Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

The woodland almost certainly dates from the end of the 19th century when it was allowed to naturally replace the former heathland. It consists of pedunculate oak with some sycamore, beech, ash, hawthorn and English elm. On the southern, less disturbed, edge of the woodland there are pendulous and remote sedges (rare in inner London), as well as male-fern and common figwort. Here also are bracken, wood sage and gorse. North of the bridleway the woodland is denser and, in a localised damp area, contains the rare plants creeping yellow-cress and plicate sweet-grass. Acid grassland on the higher slopes includes the characteristic plants early hair-grass, welted thistle and hairy sedge. Damper areas contain soft rush. A single heather plant survives as a reminder of the common's more botanically diverse past, and yellow meadow ants can be found. A ditch at the highest point of the Common is quite possibly ancient in origin. It follows the eastern boundary and growing near it are red campion, wavy bitter-cress, pendulous sedge, wood meadow-grass and soft shield-fern. The Rookery has terraced lawns, a large formal walled garden and the last of the Streatham Spa wells. Dense shrubberies also feature here, with landscaped pools and streams supporting flowering-rush and the naturalised monkeyflower. A small belt of dense woodland includes butcher's broom, which has probably been introduced.

Facilities

Playground; cafe; toilets; horse riding; waymarked walking route