Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) occurs frequently in this part of the wood, where an area of lapsed hazel coppice, and associated plants, is being restored. Ash, unlike some broadleaf trees, has an open crown that allows plenty of sunshine to reach the understory, and it’s light leaf fall is quick to decompose meaning that it does not smother the groundflora emerging the following spring.
drawing: © Cailen Howie