Botanical Survey 2025 - Buxted

For 2025, I decided to continue "square bashing" - finding all the wild plant species I can in two "tetrads", which are 2km squares on the ordnance survey map. My squares are

• TQ42W, which covers Buxted Park
• TQ52B, which includes Buxted Village

I did my surveys on 36 runs, covering 257 km (159 miles). I ran through Buxted Park, which is a Site of Scientific Interest, and explored the village, farmland and woodland.

Optimistically searching for plants in the frost.

I compared the species I found to the BSBI lists for the tetrads so I could see if/when they had been recorded and verified previously. Below, I will mention some of those that were not previously listed and those that had an old listing (1966). I think this represents a range of recording from 1966 to 1999. Either way, it is at least a quarter of a century since the species has been recorded in the tetrad.

Manor Park Estate

As always, the twittens and roadside paths of the Manor Park estate could be relied on to yield some unexpected treasure:

• Malva sylvestris (Common Mallow) - 1966 listing
• Verbena officinalis (Vervain) - Not previously listed

Malva sylvestris (Common Mallow)

Views wood

The wood lies between the Manor Park estate and Buxted Park. I found:

• Lysimachia nemorum (Yellow Pimpernel) - 1966 listing

Stream between Views Wood and Buxted Park (TQ42W)

There is a stream and damp area between the Wood and the Park. The banks of the stream contain various treasures such as Common Valerian as well as:

• Blechnum spicant (Hard Fern) - 1966 listing
• Dryopteris affinis (Scaly Male Fern) - not previously listed

Dryopteris affinis (Scaly Male Fern) 

Buxted park

Buxted Park has many splendid trees including some non-natives that are new to the list.

• Pinus nigra (Corsican Pine) - not previously listed 
• Quercus rubra (Red Oak) - not previously listed

Pinus nigra (Corsican Pine) 

I also found:

• Barbarea vulgaris (Wintercress) - 1966 listing
• Nymphaea alba  (White Waterlily) - not previously listed 

Hurstwood Road and surroundings

The Hurstwood Road opposite the Buxted Park entrance leads to farmland. One field had many wild flowers as well as nesting Yellowhammers.

• Fumaria officinalis (Common Fumitory) -  1966 listing
• Sinapis arvensis (Charlock) - not previously listed

Fumaria officinalis (Common Fumitory)

Church Road and surroundings

Nearer to the village, Church Road has many interesting buildings including an Oast house. At the roadside I found:

• Viola reichenbachiana (Early dog violet) - not previously listed
• Erophila verna (Common Whitlowgrass) - not previously listed 

Erophila verna (Common Whitlowgrass)

Buxted Road/Station/High Street

The road that bounds the North side of Buxted Park and leads into the village gave me a number of firsts.

• Barbarea vulgaris (Wintercress) - 1966 listing
• Malva sylvestris (Common Mallow) - 1966 listing
• Fallopia baldschuanica (Russian Vine) - not previously listed 
• Avena satvia (Oat) - not previously listed
• Viola odorata (Sweet Violet) - not previously listed
• Medicago arabica (Spotted Medick) - not previously listed

Viola odorata (Sweet Violet) 

Pound Green area 

For some reason Comm Orache is missing from many local lists but I managed to find it in a few sites in and around Buxted including one at the furthest edge of one of my tetrads.

• Atriplex patula (Common orache) - not previously listed

Atriplex patula (Common orache) 

Lanes

The lanes to the South of Buxted included my most exciting find.

• Gnaphalium lutoalbum (Jersey Cudweed) - Neville Hutchinson noted that this is a "new tetrad record and 18th this century for East Sussex!"

Gnaphalium lutoalbum (Jersey Cudweed) 

Tickerage Stream and Woodland

There is a lovely little area of woodland, with the Tickerage Stream running through. It contains all sorts of wild flowers such as Wood Anemones, Bluebells and Red Campions. 

• Lysimachia nemorum (Yellow Pimpernel) - 1966 listing
• Ranunculus auricomus (Goldilocks Buttercup) - 1966 listing

Ranunculus auricomus (Goldilocks Buttercup) 

Finally

The impact of Monad recording

This time, the Sussex Botanical Recording Society asked us to record the species in each 1km square (monads). To be honest, the change caught me on the hop so rather than planning to do monads from the start, I crudely adapted my tetrad (2km square) plans so that I recorded in 8 small squares rather than 2 big ones.

I can't directly compare numbers of species ticked off per square with last year because of the change from tetrads to monads but:

• In 2025, I ticked off an average of 83 species per square (8 monads), total = 667, average per km = 2.5
• In 2024, I ticked off an average of 225 species per square (2 tetrads), total = 451, average per km = 3.8

The "efficiency" in terms of average per km is easily explained by me needing to go further to get into all four quarters of a tetrad rather than just cherry-picking the parts closest to home. To be honest, I bit off more than I could chew with 8 monads. The effect was that I focussed on the most easily found and identified plants. So the promises that I made to myself about learning more about identification of grasses, docks and willowherbs fell by the wayside. I also found it difficult to recall what I had seen where even with the help of my trusty spreadsheet.

In 2026, I intend to give myself space to learn more about my awkward squad by reducing the number of monads to about 5.

Finding "new" species

These tables show the number of species I found in each monad, how many were new to the square and how many were recorded for the first time since "1966"

Buxted Park TQ42W

Buxted village TQ52B 

This year, I have fewer species new to the tetrad or not recorded since 1966. 

How Doctor Who helped me spot a lizard

Yesterday we took a walk through The Woodland Trust's Views (Williams) Wood to Buxted Park and back. We visited earlier in the spring when the spring flowers seemed to be in a frantic race to bloom before the tree canopy closed over them. Now serene greens of fresh leaves are taking over from the fading flowers.

Serene greens and fading blues in Views (Williams) Wood.

The wood is quieter too as the birds that, earlier, were singing to attract mates and protect territories silently hunt food for their young. Fortunately for them the wood is humming with insect life.

Black headed cardinal beetle.

The most colourful insect we saw was a black headed cardinal beetle. It was eye-catching enough when I first saw it resting on an old stump. Long scarlet wing cases contrast with black head, body and legs. When its comb-like antenna detected me creeping up with my camera, out flashed black wings and it flew away in a swirl of red and black. The larvae of this insect live under the bark of freshly dead broad leaved trees. Maybe they benefitted from last year's coppicing.

The woodland rides are still lined with greater stitchwort, which has now been joined by delicate white caraway (I think) flowers. These still appeared here and there as we crossed the river to Buxted Park.  In the more open parkland, hawthorn are blossoming and rabbits lolloping around in the sun.

Bluebells and hawthorn blossom - Buxted Park

Most of the daffodils in the graveyard of St Margaret's Church have faded but a few of the late, pheasant eye, variety are hanging on. The shaggy grass is full of pea-family flowers: red clover, black medic (which is actually yellow), vivid magenta common vetch and the tiny blooms of hairy tare. As bees work systematically through the flowers, a cloud of shiny micro moths dances above.

Lizard draped round the neck of an angel.

As we walked to the gate I spotted an angel headstone, I gestured towards it and was about to make the usual joke about not blinking (this is from an episode of Doctor Who called Blink) when I spotted a lizard draped round the back of the neck of the angel. In a blink it was gone. I hope it had scurried away from the looming human rather than being zapped back into the past. If it hadn't been for me wanting to make a daft joke about a TV show, I never would have seen the lizard.

Buxted Park Hotel

It looks like some trees have been lost in recent storms and, maybe, some of the Limes that fell in the great storm of 1987 have been cleared away. Parts of the park feel a little more open now and there are some fine views of the Buxted Park Hotel.

Geese and goslings.

Passing between the lakes there are a variety of geese with fluffy goslings. Like us, they fled to the shelter of the trees when a hail storm interrupted the sunshine. We went home to our warm, dry house, leaving the creatures of the park and the wood to fend for themselves.

Views Wood - spring on fast forward

We took advantage of the lovely spring weather and the May Day bank holiday to walk though the Woodland Trust's Views (Williams) Wood today. The much delayed spring is now on fast forward. 

Wood anemones and bluebells in Views Wood

Because of the cool spring, the last of the wood anemones have hung and are now combining beautifully with the first of the bluebells.  Other flowers such as yellow archangel and cuckoo flower are appearing too.

The lovely carpet of wild flowers was animated by little birds - wrens, robins and blue tits - flitting around as they collect food for hungry nestlings.  Amongst the gentle spring colours, there's the dazzling flash of an orange tip butterfly's wings.

King cups in a soggy dip

One of the hidden treasures of the wood is the gold of king cups that gleams from the bottom of a soggy dip. They are surrounded by banks of bluebells.  

When we reached Buxted Park, this sunny bank holiday had one more treat for us. The sound of cuckoos, who must have recently arrived from Africa.