Found to be locally abundant in developing woodland at Westwood Park Common (SJ7499,
DP Earl, 1991). The identity of the plants was not known at the time although
it was observed that the Westwood Park plants were very similar to a bramble known
to be locally abundant at Inglewhite to the north of Preston. A few years ago
Dr DE Allen realised that a voucher specimen collected from Inglewhite by DP Earl
and donated to the British Museum was Rubus mucronatiformis a bramble
that is locally abundant in woodlands in Hampshire. Recent studies have shown
that plants thought to be Rubus mucronatiformis occur occasionally in
wooded areas in South Lancashire with a small population also be present in neighbouring
Cheshire along a wooded section of the Cheshire Lines Railway near Lymn.
