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| East Anglian Plain |
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| Habitat: Lowland mixed deciduous woodland (of national significance) |
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Woodland where more than 20% of the cover is from broadleaved and/or yew trees. Rides, glades and other features of woodland are also included.
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Ancient woods, practically all of which have been coppiced since mediaeval times or earlier, are found throughout the East Anglian Plain. There are around 1,000 ancient woods more than one hectare in size, covering about 7,200 hectares. About 40% of woods are less than five hectares in area and most of the rest are between five and twenty hectares. The woods are not equally distributed across the Plain. The South Suffolk and North Essex Claylands has about three times the density of woods and a higher proportion of larger woods than Mid Norfolk area and the South Norfolk and High Suffolk Claylands. In comparison with other Natural Areas, the East Anglian Plain is of high value within England for its ancient woods, when comparing the amount of ancient woodland, the proportion that has still has semi- natural vegetation, and the variation within the vegetation types.
The woods here are amongst the richest in the country for flowering plants. Some of the most attractive species are also abundant, with carpets of anemones, bluebells or violets being present in many. Plants, such as wood millet, wood sorrel, and herb paris are not found in the East Anglian Plain except in ancient woods. Oxlip is abundant in many west Suffolk and north-east Essex woods. The only other areas in Britain where it exists are a much smaller group of woods west of Cambridge and a few woods in the Thames Valley. Unspotted lungwort occurs in just three woods in the East Anglian Plain, and nowhere else in Britain. Trees such as wild pear, small-leaved lime and service are found in these ancient woods, but they are not generally found outside ancient woods unless they have been planted by man, although small-leaved lime is found in a few hedges in part of Norfolk and south Suffolk around Layham and Groton.
Two main vegetation types (as described in the National Vegetation Classification) dominate the Natural Area's ancient woods. These are ash-maple-dog's mercury woodland (W8) and oak-bramble-bracken woodland (W10). The ash-maple-dog's mercury woods are found on chalky clay soils, and have the highest number of ancient woodland plants. Oak-bramble- bracken woodland is found on neutral or acidic soil and is less rich in species. It is this community that has the attractive carpets of bluebells in the spring. Within the ash-maple- dog's mercury group, there are woods dominated by hornbeam (in the extreme south of the East Anglian Plain and in a cluster in north-east Suffolk/south-east Norfolk), and small- leaved lime (in Mid Norfolk and in the east of the South Suffolk and North Essex Claylands). Elm occurs as a shrub in some woods although it is now more common in hedges, particularly in the South Suffolk and North Essex Claylands.
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