Folly Wood is a 3 acre woodland on the west side of the Slad Valley, north of Stroud, Gloucestershire.
There are indications of the woodland having been semi-natural, but larch was heavily planted in the mid 20th century. The Co-op has a management plan to help the wood revert to its more natural state. There are approximately 30 trees, 75 herbaceous plants and 20 grasses in the woodland – see images and table below.
The woodland is bordered by private farmland. The land is sloped throughout due to both the natural gradient and old quarry sites. However there is an open, flat area near the top with a fire circle and compost toilet.
Folly Wood Tree and Plant List
Information compiled by John Rees, 2016, and updated in 2022/3.
Folly Wood June 2022/23 * – introduced to UK (non-native)
| Trees and other woody plants / shrubs | ||
| Common name | Latin name | Plant family |
| Ash | Fraxinus excelsior | |
| Beech | Fagus sylvatica | |
| Blackthorn (sloe) | Prunus spinosa | rose |
| Bramble | Rubus fruticosus | rose |
| Buckthorn | Rhamnus catharticus | (found in lane not wood) |
| *Buddleia | Buddleia davidii | (found in lane not wood) |
| Cherry (wild) | Prunus avium | rose |
| Dog rose | Rosa canina | rose |
| Dogwood | Cornus sanguinea | (found in lane not wood) |
| Elder | Sambucus nigra | |
| Elm (Wych) | Ulmus glabra | |
| Field maple | Acer campestre | |
| Field rose | Rosa arvensis | rose |
| Hawthorn | Crataegus monogyna | rose |
| Hazel | Corylus avellana | |
| Holly | Ilex aquifolium | |
| Honeysuckle | Lonicera periclymenum | |
| Ivy | Hedera helix | |
| *Larch | Larix decidua | |
| Oak (common) | Quercus robur | |
| *Oak (Holm or Evergreen) | Quercus ilex | |
| *Oak (Turkey) | Quercus cerris | |
| *Privet (garden) | Ligustrum ovalifolium | |
| Privet (wild) | Ligustrum vulgare | |
| Spurge-laurel | Daphne laureola | |
| *Sycamore | Acer pseudoplatanus | |
| Traveller’s joy/Old man’s beard | Clematis vitalba | |
| Wayfaring tree | Viburnum lantana | |
| Whitebeam | Sorbus aria | |
| Woody nightshade/Bittersweet | Solanum dulcamara | potato |
| Yew | Taxus baccata |
| Herbaceous plants | ||
| Common name | Latin name | Plant family |
| *Beaked hawk’s-beard | Crepis vesicaria | |
| Bird’s nest orchid | Neottia nidus-avis | orchid |
| Bird’s-eye or Germander speedwell | Veronica chamaedrys | |
| Bird’s-foot trefoil | Lotus corniculatus | pea |
| Black bryony | Tamus communis | |
| Black medick | Medicago lupulina | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Bladder campion | Silene vulgaris | |
| Broad buckler-fern | Dryopteris dilatata | fern |
| Broad-leaved willowherb | Epilobium montanum | willow-herb |
| Burnet-saxifrage | Pimpinella saxifraga | umbellifer (found in lane not wood) |
| Buttercup (bulbous) | Ranunculus bulbosus | (found in lane not wood) |
| Buttercup (meadow) | Ranunculus acris | (found in lane not wood) |
| Caraway | Carum carvi | |
| Cleavers | Galium aparine | bedstraw |
| Clover (red) | Trifolium pratense | pea |
| Clover (white) | Trifolium repens | pea |
| Columbine – probable escape here | Aquilegia vulgaris | (found in lane not wood) |
| Common cat’s ear | Hypochoeris radicata | daisy (found in lane not wood) |
| Common ragwort | Senecio jacobaea | daisy |
| Cow parsley | Anthriscus sylvestris | umbellifer |
| Cranesbill (pink) | geranium | |
| Creeping thistle | Cirsium arvense | daisy (found in lane not wood) |
| Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale | daisy |
| Dock (broad-leaved) | Rumex obtusifolius | |
| Dock (curled) | Rumex crispus | |
| Dog’s mercury | Mercurialis perennis | |
| Enchanter’s nightshade | Circaea lutetiana | willow-herb |
| Field scabious | Knautia arvensis | |
| Forget-me-not (common) | Myosotis arvensis | |
| Garlic mustard | Alliaria petiolata | cabbage |
| Glaucous sedge | Carex flacca | (found in lane not wood) |
| Goat’s beard | Aruncus dioicus | |
| Grape hyacinth (blow-in) | Muscari | |
| Gromwell | Lithospermum officinale | (found in lane not wood) |
| Ground-ivy | Glechoma hederacea | dead-nettle (found in lane not wood) |
| Hawkweed | Hieracium sp. | daisy (found in lane not wood) |
| Hedge bedstraw | Galium album | bedstraw (found in lane not wood) |
| Hedge woundwort | Stachys sylvatica | dead-nettle |
| Hedge-mustard | Sisymbrium officinale | (found in lane not wood) |
| Herb Robert | Geranium robertianum | |
| Hogweed | Heracleum sphondylium | umbellifer |
| Horse-shoe vetch | Hippocrepis comosa | pea |
| Knapweed (greater) | Centaurea scabiosa | daisy |
| Knapweed (lesser) | Centaurea nigra | daisy |
| Lady’s bedstraw | Galium verum | bedstraw |
| Lords and ladies | Arum maculatum | |
| Male fern | Dryopteris filix-mas | fern |
| Marjoram (oregano) | Origanum vulgare | dead-nettle |
| Meadow vetchling | Lathyrus pratensis | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Mouse-ear chickweed (clustered) | Cerastium glomeratum | (found in lane not wood) |
| Mouse-ear chickweed (common) | Cerastium fontanum | (found in lane not wood) |
| Nipplewort | Lapsana communis | daisy |
| Ploughman’s spikenard | Inula conyzae | |
| Pyramidal orchid | Anacamptis pyramidalis | orchid |
| Restharrow | Ononis repens | pea |
| Ribwort plantain | Plantago lanceolata | |
| Rock-rose | Helianthemum nummularium rose | |
| Rough chervil | Chaerophyllum temulentum | umbellifer (found in lane not wood) |
| Salad burnet | Poterium sanguisorba | rose |
| Sanicle | Sanicula europaea | umbellifer |
| Self-heal | Prunella vulgaris | dead-nettle (found in lane not wood) |
| Soft shield-fern | Polystichum setiferum | fern |
| Sowthistle (prickly) | Sonchus asper | daisy (found in lane not wood) |
| Sowthistle (smooth) | Sonchus oleraceus | daisy (found in lane not wood) |
| Spiked sedge | Carex divulsa divulsa | |
| St John’s wort (common) | Hypericum perforatum | (found in lane not wood) |
| St John’s wort (hairy) | Hypericum hirsutum | (found in lane not wood) |
| Sweet woodruff | Galium odoratum | bedstraw |
| Three-cornered leek | ||
| Three-veined sandwort | Moehringia trinervis | |
| Thyme-leaved sandwort | Arenaria serpyllifolia | (found in lane not wood) |
| Trefoil (hop) | Trifolium campestre | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Trefoil (lesser yellow) | Trifolium dubium | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Vetch (bush) | Vicia sepium | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Vetch (common) | Vicia sativa | pea (found in lane not wood) |
| Violet (Dog) | Viola reichenbachiana | |
| Violet (sweet) | Viola odorata | |
| Wall lettuce | Mycelis muralis | daisy |
| White campion | Silene latifolia | (found in lane not wood) |
| Wild carrot | Daucus carota | umbellifer (found in lane not wood) |
| Wild strawberry | Fragaria vesca | |
| Wood anemone | Anemone nemorosa | |
| Wood avens / herb bennet | Geum urbanum | rose |
| Wood cranesbill | Geranium sylvaticum |
| Grasses | ||
| Common name | Latin name | Plant family |
| Barren brome | Anisantha sterilis | (found in lane not wood) |
| Bearded couch-grass | Elymus caninum | |
| Cocksfoot | Dactylis glomerata | |
| False oat-grass | Arrhenatherum elatior | |
| Giant fescue | Schedonorus gigantea | |
| Meadow oat-grass | Avenula pratensis | |
| Perennial rye-grass | Lolium perenne | |
| Quaking grass | Briza media | (found in lane not wood) |
| Red fescue | Festuca rubra | |
| Rough-stalked meadow-grass | Poa trivialis | |
| Slender false-brome | Brachypodium sylvaticum | |
| Timothy grass | Phleum pratense | (found in lane not wood) |
| Tor-grass | Brachypodium pinnatum | |
| Tufted hair-grass | Deschampsia cespitosa | |
| Upright brome | Bromopsis erecta | |
| Wood melick-grass | Melica uniflora | |
| Wood millet-grass | Milium effusum | |
| Yellow oat-grass | Trisetum flavescens | |
| Yorkshire fog | Holcus lanatus |