Wistman's Wood

Wistman's Wood is one of threeremote copses [The other two copses are Black Tor Beare at SX565892 and Piles Copse at SX644620.] of stunted oaks on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It lies in the valley of the West Dart River near Two Bridges at grid reference SX613774.

Wistman's Wood is a remnant of the ancient woodland that once covered much of the moor, and because of this it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1001201 Natural England website: the wood's SSSI designation.] Retrieved 25 Oct 2007] and an NCR site. The wood consists mainly of stunted pedunculate oak trees that grow from between moss-covered boulders and are festooned with epiphytic mosses, lichens and ferns. There are also some rowan, holly and willow trees.

Over the centuries the wood has changed considerably. In 1620 Tristram Risdon wrote that the trees were "no taller than a man may touch to top with his head". In 1912 a geological survey party tried to walk the wood but gave up due to the dense vegetation. The average height of the trees today is about six metres, three times the height they were in 1912.Fact|date=October 2007

References

*cite book
last =Worth
first =R. Hansford
coauthors =
title =Worth's Dartmoor, new edition
publisher =David & Charles
year=1967
location =Newton Abbot
pages =74-83