PRIMITIVE WOODLAND AND PLANTATION TYPES IN SCOTLAND. 1 69 



north-east Kent, it is stated ^ that under coppice the shade 

 condition of the vegetation is reached by about the tenth year. 

 In the Highlands of Scotland, with a difference in soil and 

 climate, this condition will probably be reached later. During 

 this shade-period a minimum development of the ground flora is 

 obtained, but with increasing age, accompanied by an opening of 

 the canopy, quite a typical woodland flora establishes itself. This, 

 as listed by Robert Smith in his Botanical Survey of Northern 

 Perthshire, for oak-coppice in that district is verj- similar to the 

 ground flora already described for I.ochwood. 



What might be classed as a variety of the last type is seen in 

 oak-woods which, as coppice, have been heavily thinned and 

 then allowed to grow into high-forest. While the principals 

 of forestry deprecate this practice of grossing high-forest from 

 stool shoots, yet some such conversion of oak-coppice woods 

 has been done in the past, and probably more will be done 

 in the future, as within recent times the demand for oak-bark 

 has been much reduced. In this high-forest t}-pe the density of 

 stock lies between that of oak-coppice and the Lochwood tj^pe, 

 as does also the development in diameter-growth, while the 

 development in height-gro\rth exceeds that of both the other 

 types. The development of crown is medium, while the boles 

 of the trees are '"clean"' to a greater height than in either of 

 the other types. 



In its ground flora this high-forest oak-coppice would appear 

 to be somewhat unique, in that it is very simple in character 

 and seems to consist mainly of only a few dominant species. 

 These in Presmanon wood, Haddingtonshire, are bracken 

 {Pieris aquilina), wood-rush {Luaula sylvatica), Lastrea dilttata, 

 dog's mercury {Mercuriaiis perennis) and Holciis mollis, while 

 wood-sorrel {Oxalts acetosella), wood-hyacinth {Scilla nutans) 

 and primrose [Primula vulgaris) occur occasionally. A possible 

 explanation of this may be that a woodland flora once occupied 

 the forest floor ; and that the wood was then coppiced, with the 

 result that the sub-dominant and perhaps some of the dominant 

 plants were crushed out, especially if they were late-leafing. The 

 coppice was then thinned, and the more aggressive dominants 

 took possession of the soil to the exclusion of most of the other 

 species. As an example of a wood of this type, which is 



^ M. Wilson, Plant Distribution in North-east Kent, British -Association, 

 Sheffield, 1910. 



VOL. XXIV. PART II. M 



