The White Helleborines of Friston Forest
The White Helleborine is included in the British Vascular Plant Red Data List (2005) and the List of UK BAP Priority Vascular Plant Species (2007). It is a species known to form special mycorrhizal partnerships with fungi, from which it sources a significant portion of its energy requirements.
Friston Forest is a plantation managed by Forestry England. Covering 80 ha, this mainly consists of Beech, although many compartments also have other tree species. The plantation was started in 1926, with the aim of protecting the aquifer which provides drinking water to Eastbourne. The site is close to the sea and the substrate is mainly chalk.
From 2020, over 8000 individual plants and 100 species of fungi have been surveyed by SxFG members Jim and Janet Howell, and an association emerged between the abundance of White Helleborines and certain genera of ectomycorrhizal fungi.
The full report is available below:
Image above and on link by J. & J. Howell