Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum
Moors

Lycopodiaceae

(Clubmosses)

[Fir Clubmoss

Huperzia selago  

(1815)  

Claimed as a denizen of the Isle of Axholme in 1815, but there is no direct evidence to link the record with the eastern side of Thorne Moors].

Stag’s-horn Clubmoss

Lycopodium clavatum   

pre-c.1842-1966  

Recorded only from the “Crowle turbaries” pre-c.1842 and from Snaith & Cowick Moor in 1966, the latter described as a “good colony” on a patch of bare peat. 

Equisetaceae

(Horsetails)

Water Horsetail

Equisetum fluviatile  

c.1876-1989  

Noted in the 19th century under “Moor and moor edge plants,” and as a plant of ditches exhibiting a “warp influence”.  Recorded in recent decades from the Thorne Waste peat canals.  Current status uncertain.

Field Horsetail

E. arvense  

(1969)-2008  

Very widely dispersed and frequently encountered.

Marsh Horsetail

E. palustre 

pre-c.1842-1989  

Recorded from the “Crowle turbaries” pre-c.1842.  Found in recent decades in peripheral drains and on warp alongside.  Also occasionally on disturbed peat at Will Pits and the Thorne Waste peat canals.  Current status uncertain.   

Ophioglossaceae

(Adderstongue Ferns)

Adder’s-tongue

Ophioglossum vulgatum  

1870s-2008  

A warp-influence species, generally existing peripherally, in pasture and uncultivated areas.  Also grows along the limestone-based canal towpath and on a linked tramway.

Osmundaceae

Royal Fern

Osmunda regalis  

1840-2008  

A long-term victim of fern-fanciers and moorland exploitation.  Although once growing more widely, since the mid-1970s has been confined to the Thorne Waste peat canals.

Polypodiaceae

(Polypodies)

Polypody

Polypodium vulgare 

pre-c.1876-c.1968  

Known from Madam Wood pre-c.1876.  Recorded elsewhere in 1964 and c.1968, the latter a single plant within the Thorne Waste peat canals.  A fertile herbarium frond from 1964 is confirmed as P. vulgare L.

Dennstaedtiaceae

Bracken

Pteridium aquilinum  

(1828)-2008  

Has probably spread markedly since the 1870s.  Now abundant, especially on drier peat, thriving best on disturbed and cleared ground.  Although growing on uncultivated warpland, only exceptionally found in the surrounding farmland.

Thelypteridaceae

Marsh Fern

Thelypteris palustris  

pre-1868-70s?  

Described as occurring peripherally in “dykes and wet thickets”, and in turbaries and turbary pools.

Lemon-scented Fern

Oreopteris limbosperma  

pre-1947  

Noted by J.M. Taylor, who died in 1947.

Aspleniaceae

Hart’s-tongue

Phyllitis scolopendrium  

1907-90  

Recorded “in some parts” in 1907, probably peripherally, and known on walls at Top Moor Farm since 1989.  Current status uncertain.

Woodsiaceae

Lady-fern

Athyrium felix-femina  

c.1876-1980s  

Recorded from Madam Wood c.1876, and the New Zealand area pre-1947.  Apparently a warp-influence species, found in recent decades at Will Pits and at the margin of the main peat canal near the ruined Moorends Works.

Dryopteridaceae

(Buckler Ferns, Male Ferns)

Soft Shield-fern

Polystichum setiferum  

1986  

Found at Will Pits, but destroyed soon afterwards.

Male-fern

Dryopteris filix-mas 

(1895)-2008  

A warp-influence species, inhabiting uncultivated, and often wooded, warpland.

Crested Buckler-fern

D. cristata  

1856-72  

Known from a “boggy bushy place” near the south-western edge of the moorland, “not on the ‘Waste’, exactly, but upon the less open border much nearer Thorne”.

Narrow Buckler-fern

D. carthusiana  

pre-1871-2008  

A well distributed but uncommon species on peat and uncultivated peaty warpland, occurring especially in parts of the Thorne Waste peat canals.  Grows in wetter areas than Broad Buckler-fern.

[Hybrid Narrow Buckler-fern]

D.x deweveri  

1941-80s  

Formerly known peripherally from Whitaker’s Plantations, and was still in that region in the 1980s.  Current status uncertain.

Broad Buckler-fern

D. dilatata 

 c.1876-2008  

Widespread and common on peat and uncultivated warp.  Grows around the base of Thorne Colliery spoilheap, but not actually on the tipped slag.

Blechnaceae

(Hard Ferns, Water Ferns)

Hard-fern

Blechnum spicant  

c.1876-1970  

Formerly regarded locally as a rare and notable species.  Probably a fern of the peat moorland, although first recorded from Madam Wood.