Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
long-lived, seedlings are rare and since it was formerly used as a medicinal plant, being given powdered
as a remedy for worms, it may have been affected by over-collecting.
Areasofscrubwoodland,dominatedbyash,hazelandblackthorn,andinsomeplaceswithbuckthorn
anddogwood
Cornus sanguinea
,surviveinvariouslocationsonthesouthGowercliffs.Thesewoodlands
were probably more extensive in the past, but repeated fires and intensive grazing by sheep have resulted
in their replacement by gorse and heathland. Good examples of this type of woodland can be seen on
the south side of Oxwich Point, where purple gromwell and pale St John's-wort
Hypericum montanum
growatthemarginsofthescrub,andinRamsgroveValley,whereavarietyofcommonwhitebeam
Sorbus
porrigentiformis
grows in the scrub. Three unusual trees, the small-leaved lime mentioned earlier, rock
whitebeam
Sorbus rupicola
and wild service tree
Sorbus torminalis
, and two scarce shrubs, juniper and
butcher's broom, can be found in the rockier parts of Crawley Wood. There are also significant stands of
butcher's broom around Oxwich Point, which is its westernmost location in the peninsula.