Epping Forest Act, have now grown massive crowns of thick, trunk-like branches with correspondingly large boles. This gives the trees an unusual appearance, not known in other forests. Often the weight of the branches cannot be supported by the parent tree, and the large amount of dead wood in the forest supports numerous rare species of fungi and invertebrates. Predominant tree species are Pedunculate oak ("Quercus robur"), European beech ("Fagus sylvatica"), European hornbeam ("Carpinus betuloides"), silver birch ("Betula pendula") and European holly ("Ilex aquifolium"). Indicator species of long-uninterrupted woodland include service-tree ("Sorbus torminalis") butcher's-broom ("Ruscus aculeatus") and drooping sedge ("Carex pendula") A
Nyssa sylvatica in the Northeast is "pepperidge." On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, this species is called "beetlebung", perhaps for its use in making the mallet known as a beetle, used for hammering bungs (stoppers) into barrels. "Nyssa sylvatica" grows to tall, rarely to , with a trunk diameter of , rarely up to . These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. The bark is dark gray and flaky when young, but it becomes furrowed with age, resembling alligator hide on very old stems. The twigs of this tree are reddish-brown, usually hidden by a