Wildlife to spot in a winter woodland
Strolling through a woodland in winter can be a revelation - welcome to a world of fungi, ferns and delicate mosses. Use our guide to identify 12 species you might see in a winter woodland.
All illustrations by Felicity Rose Cole
Traveller’s joy, Clematis vitalba (above)
Huge ropes ascend into branches; feathery plumes on seed-heads. Limestone or chalky soils.
Butcher’s broom Ruscus aculeatus
Greenish flowers and red berries; ‘leaves’ are modified stems. Mainly in southern and western woods.
Mistletoe, Viscum album
White berries and oval, evergreen leaves. Mainly in south and west, along wood-edges and in orchards.
More mistletoe articles:
Common polypody, Polypodium vulgare
One of three similar species, all with lobed fronds and clusters of orange spores on underside. Widespread.
Hart’s tongue fern, Phyllitis scolopendrium
Leathery, strap-like fronds, with parallel rows of spores underneath. Mainly west and north; rarer in east.
Hard fern, Blechnum spicant
Two frond types: sterile are broad and lobed; spore-bearing are narrow and comb-like. Mainly on acid soils.
Coral spot fungus, nectria cinnabarina
Bright orange or pink polka-dot pustules. Widespread everywhere on smaller branches and twigs.
King Alfred’s cakes, Daldinia concentrica
Blackish fruiting bodies; when sliced reveals concentric rings. On tree trunks, especially ash and beech.
Many-zoned polypore, Trametes versicolor
Banded brackets with pale edges; fresh brackets often purplish ‘bloom’. Common on rotting logs.
Large white-moss, Leucobryum glaucum
Forms large tufts of whitish-green leaves, paler when dry. Woods with little ground cover, especially beech.
Capillary thread-moss, Bryum capillare
Leaves are oval with hair-like tips; drooping, cylindrical spore capsules. One of our most common mosses.
Rough-stalked feather-moss, Brachythecium rutabulum
Forms feathery cushions and mats; egg-shaped leaves. Very common.
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