The Vale is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, from mighty cedars to delicate speedwells, from big and bold geese to more shy and tiny long-tailed tits. Here are a few interesting facts about some of them.
Trees
There are over 1,500 trees on The Village with many mature examples of native Oak, Beech, Yew, Field Maple, Silver Birch, Hawthorn, Ash and Rowan which will increasingly support biodiversity as they age.
Native flowering plants
Iris pseudacorus
The tall herbaceous perennial Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) can be found on the lake edge, flowering May-June. This is one of only two native iris species. It is often used for water treatment due to its ability to absorb heavy metals through its roots.
Lythrum salicaria
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is popular with long-tongued insects, including bees and butterflies. Although this perennial has become something of an invasive plant where introduced abroad, in its native UK there are plenty of insects feeding on it and keeping it in check such as the black-margined loosestrife beetle, the loosestrife root weevil and the loosestrife flower weevil. The leaves turn bright crimson in the autumn.