To add to the confusion the true oxlip is also known as the paigle , a name which, in the past, has been rather indiscriminately applied to several wildflowers including buttercups.

Usually it is called the common oxlip because it occurs quite frequently, but purists prefer to call it the false oxlip since there is a third species, Primula elatior , now found only in the eastern counties of England, which is, for them, the true oxlip .

Bardfield Oxlip (Primula elatior).

The SSSI lies within the distribution of Oxlip Primula elatior and all three woods contain this species.

For example, in the area grows Aconitum variegatum, Hottonia palustris, Thalictrum aquilegiifolium, Corydalis intermedia, Primula elatior, Carex riparia, or Lemna trisulca.

The larvae feed on Alchemilla alpina, Anemone, Anthyllis vulneraria alpestris, Aster amellus, Centaurea jaceak, Cerastium, Globularia cordifolia, Leucanthemopsis alpine, Leucanthemum, Primula elatior, Primula farinosa, Ranunculus acris and Salix reticulata.