seat.  Farningham Wood, 28 November 2013.

The tree's bark has started to grow over the nail heads at the left of this one.  So, roughly made, but apparently well constructed, and I expect that many people will have rested here.  The slope up from the north is quite steep and there is plenty of undergrowth in other directions. 

Four Beetles From Summer

Red-headed Cardinal Beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis.  Downe Bank, 14 June 2013.

Here are a few beetles I saw during the year that I don't think I have posted before.  Nothing unusual, but they do look good.  This one is called a Cardinal Beetle because its colour reminded someone of the scarlet dress of a cardinal of the Catholic church.  It's called Red-headed because it has a relative with a black head, known, of course, as a Black-headed Cardinal Beetle.

Black-headed Cardinal Beetle, Pyrochroa coccinea.  Hayes Common, 19 June 2013.

I only had my little Ixus 100 with me when I saw that one, so the depth of field is not so good.  Its close focusing is rather erratic, so I was happy to get this shot.

Orchid Beetle, Dascillus cervinus.  Orchid Bank at High Elms Country Park, 27 June 2013.

This one is more brown, with a hint of muted olive green.  I see it in places where there are lots of orchids, but not actually on orchids, thugh it is supposed to spend most of its time on flowers.

It's covered with short hairs, which helps to show that if you think of beetles as smooth and shiny, you are often mistaken.  At this magnification, the hairs on the plant leaf are also much more apparent than they normally are to the naked eye.

Click Beetle, Denticollis linearis.  Downe Bank, 14 June 2013.

This is one of several click beetles.  When disturbed, they can use those points at the back corner of the thorax to click against the front of their abdomen.  This can make them leap into the air, a good and surprising tactic to escape unwelcome attention.

That's all the beetles for now ...

Coppicing in Spring Park

Trees felled during coppicing in Spring Park, 6 November 2013.

This was a dark wet day in the woods.  The management programme for Spring Park's Small-leaved Limes was under way, with sections being coppiced and the felled trunks being taken out by heavy horses.

This is a Comtois, a French breed.  The use of horses minimises damage to the woodland floor.

Coppicing refreshes the growth of some trees, and creates glades of different ages which provide habitats for plants, insects and birds and increase the diversity of the woods.  The woods have been managed like this for hundreds of years, but now there is not the same demand for the produce, and we have to pay people to do the work.  There were uses in the past we would not think of today.  For example, in the mid 19th century many sweet chestnuts were planted here, and the chestnuts were supplied to London's bread makers.

This exercise concentrates on the Small-leaved Limes, Tilia cordata.  There are many in these woods, including even a few seedlings, which is rare these days as they need a warmer climate than England can provide.  But once established, they flourish.  Branches that touch the ground can root in, and shoots can come from underground.   They sprout easily from the coppice stools.  Coppicing seems extreme, but does no harm at all to the population, and encourages healthy new growth.

Trees felled during coppicing in Spring Park, 6 November 2013.

The trunk nearest us has been down there for some while.  Those fungi look to me like Sheathed Woodtuft, Kehneromyces mutabilis.

(This seems to be my 500th post in this blog, which surprises me!)