The South West is well known for its stunning floral displays. Whether you are on the coast or high moorland there is usually floral colour to be seen.

The numerous habitats and locations the lakes we manage have a wealth of native wild flowers including:

• those found in marshy grassland such as the unusual round-leaved sundew
• violets in bracken habitats
• eyebright in areas of unimproved acid grassland.

Below are some of the habitats we manage and the type of flora found within them.

Woodland

Our woodlands vary in structure and diversity and many of them have fantastic displays of wildflowers including:

•  bluebells
• wood avens
• dog's mercury
• foxglove
• red campion
• wood anemone
• bugle
  

 

The lush environment is also excellent for a variety of ferns, lichens and mosses particularly at College Reservoir where the locally rare Royal Fern can be found.

Good woodland sites for wildflowers are Lower Tamar, Roadford Local Nature Reserve, College and Wimbleball.

The broadleaf woodlands never fail to give a stunning autumn display of rich reds, oranges and yellows.

 

Heathland

Heathlands can be striking locations with a purple haze of heather and flashes of gold from the gorse. Heathland is also an important wildlife habitat where birds of prey can often be seen soaring high in the sky and reptiles bask in the sun. Our Dartmoor sites offer this valuable habitat as do Stithians and Colliford in Cornwall.

Plants to see:

• bell heather
• gprse
• cross leaved heath
• bracken
• heather
  

 

Purple moor-grass & rush pasture

A species-rich habitat containing purple-moor grass and rushes such as sharp-flowered rush. Key wildflower species associated with this habitat include:

• wavy St John's wort
• whorled caraway
• greater butterfly orchid
• lesser butterfly orchid
  

Wildlife includes:

• marsh fritillary butterfly
• brown hairstreak
• narrow-bordered bee hawkmoth
• curlew
• barn owl
  

Grasslands

Lowland meadows and pastures, and unimproved or semi-improved neutral grasslands, provide beautiful summer colour.

Where possible we manage our grasslands to benefit flora and fauna and this means that in some locations the grass is left to grow over the summer and a late cut is taken in August or September rather than cutting it regularly.

Plants to see:

• orchids
• bird's foot trefoil
• meadow buttercup
• knapweed
• yarrow
• Yorkshire fog
  

 

Ponds

Several of the lakes have separate ponds, some of which are used for educational purposes and others as wildlife sites.

Burrator Arboretum, Roadford and Lower Tamar are the focus of the pond habitat theme of the Biodiversity Project.

Plants to see:

• reed mace
• winter mint
• broadleaved pondweed
• greater pond sedge
  

Ponds are also great for wildlife including the palmate newt, dragon and damselflies, bugs and beetles an of course toads and frogs.

Invasive Plants

Unfortunately in this country we have many plants that have been introduced from abroad and are not native to the British Isles. Some of the species we are trying to manage include:

• Japanese knotweed
• Himalayan balsam
• crassula helmsii
• rhododendron ponticum
  

 

In many cases we are working with Natural England, the Environment Agency and South West Water either to eradicate or control these species on our sites.