The Horse chestnut is easily recognized, with distinctive palmate leaves and an autumnal crop of conkers.  It was introduced from Turkey around the 1600s, and is a common tree in parklands and towns, but occurs less often in woodland.

Identification: Tree shape

The tree grows up to 40m tall and has a wide, domed canopy with foliage coming low down the tree.  Trees live up to 300 years.  It grows fast in most soils, and needs plenty of space.

Identification: Leaves

Horse chestnut leaves are palmate, consisting of 5 – 7 sharp-tipped leaflets arranged like the fingers of an outstretched hand.  Each leaflet can be 30cm long, making for impressively large leaves.

The leaf margins are toothed, and each leaflet has clear alternate lateral veins.  They’re a rich green colour.  For more on leaf margins click here.  For a blog on compound vs simple leaves click this link, and tips on leaf shape can be found here.

Identification: Flowers

The flowers of the Horse chestnut grow in a clustered tower of up to 50 flowers, known as a panicle.  These are sometimes referred to as candles.  Branches of the panicle are longer at the base than the top, creating a cone shape.  The uppermost flowers are male, those in the middle are both sexes, and the lowest ones are all female.

 They have a distinctive shape with bilateral symmetry.  Each flower is 9-11mmm long and has 5 fringed white petals, with a yellow patch at the base.  Once pollinated, this turns from yellow to dark pink.  This may communicate to visiting insects that the flower is no longer worth visiting as it has ceased providing nectar post fertilization.

Identification: Fruit

Horse chestnut seeds are known as conkers.  Only 5 or so flowers per panicle develop into conkers.

The conker is instantly recognizable.  Encased in a pale yellow-green, spiked case; conkers are a shiny mahogany brown.  This type of seed is known as a capsule by botanists.  (For more on seed types, check out my blog.)

There are 1-3 conkers per fruit, released when the seed case splits three ways at maturity.  Each is up to 4cm across, with the entire fruit measuring up to 7cm

Identification: Bark and buds

The bark is pinkish-grey and thin in young trees, becoming grey-brown and scaly with age.

Buds are distinctive and grow on stout hairless twigs.  They are a rich reddish brown, oval, and very sticky.  Lateral buds are opposite.

When the leaves shed, they leave a distinctive horseshoe-shaped scar.  This could be the source of the tree’s name; although some suggest it relates to the curative flour, made from ground up conkers, that used to be fed to horses.

Similar species

The Indian Horse chestnut, Aesculus indica, native to the Himalayas, is the only similar species.  Like the Horse chestnut, it is planted in parks and public spaces.

However, it follows in June rather than April to May and is a less robust tree.  Indian Horse chestnut conkers are small, dark brown and wrinkled, and held in smooth green seed cases.

History: Folklore

Because the tree was introduced to the UK comparatively recently, there’s not a great deal of folk lore associated with it.

However, the conkers are threaded onto strings and used to play – wait for it – conkers.  The first recorded game occurred in 1848 on the Isle of Wight, although there’s evidence the game was played with other less suitable nuts prior to this.

 To play, you take it in turns to whack your opponent’s conker with your own, the aim being to smash your opponent’s conker to bits.  Baking, pickling in vinegar, and drying for a year or more are all methods thought to toughen up a prize conker.  To this day, kids in the UK play conkers every year (although some well-meaning schools have banned the practice because it’s deemed dangerous).

One foot note is that some think keeping conkers in a room discourages spiders.  My studio has an open box of conkers and a plethora of friendly spiders, so I remain unconvinced.

History: Mankind and Horse chestnut wood

The wood of the Horse chestnut is pale and light.  It is weak and is mainly used to make children’s toys and for carving.  As it’s absorbent, it is also used to make trays for storing fruit, and it was sometimes used to make light weight artificial limbs.

History: Food and Medicine

Conkers were ground up into flour in Victorian times, and used as a coffee substitute during World War 2.  The mildly poisonous nature of the fruit, and its limited appeal has made this practice obsolete.

Flower buds can be used as a substitute for hops in beer brewing

Medicinally, conkers were fed to cattle and horses by Turkish soldiers in the 1600s to cure respiratory disorders.

Varicose veins, haemorrhoids, sprains and bruising can all be treated with Horse chestnut creams which thin the blood.  This makes it harder for blood to leak from veins and capillaries, and is useful in the treatment of water retention and oedema.  Aescin seems to be the active compound at work here, both for animal and human ailments.

Finally, the high levels of saponin made them good for making soap, after crushing and soaking the conkers in boiling water.  They are considered useful as moth deterrents by some.

Horse chestnut and Wildlife

The profusion of flowers provide a welcome treat to pollinating bees in late spring, and the caterpillars of the Triangle moth Trigonodes hyppasia feed on the leaves.

The larva of the Horse chestnut leaf mining moth Cameraria ohridella also feed on the leaves, the caterpillars are part of the diet of birds like the Bluetit.

Threats

Two pests and diseases have taken a firm hold of the Horse chestnut population recently.

The first is the Horse chestnut leaf miner mentioned above.  This insect burrows through the leaves, eating as it goes.  It can make entire trees look ill with blotched, yellowing leaves.  The good news is that there’s little evidence that the caterpillars do any lasting damage, merely altering the appearance of the tree.

The second is Horse chestnut bleeding canker, a more serious threat.  This bacterial infection damages the wood and bark, blocking the tubes of the phloem, making it impossible for the tree to carry water and nutrients.  This eventually kills the tree.

Signs of the canker include oozing dark patches on the trunk, discolouration of the wood, and chunks of bark peeling away.  This canker is becoming more common since it was first noted in the 1970s, and now infects more than 30% of English Horse chestnuts.

Trees also suffer leaf blotching caused by the Guignardia fungus, and are prone to scale insect infestations.

Conclusion

With their beautiful candles of flowers and ornamental stature, Horse chestnuts are handsome trees.  Although of limited practical or culinary use, they are vital to parkland and gardens.  One can but hope that the threats posed by canker and pests don’t end up reducing the population of these trees too seriously.

Online sources for this blog include websites of the Woodland trust, Trees for life, Totally wild, the Tree guide UK, and NatureSpot.  Reference books for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies  , and the Reader’s Digest The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain (out of print but commonly available second-hand).  I also referred to The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar and The Living Wisdom of Trees by Fred Hageneder.

The post Trees: Horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Scots pine is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees.  You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Birch, the Lime, and the Beech.

The Scots pine is one of only three native UK conifers, along with the Yew and the Juniper.  It grows wild in heathland and in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, although only 1% of these remain.  About 7000 years ago it was the commonest tree in Britain but suffered when the climate got wetter and warmer and then again when it was cleared for grazing.  Instantly recognizable, it is used for timber and provides a haven for birds, insects, and mammals.

Scots pine Pinus sylvestris tree

Identification: Tree shape

Scots pine grow to 35m tall and have a domed or flattened top and can live for 700 years.  They shed their lower branches as they grow, leaving distinctive broken limbs below the main crown.

Scots pine Pinus sylvestris tree growth progression

These trees grow in poor soils from sea level to 2,400m and were briefly extinct south of Scotland in the 1600s before being re-introduced to parkland and heaths.

Identification: Leaves

Scots pine have slightly twisted paired needles.  These are a grey green and grow to 10cm in young trees.  As the tree ages, the needles grow to shorter lengths, in the region of 3 to 7cm long.  They are evergreen, and linear.

Sprig of Scots pine

Identification: Flowers

The flowers of Scots pine are monoecious, meaning male and females are borne on the same tree.  The female flowers grow on higher more exposed branches where they can catch the male pollen, carried by wind.  They are reddish purple and grow on the tips on new shoots, looking like tiny pine cones.

Scots pine female flower (strobilus)

The male flowers are clusters of yellow pollen-producing anthers, growing at the base of the shoot.

Scots pine male flowers

Scots pine tend to flower in May, filling the air with clouds of pollen.

Identification: Fruit

The fruit of the Scots pine is a cone.  These develop from the fertilized female flowers and start off as green.  The cones take two years to mature and are 3 to 6cm long.  A Scots pine will bear cones of different ages simultaneously – young green ones and larger older grey ones.  Mature woody cones have a raised bump at the centre of each cone scale.  Within the cones are the seeds, and once mature the cone scales open to release the winged seeds.

Mature cone

Identification: Bark and buds

The bark of the Scots pine is reddish but becomes fissured and darkens to near black with age.  This explains why the tree looks like its tree trunk is two coloured, rusty red at the top and black at ground level.

Twigs are hairless and green, and the plant has sticky buds borne on the tips of yellowish twigs.

Similar species

There are other pines grown in Britain, many in forestry plantations rather than in the Caledonian forests or on heathland.  The bi colour of the bark makes the Scots pine distinctive.  The other native evergreens, the Yew and juniper, are very different from the Scots pine.  The former has glossy dark green needles and a flaky brown bark and the juniper has needle-like leaves and grows low to the ground.  They bear soft red and dark purple berries respectively, rather than woody cones.

Juniper Juniperus communis

History: Folklore

The Scots pine has been voted the national tree of Scotland and figures on coats of arms and clan motifs.  Clan chiefs would be buried under Scots pine trees and in the Norse countries, great warriors were buried on land in boats made from pine wood.

History: Mankind and Scots Pine wood

Scots pine were planted near isolated farms in the north as wind breaks, and stands of them were planted to help travellers with navigation on bleak moors and heaths.

The wood is a strong softwood and is used in the construction industry, and to make telegraph poles, gates, fenceposts and pit props in mines.  It has also been a source of charcoal.

Jackdaw on ancient Scots pine fence post

Rope can be made from the inner bark, tar derived from the roots, and a dye from the pine cones.  The cones were also dried and used for kindling.  Finally, turpentine can be made by tapping the tree for resin.

History: Food and Medicine

Although pine needles are edible, they are pretty tough and better used for flavouring.  Some evidence suggests that they can induce miscarriage, so shouldn’t be eaten by pregnant women.  They can flavour sugar, syrups and alcohol.  Steaming vegetables over water full of pine needles can give a piquant flavour, and they can be made into teas.

Cones and needles

Scots pine needles are rich in vitamin C and can be nibbled to quench thirst, or drunk in teas to fight asthma and fatigue.

There are unsubstantiated claims that pine pollen helps prevent aging.  Liniments of pine are used on sore joints, diluted pine oil can banish head-lice, and pine tar can help treat skin problems.  The scent of pine helps clear blocked noses and is good for respiratory problems.

Scots pine and Wildlife

In the Caledonian forests, rare birds like the Capercaille live along with Scottish wildcats and plants like the Lesser twayblade.  The forest floor is home to ants including the Scottish wood ant.

Worker ant Formica aquilonia Scottish wood ant

Red squirrels chase each other around their trunks and Pine martens chase the red squirrels.

Pine marten Martes martes

Flocks of Crossbill and small passerines feed there.  Golden eagles and Osprey nest in the crowns of the trees.  They provide vital shelter for so much wildlife, as seen in this blog from Loch of the Lowes.

Threats

Various diseases like Heterobasidion annosum affect the Scots pine causing root rot and butt rot. Pine stem rust, red-band needle blight, and needle cast disease also occur.  The trees suffer attacks from the pine wood nematode which causes pine wilt and Fusarium circinaum, a disease that leads to tree canker.  Some of these pathogens are recent arrivals and pose real threats to the trees, although the University of Nebraska suggests pine wilt can be prevented by injecting healthy trees with abamectin or emamectin benzoate.   For more on the threats to Scots pine, check out the article in The Guardian newspaper.

Canker (in this case on a rose not on a Scots pine)

A potential threat in future years is the Pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa whose range is expanding northward due to global warming.

They may also be defoliated by the Pine tree lappet moth Dendropinus pini.  Migrating north from the European mainland, a breeding colony was detected in Scotland in 2009 and containment regulations are in place to try and contain its spread (Scottish Forestry).

Conclusion

The Scots pine is an easy recognised native conifer.  Despite challenges facing the tree, mainly caused by invasive species moving northwards thanks to global warming, for now it is common on uplands, heathland, and in forestry.  Providing timber and protection for wildlife, it is to be hoped that it will continue to thrive for centuries to come.

Long-tailed, Blue, Coal and Great tit in a Scots pine

Online sources for this blog include websites of the Woodland trust, Kew Plants of the World , Trees for life,  Tree guide UK, and NatureSpot.  Reference books for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies and the Reader’s Digest The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain (out of print but commonly available second-hand).  I also referred to The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar and The Living Wisdom of Trees by Fred Hageneder.

The post Trees: Scots pine Pinus sylvestris appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

This is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees.  You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Birch and the Beech.

There are 10 species of Lime in the UK, with three growing commonly in the wild.  Along with the Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata, the focus of this blog; there is the Common lime Tilia x europea and the Large-leaved (or Broad-leaved) lime Tilia platyphyllos.   Lime trees are often called Linden trees, a catch all for all Tilia  species.

It’s important to remember that these lime trees have nothing to do with the citrus family’s lime tree which bears the lime fruit, Citrus x Latifolia

Identification: Tree shape

The Small-leaved lime reaches up to 20m and has a pretty conventional shape.  They grow in ancient woodland, favouring moist nutrient-rich soils, although Large-leaved limes prefer lime-rich areas.

Lime Tilia cordata tree

Identification: Leaves

Leaves are 3-8cm long and shaped like a heart (as noted in the Latin name, cordata, which means heart-shaped).  They have sharp small teeth and a prominent tip.  Sometimes they are wider than their length.

Leaf of Small-leaved lime

Where the leaf stem or petiole attaches to the twig there are tufts of rust-red hairs.  These also appear on the underside of the leaf, at the junctions of the veins.

Identification: Flowers

The flowers smell delicious and are carried in clusters of five to ten blooms.  They have five petals, are a greenish yellow, and carry male and female reproductive structures.

Lime flower

Unlike other Lime trees, the flowers stick out from the leaf-like bract they’re attached to at all angles.  Other species have more pendulous blossoms.

Flowering cyme of the Small-leaved lime Tilia cordata

Identification: Fruit

Small-leaved lime fruit ripen in August and are small and round.  They have prominent tips.

Identification: Bark and buds

Small-leaved lime bark starts smooth but develops fissured plates with age.  The twigs are chestnut brown, and become glossy in the sunshine.  The underside of the twigs is often flushed olive green.

Bark of the Common lime Tilia x europea

Buds are up to 4mm long, have two scales. and are shiny red.

Similar species

The two other common UK Lime species are the Large-leaved and Common lime.  The Large-leaved lime has bigger leaves which grow to 13cm long and have more regular teeth.  Hairs cover the underside of each leaf.  Large-leaved lime carry flowers in clusters of three to a maximum of six, and the fruits are prominently ribbed.

Large-leaved lime Tilia platyphyllos

Common lime is a hybrid of the other two species so shows mixed characteristics.  It also has heart-shaped leaves which are larger than those of the Small-leaved lime.  The hair tufts on the underside of the leaves are white, not red.  When in bud, Common lime twigs zig-zag and bear a bud at each change of direction.

History: Folklore

In Eastern Europe, the Lime is a symbol of fertility and is considered sacred in Slavic culture.  It has links to the Germanic and Norse earth goddesses Frigga and Freyya.  Germanic cultures in ancient times used the tree as a symbol of justice, with trials taking place beneath its boughs. Tthe Swiss and French planted Lime trees to celebrate battles.  In Britain Lime trees were planted along roads to encourage prosperous harvests of grain.

Linden tree

The tree is also associated with love and romance.

History: Mankind and Linden wood

Lime wood does not warp if cured correctly so is used to make bowls, furniture, and piano keys.  It is soft and light and easy to work.  Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) carved his ornate alter pieces and panels from lime wood as it cuts cleanly and easily, and traditional nesting Matroshka dolls were carved from Lime.

The inner layer of the bark is fibrous and was used by Europeans and First Nations’ peoples to make rope, fishing nets, and string until Hemp was introduced from China in 400BC.

History: Food and Medicine

The flowers of the Lime tree are dried and made into fragrant herbal teas whilst the sap can be made into wine.

Medicinally, the teas or tissanes made from Lime were used to treat “nervous disorders”.  These included headaches and insomnia.  The tea is said to soothe diarrhoea and sinusitis as well as being used to calm jangled nerves and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. It was said that sitting under a Lime tree could mitigate epilepsy.

Small-leaved lime

Applied to the skin, it can soothe skin conditions.

Lime trees and Wildlife

The blossoms of the lime tree attract pollinators, and in America Lime tree species are sometimes called “bee trees”.  Linden blossom honey is delicious.  Along with the bees and butterflies, wasps, and hoverflies, the trees also attract vast numbers of aphids and their “farmers”, ants.  All lime trees tend to be coated in honeydew produced by the aphids which makes the leaves sticky and may cover the ground below the tree.  The aphids attract predators such as hoverflies and ladybirds.

Ladybird Coccinella septempuctata

Nail galls are common on the Small-leaved lime and look like tiny scarlet fingers growing from the leaf surface.  They are the product of the Eriophyes tiliae mite which feed inside them, and seem to do no damage to the tree.

Lime Tilia europaea leaf nail galls from mite Eriophyes tiliae

Moths such as the Lime hawkmoth, Peppered moth, Vapourer and Scarce hook-tip use the Lime as a food plant whilst birds and wood boring beetles exploit the dead wood of older trees to make their homes.

Threats

Ancient woodland is a rare habitat in the UK, although it used to cover much of the land.  In 3000BC the Small-leaved lime was the most common broad-leaved tree in the UK.  Ancient woodland is where most Small-leaved limes grow, so the threats to this habitat are mirrored in the threats to the trees.

Some fungal infections can cause cankers and root rot, and occasionally a Lime tree may die from Wilt.

Aphids and some mites weaken the tree, but there are no new fatal diseases wiping out all our Lime trees.

Conclusion

With the scented flowers and heart shaped leaves, Limes are easy to recognize.  They make safe homes for many insects and are a firm favourite with pollinators.  With strong pale wood and a plethora of uses in herbal medicine, the tree has been used by mankind for millennia.  And luckily, despite the loss of ancient broad-leaved woodland, the Lime or Linden looks set to remain an important tree of the British Isles for many years to come.

Small-leaved lime Tilia cordata

Online sources for this blog include websites of the Woodland trust, Kew Plants of the World, Tree guide UK, and Nature Spot. Reference books for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies, and the Reader’s Digest The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain (out of print but commonly available second-hand).  I also referred to The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar and The Living Wisdom of Trees by Fred Hageneder.

The post Trees: Small-leaved lime or Linden appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

There are two main Birch trees in the UK, the Silver birch Betula pendula and the Downy birch Betula pubescens.  The Downy birch tends to grow better in wetter areas and in the north.  The Silver birch likes drier soils and is often found growing ornamentally in gardens and cities.

Both reach heights of 30m and can have a 20m spread.

They are pioneer species, easy to recognise, represent guardianship and fertility, and they are used to make everything from shoes to bobbins.  Birch also treats ailments as diverse as gout and skin disorders.

Birch trees support over 300 insect species, and birch woodland provides a wonderful habitat for woodland flowers.

This is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees.  You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Beech, and the Hawthorn.

Identification: Tree shape

Birches have a slender shape, and twigs which can droop.

They are often the first to colonize a landscape which has been devastated by fire or deforestation.  When it comes to re-wilding, scrubby birch wood is often the first step.  This makes them pioneer species, settling the land and making it accessible to other plant species.

Birch is the commonest tree in Scotland, and the Downy birch stretches way up into the arctic.  For more on trees growing in such inhospitable climates, check out my blog on illustrating The Treeline by Ben Rawlence.

Identification: Leaves

Leaves are more or less triangles, with toothed margins.  Each leaf is up to 6cm long, and shiny green.  In autumn they turn to a bright, pale yellow.

Downy birch have less jagged margin teeth than the Silver birch, and the leaves are diamond-shaped, and less rounded.  However, the two birches frequently hybridize, hence me popping them into the same blog.

Identification: Flowers

The birch is monoecious, which means it carries male and female flowers on the same plant.   These are wind pollinated catkins.  Male catkins are yellowish, and grow through the winter maturing as the birch leaves grow in spring, then dropping.  These are long catkins, easily visible, and carried in groups of 3 or 4 at the tips of the shoots.

Catkins of the DownyBirch

Female catkins are smaller, and bright green.  They’re borne upright and flower in April through May,

Catkins of the Silver birch

Identification: Fruit

After pollination, the female catkin thickens and develops a dark crimson colour.  Masses of tiny seeds are released from this fruit, and borne off in the wind.

Fruiting catkins of the Downy birch

Identification: Bark

Silver birch bark is what gives the tree its name.  It’s paper white, and can be peeled from the tree in sheets.  There are often dark diamonds present, and older trees may have far darker trunks, especially towards the tree base.

The white colour reflects UV light, some suggest it works like a sunscreen in areas where reflected light from the snow can be blinding.

Buds are long, purplish and pointed.

Twigs are drooping and smooth, with dark warts.  The shoots of Silver and Downy birch can be used to tell them apart.  Silver birch shoots are smooth with warts, whereas those of Downy birch are rough, warty, and covered in short, downy hair.

Similar species

The white bark sets these trees apart from others, and the little triangular leaves with their jagged edges are unlike other large tree leaves.

Most sources suggest the main problem here is telling your Downy form your Silver birch, other species don’t get a mention!

History: Folklore

The Birch is seen as a guardian tree, and a way to keep evil spirits at bay.

Baby cradles would be made form birch to keep the devil away, and people would bring bundles of birch wood into their homes at Halloween to repel the evil spirits.  Birch brooms swept out dirt, but also got rid of the devil, and a garland of birch twigs might be hung over the door for protection.

However, witches broomsticks were also meant to be birch wood, so there’s some disconnect there.

Birch is also closely linked to fertility.  Using a switch of birch on a heifer would either ensure she got pregnant, or that the calf was healthy.

In Britain, if a couple wished to live together but not marry, they could step over a birch broomstick together.  Once done, they could live as man and wife.

When Beltaine came around on May 1st, with all its’ links to spring and fertility, it would be the Birch tree chosen as the wood for the maypole.  In some places, this festival meant any legal bonds between couples could be lifted for 24hrs, and there was frequently a spike in birth-rate at the start of the following February.  It will come as no surprise that these practices left the Christian church apoplectic, but powerless to do much about it.

Birch also relates to motherhood and femininity.  Russian folklore has the Birch as the “Lady of the Woods”, while there are close links between the Irish goddess Brigid and the Birch.  Brigid was the goddess of poetry, something of a muse, and responsible for spinning and weaving.

History: Mankind and Birch wood

Birch wood is pale and soft and not very durable.  It’s used for walking sticks and broom handles, and makes good charcoal.  It also makes good skateboards!  Bobbins and spinning reels were made of birch wood, back in the days of the Lancashire Cotton industry.

The bark has been used to make a plethora of things.  Sheets of bark were perfect as paper substitutes.  Applied to roofs, it provided a level of waterproofing against the rain.  You could mould the bark into shoes, or use strips woven together to make baskets for soft fruit.

Canoes and boats, hats, firelighters, and rolled bark candles were all made from Birch bark.

Powdered birch helped ensure you had a pale complexion.

Leaves yield a reddish dye, while the catkins provide a sunshine yellow colour.

History: Food and Medicine

The sap of the Birch was gathered and made into wine.  This was fed to those afflicted with kidney stones, or urinary tract infections.

Tea made from birch leaves worked on gout and again on kidney stones.  The leaves are indeed full of flavonoids, a type of anti-oxidant.

Birch bark oil was used to treat skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis; the same substance was used to waterproof boats.

In the north, after a sauna you can stimulate circulation by beating yourself with a birch stick.  And, while we’re on the topic of beating, the dreaded old school cane was often made of birch.

Birch and Wildlife

Birch woodland has a light, airy canopy.  This proves excellent for wild flowers like Wood anemone, Violets, Bluebell, and Wood sorrel, as well as for mosses.

Over 300 insect species are associated with birch, including a lot of aphid species.  In turn, this means that Birch trees are great for ladybirds who feast on the aphids.  Moths such as Angleshades, Buff tip, and Kentish Glory have Birch as host plant for their caterpillars.

Birds use the birch too; siskin and greenfinch eat the seeds while woodpecker nest in tree cavities.

Fungus are common on the woodland floor with Fly agaric, Woolly milk cap, Chanterelle, and the Birch polypore closely associated with the birch.

Fly agaric Amanita muscaria

Threats

The threats to Birch in the UK are limited,  Plantations can fall prey to Birch dieback, which is caused by two fungal species.  However, self-seeded trees seem more immune.

As with every single species, the climate emergency presents challenges to birch trees living very far north.  However, it’s probably the Downy birch tree’s incremental growth further and further northward that forms a more immediate ecological threat.

Conclusion

Birch are elegant ornamental trees, instantly recognised thanks to their white bark.

With links to protection and fertility, and the ability to heal skin diseases and be used for building canoes, it’s a fascinating tree.

The most common tree in the whole of Scotland, and stretching across vast swathes of the planet, the Birch is worthy of our respect, and love.

Online sources for this blog include websites of The Woodland Trust, Kew’s Plants of the World, Tree guide UK, Trees for life, and Naturespot.  Reference books for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies  , and the Reader’s Digest The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain (out of print but commonly available second-hand).  I also referred to The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar and The Living Wisdom of Trees by Fred Hageneder.

The post Trees: Birch appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Beech trees are common across Britain, favouring chalky soils.  The oldest Beech trees live up to 400 years.  You’ll find them in open spaces and in woodland and can tell them straight away by their smooth bark.  The trees produce beech mast which is nutritious for animals, and the canopy supports wildlife.  Beech wood is used in furniture making, and has links to the earliest of books.  It’s associated with knowledge and femininity, and has been used to treat ailments and as food.

This is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees.  You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, and the Hawthorn.

Identification: Tree shape

The Beech grows up to 30m tall, and its’ shape varies according to where it’s growing.  In open fields, the branches spread into a wide canopy.  In confined woodland there are few side branches and a much straighter silhouette.

Identification: Leaves

In spring, as they unfurl, Beech leaves are a bright acid green, and are covered in downy hairs.  As they mature they become a more modest green, and in autumn have a pretty consistent warm tan colour.  Leaves are 4 to 9cm long, and are oval with smooth but wavy margins.  They’re arranged alternately.  Each leaf has 5 to 9 pairs of veins.

Leaves overlap, making an umbrella-like canopy with shields the floor below from rain.  They also are rich in lignin, which means they decompose slowly. This means the woodland floor is often a difficult habitat, dry and carpeted with persistent crunchy leaves.  You could know you’re in a beech wood by sound alone.

Beech trees hang onto their leaves through winter, which is known as macrescence.

Be aware that the common Copper beech is a varient of this native species.  It looks similar, but the leaves are a dark maroon instead of green.

Identification: Flowers

Male and female flowers are carried on the same plant, and are pollinated by the wind.  Female flowers grow in pairs, within a little cup.  Male flowers are catkins carried on long, tassel-like catkins.  Flowers appear as the young leave emerge in spring.

Identification: Fruit

Beech nuts are known as mast, and consist of three triangular nuts encased in a spiny case.  This splits open, revealing the chestnut-brown nuts surrounded by a pale velvety lining.

They’re produced in real abundance once every four or five years, which is known as a mast year.

Identification: Bark and buds

Beech bark is really distinctive.  It’s very smooth and pale grey.  It stretches as it grows, so when names are carved on beech trees they become distorted over time.

The bark is sensitive to sunlight.  If an older tree is suddenly exposed to a lot of direct sun, the bark will get “sunburn” and this can kill the whole tree.

Buds are distinctively pointed and slender, reddish brown and with a clear criss-cross pattern.  No other trees in Britain have quite such pointy buds, which (along with the bark) means it’s easy to identify in winter.

Similar species

Because of the smooth bark and persistent leaves, beech isn’t readily confused with other trees.  Hornbeam Carpinus betulus has similar shaped wavy leaves, but these have teeth on the margins

History: Folklore

Beech trees have been associated with knowledge and femininity.  In Britain, the Beech is sometimes called “the queen of the woods”.  Romans had sacred beech groves, some dedicated to Jupiter, and some to Diana, Goddess of animals and the hunt.

Writing and learning have associations with the Beech, possibly because of its links to the invention of the book.

In Westphalia, in Germany, up til the 18^th century there was a tale that babies weren’t brought by the stork, but found in the hollows of Beech trees.

Finally, druids often used beech twigs for water divination.

History: Mankind and Beech wood

The wood of beech is hard and heavy, but not tough.  It’s no good for building as it can’t bear weight, but responds well to steaming so has been used to make the backs and legs of Windsor chairs and other bentwood furniture.  Trees were often pollarded for this purpose.

The wood burns hot, and was used in industry – fuelling fires for iron, glass, and charcoal production.

Beech mast is over 50% oil, so the nuts have been used as a source of furniture polish.  Meanwhile the leaves, non-degrading and persistent were used to stuff (presumably very noisy!) mattresses.

Beech tar was used as glue from paleo to mesolithinc times.

Before the invention of paper, thin slabs of beech wood were used to write on, and sometimes bound into prototype books.  There’s evidence of this in Germany in the 1300s.  There’s some suggestion that Guttenburg had the idea for his historic press after writing on beech wood and noticing the pressure made a print on the page below.

History: Food and Medicine

The beech mast is highly nutritious, providing oil and protein, but is very difficult to access.  In general, it was fed to cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep who foraged in woodland, or gathered up and fed to overwintering livestock.

However, in times of hardship, and until the Iron age, beech mast was roasted and made into flour.  In France, the roast mast was used to make a coffee-like drink.

Newly emergent leaves are tender and can be used in salads and soups.

Beechwood tar was used as chewing gum, and I’m sure even in my childhood in the 1970s you could buy packets of Beech nut chewing gum,

Medicinally, Beech was used to treat bronchitis and has astringent, antiseptic and disinfectant properties.  These were recognized by early Europeans and by the First Nations People in the Americas, who used bark preparations to fight fever.

It’s also used to treat animal hoof ailments, and in soap production.

Beech and Wildlife

The unusually shady forest floor found in beech woodland initially seems devoid of life.  However, some rare plants like the Coralroot bittercress and Red helleborine love these conditions, as do fungi.

Truffles can grow here, and in the past beech woods were planted to encourage them.

Moths feed on the leaves, namely the Olive Cresent, Barred Hook-tip, and Clay triple-line species.

Wood boring insects and larger animals like woodpeckers often make their homes within the tree.

The beech mast feeds a whole ecosystem; from voles to badgers, squirrels to jays, mice to great tits, woodpeckers to nuthatches.

Threats

When compared to other British tree species, the Beech isn’t in too much trouble.

At around 200 years old they can develop core rot in they’re growing in an environment low in tannic acid.  Basically, this means anywhere without Oak trees growing nearby.  This can kill them.

The trees can suffer root rot, caused by fungus like Phytopora,

Beech bark disease is caused by scale insects and a canker fungus.  This causes lesions to appear on the bark every year.  Eventually, these encircle the tree and thus can kill it.

However, a swifter way for a Beech to be “girdled” is when Grey squirrels come and strip all the bark off.  This can soon result in death and is especially problematic in younger trees.

Conclusion

The Beech tree is common, easy to spot, and useful.  With the smooth bark, pointy buds, and over-wintering orange-ish leaves, it’s easy to identify.  Although not used in building or as food; the wood and beech mast has proved vital over the centuries.  From chair backs to chewing gum, charcoal production to ancient flour, livestock feed to books, fevers to ancient glue; the Beech tree has served mankind well.

They’re pretty trees, and well worth a closer look next time you’re in a woodland with crunchy leaves underfoot.

Online sources for this blog include websites of The Woodland Trust, Kew’s Plants of the World, Tree guide UK, Trees for life, and Naturespot.  Reference books for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies  , and the Reader’s Digest The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain (out of print but commonly available second-hand).  I also referred to The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar and The Living Wisdom of Trees by Fred Hageneder.

The post Trees: Beech appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

The Elder Sambucus nigra is common in hedgerows and woodland, and appears as a shrub as often as a tree.  It has strongly scented blossoms in spring, deep purple berries in autumn, and pale wood.

There’s an enormous amount of folklore associated with this species, and it’s a firm favourite with both foragers and those interested in herbal remedies.

Identification: Tree shape

Elder grows as trees up to 10m, or as shrubs.  Branches are often curved, and the wood is brittle.  Elder trees have short trunks or “boles”.  Compared to other tree species, elder don’t have loads of branches, and these grow from low down.

Elder tree

You often see Elder trees in thickets or scrubby woodland, or growing alongside streams with a variety of other species.  If an Elder is given space and light, it’ll grown into a tree.

Elder shrubs are common too as the species shows in both growth habits.  Lots of branches emerge at ground level, forming a thicket of a bush.

This species loves nitrogen-rich habitats, and will colonise anywhere where people have lived, or where nitrogen levels are high in the soil (such as fields where animals have been grazed).  It grows fast, and establishes itself quickly.  If you see a tree growing from a wall or in a farmyard, it’s very likely to be an Elder.

Identification: Leaves

Elder leaves are compound, that is made of lots of leaflets (for more on leaf shape, check out my blog).  In this case, there are 5 to 7 leaflets, with one terminal leaflet.  Leaflets are opposite each other.  Although the leaves have a relatively long stalk, each individual leaflet lies close to the stem.  Each leaflet is 3 to 9 cm long.

Elder leaf and pencil study

The leaves of Elder are oval and a bright pale green.  They’re toothed along the margins. (Click here for my blog on leaf veins and margins).

Elder branch with two compound leaves (each made of five leaflets)

The venation of the leaves isn’t very obvious, and is rather similar to that of lots of other oval leaves.  Side veins branch from the central mid-rib, and are mostly opposite one another.

Elder leaves

Some people think Elder leaves smell nasty, and although they do let off a pungent odour when bruised, I wouldn’t call it unpleasant.

Identification: Flowers

The creamy froth of elder flowers is instantly recognizable, by smell as well as by sight.  The smell is a heady perfume, and one of my favourite scents of summer.

Flowers cover the tree or shrub, borne in flat-headed umbels. Each umbel is 10 to 20 cm across; individual flowers are 5mm across.  Looking into the branching structure, you can see there are five main rays to each umbel.

Sketchbook study figuring out flower growth pattern

The flowers are closely packed, and have cream or white petals.  Anthers are a creamy colour too.  Each individual flower has five rounded petals, and 5 stamens.  Anthers protrude beyond the petals, helping the umbel look even frothier.

Small flies pollinate the flowers, which may explain why the scent of the blossom is so heady and heavy.  Elderflowers appear in May or June and will be in flower for 4 to 6 weeks.

Individual elder flowers

Identification: Fruit

Elderberries are shiny and black when fully ripe.  The branches they’re borne on are frequently flushed dark magenta.  Unripe berries are crimson.  Each berry is square-ish, and very juicy.

Sketchbook study of elder berries

It’s really common to see elder berries in partial umbels – lots of the berries will have fallen off or been eaten; the remainders look scruffy because of the empty stalks along side them.  They last well into late autumn, eventually shrivelling or falling in the frosts.

Working on an elderberry illustration

The berries are very rich in vitamin A and C and provide a vital food supply for birds and small mammals.  However, they are also quite sour, and both leaves and berries are rich in Hydrogen cyanide.  This can cause vomiting in people.  For a fascinating look at poisons in our everyday foods, check out this BBC Future article I stumbled on.

Identification: Bark

The bark of an elder tree is thick, smooth and corky; deep ridges develop with age. The branches are smooth, with pithy insides.  This pith can be removed to leave a hollow twig, and elder wood has been used for centuries to make whistles and musical instruments.

Twigs have obvious lenticels and are thick and greyish, or greenish.

The jelly ear fungus Auricularia judae is a brownish jelly-like fungus that often grows on elder and I use it as another way to identify the species.

Similar species

Some other tree species also have frothy white blossoms.  The Rowan does, but the flowers are far less scented, and the tree rarely grows as a shrub.  Guelder rose also has panicles of white flowers, but these are much larger blossoms and the leaves are a totally different shape.  The berries are orange and scarlet, never black.  However, as Guelder rose also forms a shrub, it’s worth a mention.

Guelder rose Viburnum opulus

Ash Fraxinus excelsior, Walnut Juglans regia, and Rowan Sorbus aucuparia  also have compound leaves, but the walnut leaves are arranged in an alternate pattern.  Ash leaves have more obvious veins and feel less “flat” than elder.  Rowan leaves are smaller and sharper.  All have toothed margins, but with a little experience you’ll notice differences between the shape and sharpness of the teeth.

Ash twig and leaves Fraxinus excelsior

History: Folklore

Like Hawthorn and Rowan, Elder is alive with folklore and history.  It’s interesting that all three of these trees produce highly visible white blossoms and distinctive colourful berries.  I guess they were easily recognized, common, and therefore very much in people’s awareness for millenia.

Elder has long been associated with “the little people”, and those who believe in faery folk will be very familiar with it.  If you were lucky, you might see the Queen of the Fairies passing by under an elder on Midsummer eve.  Lots of references advise against sleeping under an elder; this also relates to belief in other-worldly peoples.

Elder shrub

If you had to chop down an elder tree, you were supposed to ask permission from the Elder mother, a female spirit that inhabited the tree.

It was seen as a protective tree, and would be planted near houses and dairies.  Cheese cloths would be hung to dry on elder branches, and it was thought to prevent the milk form turning.  Interestingly, the elder leaves do repel flies, so these beliefs could have contributed to the hygiene of the dairy.  Herdsmen would carry elder switches.

Elder berries and leaves

However, there was a darker side.  A child beaten with an elder stick would never grow.  Judas Iscariot was said to have hung himself from an elder tree, and criminals were crowned with elder as a symbol of their shame.  Again on a Christian theme, there was a suggestion that the cross on which Jesus was crucified was elder wood.  It was not to be brought into the house, and if you burnt it you were sure to see the devil.  Witches could transform themselves into Elder.

The rule of thumb was to treat the elder with a healthy dose of respect.  And caution.

History: Food

The flowers of the elder can be used to make a lovely scented champagne, or fried as fritters.

Once heated, the berries can be reduced into deliciously strong-flavoured jams and jellies and syrups.

Illustrating elder berries

Flowers and berries are made into drinks and cordials.  Until 1900 you could buy spiced elderberry wine in the streets of London.

The most famous elder drink is the spirit Sambucca, made from elder berries and aniseed.  Traditionally, this is presented with one coffee bean and is set on fire as it’s served.

History: Medicine

Most parts of the elder have been used for medicine.  There’s some suggestion that even the ancient Egyptians used elderberries medicinally.  The medieval herbalist John Evelyn described elder as, “a kind of Catholicon against all Infirmities whatever”.

Berries are high in vitamins C and A, and (once you’ve destroyed the hydrogen cyanide by heating) are used to cure a plethora of conditions.  Sore-throats, coughs, respiratory problems – all were treated with elderberry syrup or “rob”.  They’re also a laxative, and diuretic.

The bark is a strong purgative.  Leaves can be crushed into poultices that are applied to bruises, sprains, and chill-blains.

Flowers are dried into tea and used to treat colds.  You can also wash your face in water soaked with elderflower to preserve your youthful looks.  Even today, elderflower is used in eye and skin lotions.  Some say that if you soak elderflower in cold water it helps relieve symptoms of hay-fever.

Adele Nozedar, whose books I illustrate, foraging for elderberries

Elder is rich in anthocyanins and antioxidants, both of which are known to boost the immune system.

Uses

There is a lot of pith in elder branches, which means when you hollow them out they make good musical instruments.  Children made small toys and penny whistles from elder wood.  The wood was also used to make pipes, pea-shooters and bellows.  Small spoons, and combs were sometimes made from elder wood.

The pith was used as a blotter, and to hold botanical specimens whilst they were being prepared for microscope slides or botanical sections.

Elder berries and leaves

Harder mature elder wood was sometimes made into cogs for machines.

The leaves contain natural fly repellent which probably explains why they were so often planted near houses and stables.

Finally, the elder is really useful as it produces a whole variety of different dyes.  The leaves give a green hue, flowers produce a lilac colour.  The berries make for deep and fade-resistant black and purples.  And even the bark was used to make black dye, used either for dying wool or ones hair.  The highly esteemed Harris tweed used elder to dye its’ materials, even though elder trees are less common in northern Scotland than in the rest of the UK.

Elder: Wildlife

The berries are eaten by birds and mammals, and the leaves are food for the Buff ermine, dot, White-spotted pug, and Swallow-tail moth caterpillars.  Insects drink the nectar from the flowers.  Voles and dormice eat flowers and berries.

Field vole Microtus agrestis

Threats

Luckily, not too many things threaten this amazing tree.  Red spider mites can suck the sap of the tree, and blackfly damage leaves.

Conclusion

Elder is an extraordinarily adaptable plant.  It’s been associated with Jesus, witches and fairies.  It can bring good or bad luck.  Berries are poisonous but can be made into delicious syrups.  The flowers can be eaten, used as a beauty treatment, or used against colds.  Elder wood makes toys, cogs, and instruments.  Personally, what I love most about elder is the smell when the flowers are out.  The buzzing of flies, the heavy scent in the air, and the rustle of leaves in a gentle breeze.  It sums up summer for me.

Jersey Post Fruits and Berries stamp issue copyright Jersey Post 2019

Online sources for this blog include websites of The Woodland Trust, Trees for life, and Naturespot.  Book references for this blog include Adele Nozedar’s The Tree Forager, the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies, and the Reader’s Digest “The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain” (out of print but commonly available second-hand).

The post Trees: Elder appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Rowan Sorbus aucuparia is a small tree, but one which gives an enormous amount.  Prodigious blossom in spring, vibrant orange berries in autumn, and a whole to offer in terms of history and folklore.  And you can make jam from its berries!

Not only does the Rowan provide all this, but it can also grow in really tough environments.  It’s not called the Mountain Ash for nothing, and you frequently see lone Rowan trees clinging onto rocky outcrops in upland and heathland habitats.

Rowan berries and illustration

Identification: Tree shape

Rowan is a small and slender tree.  It normally grows to 10 – 15m tall, and can live to 200 years old.  Rowan grows swiftly, and is found up to 2000m in the Alps – it can tolerate the cold.

It can grow in really unusual places.  I’ve seen Rowan trees growing perched on top of boulders.  They grow on the sides of streams, from crevices in cliff faces, and much further north than many other deciduous trees.  Rowan even help make up the Boreal forest, which creeps to the edge of the Arctic.

Despite their seeming predilection for odd places to grow, these sites tend to dovetail with places where large grazing herbivores can’t browse.

Rowan tree in blossom

Although this blog is about the common Rowan, there are 44 species and 8 hybrids of this tree in the UK.  Many can be found in the Avon gorge, in Bristol.  In fact, this habitat has the greatest diversity of Rowan species in the whole of Europe, and many are very rare indeed.

Because of the blossom and attractive berries, Mountain ash is often found in gardens, as well as across the countryside.

Identification: Leaves

Rowan leaves are compound and up to 20cm long.  This means that each leaf is made of lots of smaller leaflets.  Each rowan leaflet is oblong, and has sharply toothed margins (for more on leaf margins see my blog).  There will be a lone leaflet at the tip of each compound leaf; all the others are paired and opposite one another.  There are 5-7 pairs per leaf.

Sketchbook page of Rowan

Leaves are a dull green on top, and many be slightly pubescent below, especially when young.

Identification: Flowers

In spring Rowan is awash with frothy white flowers that are strongly scented.  The whole tree buzzes with the bees and flies, amassed around the blossom.

Each flower is 8 – 10 mm across, and has 5 creamy rounded petals.  Rowan is a member of the Rosaceae family, so you may notice a family similarity in shape to apple, pear and plum blossoms (although each flower of the Rowan is much smaller).

Rowan flowers have male and female structures, and are hermaphrodite.  There are 3 – 4 styles, and lots of prominent stamens bearing cream coloured pollen.

The blossoms are borne in domed clusters 8 – 15cm across.  From a distance these look like a froth of cream flowers.  There can be up to 250 flowers per flowering head (or corymb).

Detail of Rowan blossom

As well as bees and flies, Rowan blossom is an important source of nectar for hoverflies and beetles.

Identification: Fruit

Autumn sees the tree produce vibrant orange berries which glow against a deep blue sky.  they can also be used for jams, and are important for wildlife.

Late autumn, and the leaves turn gold and brown, contrasting with the remaining berries.

Each berry is oval or round, and up to 8mm across.  You sometimes see inconspicuous lenticels on the berries.  There are up to 8 seeds inside each berry, although 2 is the norm.  Trees begin to produce seeds from about 15 years old.

Rowan berries

The berries can vary in colour from yellowish to a vibrant red, but a rich orange is the most common colour.  They’re shiny.

They’re very rich in vitamin C, in the form of ascorbic acid, and provide a vital food supply for birds and occasional mammals.

Pen and ink illustration of Rowan berries

Berries need the cold to break down their tough outer coats, and cannot germinate unless they’ve been exposed to cold temperatures.

In mild climates, berries are produced every year.  Where the weather is colder and harsher, Rowan trees will mast.  This means that every few years all the trees will produce a glut of berries.  In between mast years, very few berries are produced.

Identification: Bark

Bark of the Rowan tree is smooth and a slightly greenish grey, with dark lenticels scatted across it.  It looks silver in certain lights.

Twigs are often slightly hairy, especially when they’re young when they feel downy to the touch.  This wears off, and older twigs are slightly shiny and glabrous.

In winter, Rowan twigs are easy to recognize.  The buds are purplish-brown, pointed, and downy.

Similar species

The orange berries and blossom are unlikely to be confused with other tree species.  However, both the Ash and the Elder also have compound leaves.  The leaflets of these trees tend to be less crisply toothed than Rowan, and the shape of each leaflet is a little blunter.  I’ve written blogs on the Ash and hope to write one on Elder, do take a look.

Ash leaf – note that the teeth are less sharp and each leaflet is rounder than the Rowan

History: Folklore

The bright berries of Rowan mean it has a rich history of folklore.  This colour was thought to be highly effective at fighting off witches, so Rowan trees were planted near houses.

In Celtic mythology, Rowan is considered the tree of protection.  Runes were carved into the living trees (which may well explain the name “Rowan” as both words share the same root) , and stone circles with Rowans planted nearby were thought to be the site of fairy activity.

Rowan Berry, leaves and blossom

Twigs or Rowan were used to stir milk in the diary, in the hope that it would prevent the milk from curdling.  In the barns, Rowan crosses would hang above livestock to provide some protection from disease and witchcraft.  Amulets and wands were made from Rowan, and those who practice divining believe that Rowan is particularly good at finding water.  It was common to carry a sliver of Rowan in your pocket for protection from enchantment, and sailors believed a boat with rowan wood on board could not capsize or harbour anyone who would drown.

Because you can make out a five sided shape if you cut a rowan berry in half, they were thought to be magical and have protective powers.  This is the pentagram symbol, or “eleven cross”.

In Wales, Rowan were often planted in churchyards, and in Scotland is was anathema to fell a Rowan tree.

Illustrating Rowan berries

Druids thought Rowan acted like a gateway to another place (one assumes somewhere more spiritual than merely the next town up the valley) and would drink wine made from Rowan berries to get second sight.  Or drunk.

History: Food & Medicine

Rowan berries are edible, but not particularly pleasant unless processed.  They’re commonly made into wines, jellies, and jams.

If food was sparse, rowan berries could be dried and ground into a flour which could be baked into a rudimentary loaf of bread.

Medicinally, Rowan has had many uses.  It’s a cure for digestive complaints.  It can be made into a poultice to treat ulcers.  As a gargle, it can take on sore throats and tonsils.  The high vitamin C content meant it was a splendid antidote to scurvy.  It was used to treat sores, and to stop bleeding.

This is no surprise, Rowan in very rich in antioxidants which are used in modern medicine to treat everything that needs a boost to the immune system.

Uses

As well as all the protective, spiritual and medical properties, Rowan had and has practical uses too.

Its wood makes excellent handles for tools and utensil, and has a fine-grain.  Henry VIII reckoned the Rowan made such good bows that he passed a law prohibiting people from using the wood for any other purpose.

The wood can also be used for wood turning and engraving blocks.

The whole tree is rich in acid and is highly astringent.  This made it perfect for tanning leather.

The bark can be made into a black dye.

These days, a derivative from the Sorbic acid found in Rowan has been made into a food preservative which can eradicate nasty bacillus such as Clostridium botulinum.  This bacteria can produce toxins that can cause botulism if ingested.  These toxins are, according to the NHS website “some of the most powerful toxins known to science. They attack the nervous system (nerves, brain and spinal cord) and cause paralysis (muscle weakness)…if left untreated it [Botulism] can be fatal in 5 – 10% of cases”

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus on Rowan

The berries are wonderful for wildlife, with members of the Thrush family particularly fond of them.  Redwing, Thrush, Blackbirds and Fieldfare all feast and help disperse the seeds.  Dormice, foxes and pine marten also eat the berries

The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of the Welsh wave moth and Autumn green carpet.  Apple fruit moth feast on the berries. Other moth caterpillars will feast inside the leaves, as leaf miners.  Mountain hare eat young leaves; and red deer graze on the tree foliage, stems and tree trunks.

Threats

Rowan trees, like all UK species, suffer as a result of habitat loss.  However, there is no immediate horrible threat, such as Ash die-back, knocking at the door of this beautiful tree.

They can suffer from fire-blight, European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus, and silver leaf disease.

The main threat to the Mountain ash is browsing from red deer and other large herbivores.

Rowan illustration in “Trees and How to Grow them”

Conclusion

Rowan, or the Mountain ash, is a common tree in the UK.  The blossom and berries make it decorative and easy to identify.  It’s uses stretch into myth, food, herbalism, agriculture, and legend. It’s an extremely important tree, not only in terms of wildlife and ecology; but equally for the role it’s played in human history and folklore.

Luckily, this is one of our trees which isn’t likely to be going anywhere soon.  When I look at the blackbirds glutting themselves of the rowan berries in my garden, I’d very glad to know that.

Online sources for this blog include websites of The Woodland Trust, Trees for life, the Green Parent, and Naturespot.  Book references for this blog include the excellent The Greenwood Trees by Christina Hart-Davies, and the Reader’s Digest “The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain” (out of print but commonly available second-hand).

There’s also a film of me illustrating rowan berries in real time, take a look if you fancy it:

The post Trees: Rowan appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

This is the third in my series on common trees, and this time it’s the Ash tree under the spotlight.

The Ash Fraxinus excelsior is one of our commonest trees, and is steeped in folklore.  It’s easy to identify, and the timber is extraordinarily strong and versatile

Identification: Tree shape

Ash trees have domes crowns, and grow up to 40m.  In winter, they can be easily recognized as the ends of branches and twigs turn upwards.

They also have distinctive matt, black buds which would be hard to mistake for any other species.  Ash grows in woodland, fields, and many other habitats.  It’s one of the commonest British trees with over 150 million mature trees in the UK (The Conversation, 2019).

Identification: Leaves

Leaves of the ash are opposite. Each compound leaf comprises 9 to 13 short-stalked leaflets up to 7cm long, in opposite pairs.  There is always one lone leaflet at the tip.  This arrangement is called “Odd-pinnate”.  (For more on compound vs simple leaves, have a look at my blog).  Leaflets have long tips and small teeth on the margins (for more on leaf shape and margins check out my blog).

Identification: Flowers

Flowers of the ash emerge before the leaves (which are often amongst the last to unfurl in spring).  Female and male flowers are carried on separate twigs, are without petals, and look like little purplish tufts.

Identification: Fruit

Like the Sycamore, the Ash has winged seeds, or samara (for more on samaras, which are basically just winged achenes, check out my blog.  These are borne in clusters, with a single wing.  Like Sycamore, ash seeds spin to the ground in a most satisfying manner.

Identification: Bark

Twigs are grey, and the tree bark is greyish-green.  It becomes rough and fissured in older trees.

Similar Species

Several trees have similar odd-pinnate leaves, but should be easy to distinguish from the Ash.  These include Elderberry Sambucus nigra, which is smaller, has highly scented frothy blossoms, pale bark, and lots of juicy purple berries in autumn.  Walnut Juglans regia, tends to be a more substantial tree.  It too has compound leaves, although these tend to be a paler green than the Ash.  Walnut flowers are carried in green catkins, and the fruit is (of course) the edible walnut.

Elderberry Sambucus nigra

Mountain ash or Rowan Sorbus aucuparia is another similar species.  However, it tends to be much smaller than the ash, has frothy white blossoms, and carries wonderful clusters of orange berries.  The leaves have sharply serrated margins, and are blunter than ash.  Leaflets are stalkless.

Rowan Sorbus aucuparia

History

In Scandinavia, Ash was worshipped as a sacred tree and Odin (the most powerful of the Norse gods) was said to have carved man from a piece of ash.

The Tree of the World, an enormous mythological Ash, appears in Nordic mythology.  Also known as Yggrasil, its branches, trunk and roots entwined heaven, earth, and the underworld.

Ash was said to ward off witches, and a piece of ash carried in the pocket would ward them off, as well as keeping you safe from goblins and snakes.  Farming tools made of iron and ash would protect the crops from witchcraft.  Burning ash logs would chase the evil spirits from a room.  Ash growing with Oak and Hawthorn signified the realms of the Fairy folk and otherworldly spirits.

Medicinally, passing an ill child through a cleft in an Ash would help healing.  If you had a break or rupture, splitting a sapling and passing the patient through it would help.  You bound up the tree (and, one assumes, the patient) and when the tree had healed, so too had the patient.

Uses

Ash keys are edible if you boil them a few times, then pickle them.

However, it’s the wood of ash that makes the tree so valuable.  It’s almost white; and incredibly durable, flexible, and pliable.

Items made from ash include sledges, furniture, oars, tool handles, skis, hockey sticks, and even form part of the Morgan car.  Rob Penn wrote a rather wonderful tree about the plethora of things that could be made from just one ash tree, “The Man Who Made Things out of Trees”.  My other half makes gravel bikes using ash, and has plenty to say about it’s natural shock-absorbing capacities, and beauty.  If it seems unlikely, take a look at his website, Twmpa Cycles.

Threats

As with all British trees, ash are cleared when hedgerows are grubbed up and habitat is lost to development.

This amazing tree is also under serious threat from Ash dieback.  This fungal disease is projected to wipe out 95% of our ash trees, in a similar way to the eradication of Elm when Dutch Elm disease appeared. It’s estimated this loss could cost the UK up to£15 billion (The Conversation, May 2019).

The fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (previously known as Chalara fraxinea) affects the ash in a number of ways.  It causes the leaves to wither, and the crown of the tree to thin.  It also causes legions and cracks in the bark which allow the entry of other pathogens.

Young saplings will succumb quickly, but older trees hold out until another agent, such as Honey fungus, attacks it in its weakened form.

Ash dieback symptoms

There is no cure or treatment for Ash dieback, and it seems likely that our love for imported plants explains why the fungus is now ravaging the countryside.

For more on Ash dieback (also known as Chalara or Chalara dieback), check out the Forestry Commission website, and for information on the economic affects have a look at The Conversation’s article.

Conclusion

 The ash is a beautiful tree, and common across the UK.  Its wood is incredibly useful, and its folklore many-layered and interesting.  The fact that such a part of the British countryside will soon become a rarity causes me a great deal of pain.  All I can suggest is that while many of our ash trees remain, get out into nature and enjoy them.

Little owl Athene noctua with Ash leaves behind

References for this blog include the excellent “The Greenwood Trees” by Christina Hart-Davies, and the Reader’s Digest “The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain” (out of print but commonly available second-hand), and Collins Flower Guide by David Streeter.

Take a look at my other blogs on British trees, the Oak and the Sycamore.

The post Trees: Ash appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

Identification: Tree shape

The tree grows to 35m and has a domed outline, with dense foliage.  Trees often have heavy lower branches.  It’s a deciduous species, and grows fast in a wide range of habitats, including windy and salty areas.

Identification: Leaves

Sycamore have large, distinctive five lobed leaves, 6 – 17cm wide.  Upper lobes cut through the leaf to around the mid-point, while the bottom lobes may not be fully separated from the rest of the leaf.  Margins are bluntly toothed (for more on leaf margins see my blog https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2013/11/leaf-shape-margins-venation-and-position/).  The upper surface of the leaf is a dark green in mature leaves, paler underneath.

Leaves frequently have black spots, known as “tar spot”.  This is caused by the Rhytisma acerimun fungus and seems to do no harm.

Leaf stalks are frequently flushed a striking scarlet.

In autumn, the leaves tend to turn pale yellow to ochre, and often are still flushed with green when they fall from the tree.  For information on how to illustrate an autumn Sycamore leaf, check out my blog.

Identification: Flowers

Flowers appear at the same time as the leaves, and are tumbling racemes of tiny yellow-green blossoms, each panicle from 5 – 20cm long.

Both sepals and petals are small and yellow-green, and the first flowers to appear are males, with 8 stamens.  Once fruits begin to form, the male flowers borne on the same panicle will bloom.  This avoid self-pollination.

They are a good source of pollen and nectar to visiting insects.

Identification: Fruit

The winged seeds of the Sycamore may well be the most instantly recognisable aspect of this tree.  They’re paired, but separate and spin as they fall, earning them the nickname of “helicopters”.

The angle between the two seeds is acute and narrow (Compared to other Acers) – this is relevant in distinguishing it from other maple species.

Identification: Bark

Bark of the Sycamore is grey-ish and cracked.  It matures to a pink-brown colour.

Similar Species

The Norway maple Acer platanoides and Field maple Acer campestre are also pretty common in Britain, but the species are easy enough to tell apart.

Norway maple is a smaller and thinner tree than the sycamore, with a maximum height of 27m.  It has paler, spikier leaves, and longer petioles.  Flowers are borne in upright racemes, and appear before the leaves.  The Norway maple fruit have a wider space between them than the Sycamore.

Field maple                   Norway maple                       Sycamore

Field maple is smaller than Sycamore, reaching 26m.  its leaves are smaller, and bluntly toothed, and have five lobes which are less deeply cut than Sycamore leaves.  Flowers are borne in erect clusters.  The winged fruit are very widely spaced, almost in a straight line.

Field maple                   Norway maple                       Sycamore

History

Sycamore was only introduced to the UK at the end of the 15thC, so would have been a novelty to King Henry VIII as he went hunting with his courtiers.

Because it can tolerate wind, it was often planted near houses and isolated farms.  There it would not only act as a wind break, but also cast a deep shadow that would keep the dairy cool in summer.

On a more sombre note, Sycamore were used for gallows in the West of Scotland, earning them the moniker “dool trees” (“grief trees).

A Sycamore planted nest to an Ash warned coachmen of a crossroads ahead.

Beneath a Sycamore tree in Dorset, the Tolpuddle Martyrs met in 1834.  They formed a society that would demand wages which didn’t leave them and their families starving, and were transported to Australia for their pains (but were pardoned and returned home 2 years later).  The tree still stands and is known as the Martyr’s Tree.

Uses

Sycamore wood is pale, easy to work, and resistant to warping.  It’s also fast growing, with trees being ready for felling at 60 years.

Furniture makers and wood turners use the wood, and it makes attractive rippled veneers.

It’s been used to make milk buckets as it didn’t flavour the milk.  Sycamore wood rollers in textile mills didn’t splinter, so the cloth remained without snags and undamaged.

It’s also been used for musical instruments, especially violins

Conclusion

Although it’s a relative new-comer to Britain, Sycamore trees are now widespread in many habitats.  It’s useful for timber, holds a place in history, and is pretty easy to identify.  And the winged seeds are always fun to fling into the air, and watch as they spiral neatly back down to earth.

References for this blog include the excellent “The Greenwood Trees” by Christina Hart-Davies , and the Reader’s Digest “The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain” (out of print but commonly available second-hand)

The post Trees: Sycamore appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

The English oak Quercus robur truly is an iconic tree.  English Oak is also known as the Common oak, and the Pedunculate oak.  Across the fields of Britain, lone oaks stand in meadows, and form thick woodlands rustling with wildlife.  Oaks produce hard-wearing timber.  They are thoroughly bound up in religion, folklore, and mythology.

Identification: Tree shape

Oak trees are sturdy, and old trees can have a girth of up to 17m.  Their large branches grown from a short trunk, with a large crown.  Trees can grow to 37m tall.

Identification: Leaves

Oak leaves are very distinctive, with 3 to 5 pairs of unequal, blunt lobes.  They’re alternate, and have little or no stalk.  Either side of the leaf has four or five lobes.  At the base there are little flaps or “ears” which give a curved shape, known as auricles.  The underside of the leaf is hairless.

Identification: Flowers

Oak flowers are small and may well have evaded your attention.  They’re yellowish green and borne in catkins.  Male and female flowers are carried in different catkins.  Female ones are erect and have 2 to 4 flowers, which are flushed red.  These will be pollinated by the end of May and develop into acorns.  Male catkins droop and consist of more blooms.  Flowers are wind pollinated, hence their small size and lack of showy petals.

Identification: Fruit

Everyone can identify an acorn.  Most of us have pretended to be one when very small, growing into a large oak tree.  Acorns are actually nuts surrounded by a cup-like structure known as a cupule.

They’re 2 – 2.5cm long, and grown in clusters of 1 to 4.  English oak acorns are carried on long, stiff stalks.  In autumn, the acorns turn from a pale bright green to brown, and fall in their masses to the ground.

Sometimes, acorns are afflicted with Knopper gall.  This is caused by the tiny gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis and cause the acorn to become twisted and distorted.

Identification: Bark

Bark starts out smooth and shiny. It becomes finely vertically fissured and cracked with age.

Similar species

There are several species of oak in the UK, but only the Sessile oak Quercus petraea shares the rounded lobes of English oak leaves.  It can be told apart from the English oak in various ways.

Sessile oak leaves have flat bases, lacking the auricles of the English oak.  Leaves have clear stalks, whereas the English oak leaves have almost none.   Sessile oak leaves have hairs on the midrib vein on the underside of the leaf.  They have 4 to 6 pairs of equal lobes.  English oak leaves are glabrous below, and lobes are uneven.  Sessile oak acorns have no stalk, and are shorter and fatter.  The acorn of the English oak has a long stalk.

Other species of oak have spikier leaves, or leaves with less distinct lobes.  These include the Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea, Red oak, Quercus borealis, and Pin oak Quercus palustris.  There’s also the  Lucombe oak Quercus x hispanica, Turkey oak Quercus cerris (with its’ furry acorn cups), and the Hungarian oak Quercus frainetto.

History: Building

Oak has long been used for building as it is extremely durable and strong.  Shingles, beams, and steeples across Britain are built with oak.  Salisbury cathedral boasts the tallest spire in England.  It is supported on a lattice work of 2641 tons of thirteenth century oak beams.

Oak was used for wheel spokes, ladder rungs, and shipbuilding.  Henry VIII’s warships were made from oak, much of it coppiced.  It took up to 3,000 mature oaks to build one ship.  Oak trees were grown into curves to supply “compass timber” for the bow and keel.  In fact, during the reign of Elizabeth I, laws were passed to promote the planting of oak and to limit its felling.

Curved timbers were also used in cruck frames, called for by house builders.  Half-timbered houses are built with oak frames.

The Three Tuns pub in Hay-on-wye

The high tannin content in oak bark has meant it’s been used for tanning leather for thousands of years.

History: Folklore

Vikings saw the oak as the tree of their god of thunder, Tor.  It has also been dedicated to other thunder gods; Jupiter, Zeus, and Thunor.  Oak is often struck by lightning which explains the connection.

Symbolising health and long life, bride grooms would carry acorns in their pockets.  Couples would get married under oaks until the church banned the practise.  Instead, married couples would race from the alter to the oak, and dance around it for luck.  Dreaming of oak suggested good health.  Christian preachers read and gave sermons under oaks.  King Charles II hid in the hollow oak at Boscabel house (in the village where I grew up), to escape the parliamentarians.

History: Food & Medicine

Acorns were ground into a flour to make bread before the cultivation of wheat, and were vital provisions for pigs which roamed free in the forests.

The bark of oak was made into a gargle for sore throats, ground acorns made a snuff to treat nosebleeds.  There are suggestions that oak leaves may have been used to treat diarrhea.

Oak apple galls were (and indeed still are) ground up to make a beautiful and permanent ink.

Uses

Oak is still used today for building, notably in oak panelling and furniture.  Its’ hard-wearing properties make it ideal for flooring, and oak veneers are popular.  Whisky barrels are still made of oak, and it’s a good choice for fence posts and firewood.

Threats

There are threats to the sturdy oak tree, alas.  They get cleared when hedgerows are grubbed up and habitat is lost to development.

They also are prone to Oak sudden death, or Ramorum dieback.  This is caused by the oomycete fungus Phytophthora ramorum.  The disease causes bleeding, dieback, and canker. Luckily for the English oak, this disease seems to cause more death in its’ American cousins.  Unfortunately for British forestry, it has spread to Japanese Larch where it is doing untold damage.

Oak are also susceptible to other diseases such as Acute Oak Decline (AOD).  This leaves dark cankers and causes crown thinning and death.  For more on AOD and other tree pathogens check out the Forestry Research site.

Conclusion

The English oak is such a glorious tree.  Nothing beats its gnarled shape, sentinel in a field or meadow.  Oak woods are an extraordinary habitat for animals ranging from insects to deer.  These deciduous woodlands create space for other wild flowers to grow and thrive.

Over the centuries, oak has been used in religion and spirituality, as medicine, for ink, barrels, house building, and warships.  Acorns have fed untold herds of pigs and provided bread.

This common British tree has been many things to us, and remains a glorious plant and an important iconic tree.

References for this blog include the excellent “The Greenwood Trees” by Christina Hart-Davies , and the Reader’s Digest “The Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain” (out of print but commonly available second-hand) , and Collins Flower Guide by David Streeter.

The post Trees: English Oak appeared first on Lizzie Harper.