Plants of Coultershaw
From the Engine House
A colourful collection of water-margin
plants grows in shallow water and on
damp mud. Water-plantain has threepetalled pink flowers on its branching
stems. Water Forget-me-not has sky
blue flowers.
Engine House
Near the Pump House
Here you can see typical species of
shallow water and pond margins.
Look for the beautiful spires of
Purple Loosestrife in late summer.
The tall grass is Reed Canary-grass.
Plants of Coultershaw
Heritage Site
Coultershaw has a
varied flora, with plants
of shallow water, wet
mud, disturbed soil,
and short grassland, as
well as species which
grow on old walls and
in woodland. Some of
these habitats and their
plants are described in
more detail overleaf.
Pump House
Along the path
There is a variety of
trees and shrubs along
the track, including alder
and six different species
of willow. Himalayan
Balsam, also known as
Policeman’s Helmet,
grows here, with spectacular
pink flowers and popping
seedpods in summer.
Hemlock Water-dropwort
looks a little like Cow
Parsley, but don’t touch,
it’s poisonous!
The south bank
Tall plants such as
Tansy, with yellow
button-like flowers,
grow here. Comfrey has
curled spikes of white
or purplish flowers and
hairy leaves. You may
see Wood Club-rush,
with big heads of greenish
flowers like an untidy mop.
Three saplings of the rare
Black Poplar tree have
been planted as part of a
conservation scheme.
To Badgers and
Petworth Old
Station
Warehouse
Shady places
Woodland species such as Wild Garlic, Lesser
Celandine and Enchanter’s-nightshade grow
here. Wild Hop scrambles over shrubs. Near
the water, Dame’s-violet has pink and white
flowers in early summer, which smell delicious.
Please return
using the same
pathway
Plants of Coultershaw
Wetland plants
Not many plants grow right in the Mill Pond because the current is strong, but a number of species
grow in quieter places in shallow water around the margins. Gypsywort looks like a nettle, but it
doesn’t sting and has rings of small white flowers. Rub the leaves on your skin to stain it brown
and make you look like a gypsy. Water-plantain has three-petalled pink flowers on branched stems.
Purple Loosestrife has tall spires of pink-purple flowers in late summer. Another late summer species
is Water Mint, with clusters of mauve-pink flowers and mint-scented leaves. Branched Bur-reed is a
hefty plant with long straight leaves and fruits which look like prickly green golf balls. Water Forgetme-not has attractive blue flowers, as does its smaller relative, Brooklime. Creeping Yellow-cress is a
member of the Cabbage family, and is one of several species here with four-petalled yellow flowers,
growing on damp mud. Hemlock Water-dropwort also grows all around the pond, on the damp banks.
It looks rather like Cow-parsley – but it’s poisonous! Wild Angelica is superficially similar, but is certainly
not poisonous – it is related to the angelica used in cooking. Not colourful, but a handsome plant, Wood
Club-rush has big unkempt-looking mop-heads of greenish flowers and grows on the south side of the
pond. The tall Reed Canary-grass can reach 2m high. It is one of the most frequent wetland grasses
and is common here right round the pond and along the riverbanks.
Trees and shrubs
There are no fewer than six different willows around the pond: Crack Willow, Grey Willow, White Willow,
Goat Willow, Osier and Almond Willow. There is a small plantation of White Willow at the far end of the
site. Almond Willow is an uncommon shrub or small tree. Like Osier, it was formerly planted for basketmaking. Some people can taste rosewater when they chew the bark of young twigs.
There are a number of Alder trees, and some of them look sickly – this is due to a disease, similar to
Dutch Elm Disease, which is affecting many alders along the Rother.
Three Black Poplars have been planted near the pond. Black Poplar is the rarest native tree in
Sussex, with only 38 mature trees left. These have been propagated by the Royal Botanic Gardens
at Wakehurst Place, and saplings are being planted across the county in a restoration programme.
Look for their fluttering leaves by the south side of the pond.
Shade plants
In shady places under trees on the north side of the pond and river there are plants typical of woodland
and sheltered riverbanks. There are several kinds of fern, including bright green Hart’s-tongue, which
has undivided leaves which are supposed to look like a deer’s tongue. Wild Garlic has white flowers in
spring, and shiny leaves which smell of garlic when you crush them. Red Campion, Herb-robert, Wood
Speedwell and Lesser Celandine are frequent. Wild Hop scrambles over trees and shrubs. Himalayan
Balsam and Dame’s-violet are tall pink-flowered plants – both were originally garden plants in the UK
but they have escaped into the wild and are often found on riverbanks. Dame’s-violet has four-petalled,
sweet-smelling flowers in early summer. The Balsam can be a menace as it is invasive and squeezes
out the native flora, but nevertheless it is an attractive plant. It has spectacular helmet-shaped flowers in
late summer and it’s fun to pop the seedpods which follow.
Trees and Shrubs
Plants of Coultershaw
Common name
Alder
Almond Willow
Ash
Black Poplar
Crack Willow
Dog Rose
Elder
Goat Willow
Grey Willow or Sallow
Hawthorn
Oak
Osier
Sycamore
White Willow
Scientific name
Alnus glutinosa
Salix triandra
Fraxinus excelsior
Populus nigra ssp. betulifolia
Salix fragilis
Rosa canina
Sambucus nigra
Salix caprea
Salix cinerea
Crataegus monogyna
Quercus robur
Salix viminalis
Acer pseudoplatanus
Salix alba
Notes
Common name
Annual Meadow-grass
Cock’s-foot
False Oat-grass
False-brome
Giant Fescue
Meadow Fescue
Pendulous Sedge
Rat’s-tail Fescue
Red Fescue
Reed Canary-grass
Remote Sedge
Rough Meadow-grass
Rye-grass
Soft Brome
Wood Club-rush
Yorkshire-fog
Scientific name
Poa annua
Dactylis glomerata
Arrhenatherum elatius
Brachypodium sylvaticum
Festuca gigantea
Festuca pratense
Carex pendula
Vulpia myuros
Festuca rubra
Phalaris arundinacea
Carex remota
Poa trivialis
Lolium perenne
Bromus hordeaceus
Scirpus sylvaticus
Holcus lanatus
Notes
Common name
Field Horsetail
Hart’s-tongue Fern
Male Fern
Wall-rue
Scientific name
Equisetum arvense
Phyllitis scolopendrium
Dryopteris filix-mas
Asplenium ruta-muraria
Notes
On disturbed ground
Usually in shady places.
Shady places
On brickwork and stonework
Common name
Autumn Hawkbit
Bittersweet
Black Medick
Bramble
Branched Bur-reed
Bristly Oxtongue
Broad-leaved Dock
Brooklime
Cat’s-ear
Cleavers
Common Chickweed
Common Comfrey
Common Hemp-nettle
Common Mallow
Common Marsh-bedstraw
Common Mouse-ear
Common Ragwort
Common Water-plantain
Cow Parsley
Creeping Buttercup
Creeping Cinquefoil
Creeping Yellow-cress
Crosswort
Cuckooflower
Curled Dock
Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill
Daisy
Dame’s-violet
Dandelion
Dog Rose
Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill
Enchanter’s-nightshade
Scientific name
Leontodon autumnalis
Solanum dulcamara
Medicago lupulina
Rubus fruticosus
Sparganium erectum
Picris echioides
Rumex obtusifolius
Veronica beccabunga
Hypochaeris radicata
Galium aparine
Stellaria media
Symphytum oficinale
Galeopsis tetrahit
Malva sylvestris
Galium palustre
Cerastium fontanum
Senecio jacobaea
Alisma plantago-aquatica
Anthriscus sylvesrris
Ranunculus repens
Potentilla reptans
Rorippa sylvestris
Cruciata laevipes
Cardamine pratensis
Rumex crispus
Geranium dissectum
Bellis perennis
Hesperis matronalis
Taraxacum officinale
Rosa canina
Geranium molle
Circaea lutetiana
Notes
Grasses and sedges
Ferns
Other plants
Uncommon species. Originally planted.
Shady places
Cracks in stonework
The most common tall wetland grass
Damp places
Pond margin
Shallow water
Shallow water
Wet places
Shallow water and wet mud
Damp mud
Damp ground
Short mown grass
Usually by shady rivers
Shady places
Field Forget-me-not
Field Penny-cress
Figwort
Fool’s-watercress
Garlic Mustard
Germander Speedwell
Great Yellow-cress
Greater Chickweed
Greater Plantain
Ground-elder
Ground-ivy
Gypsywort
Hairy Willowherb
Hedge Mustard
Hemlock
Hemlock Water-dropwort
Hemp-agrimony
Herb-robert
Himalayan Balsam
Hogweed
Hop
Ivy
Ivy-leaved Speedwell
Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Japanese Knotweed
Lesser Burdock
Lesser Celandine
Lesser Periwinkle
Lesser Trefoil
Lords-and-ladies
Marsh Woundwort
Meadow Buttercup
Meadowsweet
Mugwort
Nettle
Nipplewort
Oxeye Daisy
Perennial Sow-thistle
Petty Spurge
Prickly Lettuce
Prickly Sow-thistle
Purple Loosestrife
Ramsons (Wild Garlic)
Red Campion
Redshank
Ribwort Plantain
Scentless Mayweed
Selfheal
Shepherd’s-purse
Small-flowered Willowherb
Smooth Hawk-s-beard
Smooth Sow-thistle
Spear Thistle
Spear-leaved Orache
Spotted Medick
Square-stalked St. John’s-wort
Sterile Brome
Sticky Mouse-ear
Tansy
Teasel
Thale Cress
Thyme-leaved Speedwell
Treacle Mustard
Trifid Bur-marigold
Tufted Vetch
Water Chickweed
Water Figwort
Water Forget-me-not
Water Mint
Wavy Bittercress
Welted Thistle
White Clover
White Dead-nettle
Wild Angelica
Winter-cress
Wood Dock
Wood Forget-me-not
Wood Speedwell
Yarrow
Myosotis arvense
Thlaspi arvense
Scrophularia nodosa
Apium nodiflorum
Alliaria petiolata
Veronica chamaedrys
Rorippa amphibia
Stellaria neglecta
Plantago major
Aegopodium podagraria
Glechoma hederacea
Lycopus europaeus
Epilobium hirsutum
Sisymbrium officinale
Conium maculatum
Oenanthe crocata
Eupatoria cannabinum
Geranium robertianum
Impatiens glandulifera
Heracleum sphondylium
Humulus lupulus
Hedera helix
Veronica hederifolia
Cymbalaria muralis
Fallopia japonica
Arctium minus
Ranunculus ficaria
Vinca minor
Trifolium dubium
Arum maculatum
Stachys palustris
Ranunculus acris
Filipendula ulmaria
Artemisia vulgaris
Urtica dioica
Lapsana communis
Leucanthemum vulgare
Sonchus arvensis
Euphorbia peplus
Lactuca serriola
Sonchus asper
Lythrum salicifolia
Allium ursinum
Silene dioica
Persicaria maculosa
Plantago lanceolata
Tripleurospermum inodorum
Prunella vulgaris
Capsella bursa-pastoria
Epilobium parviflorum
Crepis capillaris
Sonchus oleraceus
Cirsium vulgaris
Atriplex prostrata
Medicago arabica
Hypericum tetrapterum
Anisantha sterilis
Cerastium glomeratum
Tanacetum vulgare
Dipsacus fullonum
Arabidopsis thaliana
Veronica serpyllifolia
Erysimum cheiranthoides
Bidens tripartita
Vicia cracca
Myosoton aquaticum
Scrophularia auriculata
Myosotis scorpioides
Mentha aquatica
Cardamine flexuosa
Carduus crispus
Trifolium repens
Lamium album
Angelica sylvestris
Barbarea vulgaris
Rumex sanguineus
Myosotis sylvatica
Veronica montana
Achilleaea millefolium
Disturbed soil – often an arable weed
Shallow water
Wet places
Damp places – an uncommon plant
Escaped from gardens
Shallow water
Common in damp places. Poisonous!
Introduced to UK. Damp places by water.
Scrambles over shrubs & hedges
On walls
Inttroduced to UK in
Shady places
Originally a garden plant
Shady places
Usually in damp places
Damp places
Shallow water
Damp shady places
Disturbed ground
Short grass
Often in damp places
Disturbed ground
Disturbed ground
Shallow water
Damp places
Shallow water
Wet places
Damp shady places
Shady places
Escaped from gardens here
Woodland