Mid‐flandrian Forest History of Roudsea Wood National Nature Reserve, Cumbria

S ummary A pollen‐stratigraphic record from a small (25 m diameter) hollow situated within the Carboniferous limestone area of Roudsea Wood is presented. The record extends from 6680 to 5150 years B.P. and shows that the canopy of the mid‐Flandrian forest around the hollow contained 10 to 30% Quercus , 5 to 15% Betula , 2 to 15% Ulmus cf. U. glabra , 5 to 25% Tilia cordata , 5 to 25% Fraxinus excelsior , 15 to 20% Alnus glutinosa , and 10 to 30% Corylus avellana. Minor trees and shrubs were also present, including Acer campestre, Euonymus europaeus, Rhamnus catharticus, Sorbus torminalis , and Thelycrania sanguinea , all of which grow today at or near their northern British limits near Roudsea Wood.