Grass Wood, Wharfedale cleared through selective felling, many areas of the woodland have the appearance of an early successional stage of advance natural regeneration through mainly saplings of ash, birch and sycamore, this enclosed within a variable canopy of ash, sycamore, beech, oak, and with some birch. Shrubs and small trees in the understorey include bird cherry "Prunus padus", hazel, spindle "Euonymus europaeus", buckthorn "Rhamnus cathartica", wild privet "Ligustrum vulgare", blackthorn "Prunus spinosa" and guelder-rose "Viburnum opulus". The underlying geology ensures that most of the site is well drained, favouring lime-loving plants – the calcicoles. There are, however, localised areas with poorer drainage
Prunus americana Prunus americana Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of "Prunus" native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida. "Prunus americana" has often been planted outside its native range and sometimes escapes cultivation. It is commonly confused with the Canada plum ("Prunus nigra"), although the fruit is smaller and rounder and bright red as opposed to yellow. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to graft the domestic plum.