THE BARE TRUTH

THE SKELETAL OUTLINES OF TREES ARE A PICTURESQUE PART OF THE WINTER LANDSCAPE, BUT HOW MANY CAN YOU IDENTIFY? THE CLUES ARE THERE IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK

One of my oldest friends is the best person to join for a country walk. What he doesn’t know about the countryside simply isn’t worth knowing. Thanks to him, I can tell the difference between a blackthorn and a hawthorn hedgerow in spring, because he taught me the saying, “leaves before flowers, hawthorn; flowers before leaves, blackthorn”. Which means I know where to go to gather a bountiful harvest of sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn).

However, perhaps the best thing he’s taught me is how to identify some of our most common trees in winter. And we’re talking bare, deciduous types – not conifers covered with their distinguishing needles and cones. Being able to tell an oak from a horse chestnut when all you have to go on is the shape, bark, twigs and buds, brings a wintry landscape to life. It also requires a bit of detection work, which I’ve found appeals to all ages and ensures the whole family is happy to be outdoors on even the chilliest of December days.

SILVER BIRCH

(Betula pendula) Silhouette Tall and slender, growing up to 30m, with elegant drooping branches. Unmistakable feature Its white bark, which peels in layers like tissue paper and becomes black at the base. Also worth noting Mature trees develop dark, diamond-shaped fissures. Twigs are rough to the touch, unlike those of downy birch, which are smooth. Fascinating fact Tough and hard, birch wood was used to make the bobbins, spools and reels used in Lancashire’s cotton mills. Tree lore Bundles of birch twigs were used in early Celtic mythology to drive out the

“When winter comes in earnest to fulfil His yearly task at bleak November’s close, And stops the plough and hides the fields in snows; When frost locks up the streams in chill delay And mellows on the hedge the purple sloes…” ‘THE SHEPHERD’S CALENDAR’ BY JOHN CLARE, 1827

spirits of the old year. Some gardeners still use the birch besom, or broom, to ‘purify’ their gardens today.

HORSE CHESTNUT

(Aesculus hippocastanum)

Silhouette Reaching 30m when fully mature – which can be up to 300 years – the horse chestnut’s short, twisting twigs create a narrow bell-jar domed shape .

Unmistakable feature Its big red sticky buds. While pairs of small buds appear along the twig, the characteristic end bud covered in sticky leaf scales gives the game away.

Also worth noting Look for horseshoe-shaped marks (or leaf scars) on twigs, which even feature ‘nail’ holes around the arc of the curve. Its bark is grey, like an elephant’s hide, and covered with large, smooth flakes. Fascinating fact It’s unlikely you’ll find this tree in woodland, but since its introduction from southern Europe in the early 17th century, it has appeared widely in parks, streets and on village greens.

Tree lore Conkers used to be ground up and fed to horses to help treat coughs, perhaps giving rise to the tree’s name.

BLACKTHORN

(Prunus spinosa) Silhouette Often forming more of a densely branched bush of about 4m than a single specimen tree, you’ll find it squeezed between other blackthorns and hawthorns in a hedgerow. Unmistakable feature A dark, twisted mass of vicious thorny twigs either in a hedgerow or as a single tree.

Also worth noting The twigs, which become black or dark grey, have thorns and buds that grow out from the side of the thorns. By early spring, before many species produce blossom, blackthorn puts on a show of star-shaped white blossom, which turns to dusty blue/ black sloes by September.

“If the oak before the ash, Then we’ll only have a splash. If the ash before the oak, Then we’ll surely have a soak!” COUNTRY PROVERB

Fascinating fact A hard wood, it is used to make walking and riding sticks – and even the 18th-century Irish weapon, the shillelagh. Tree lore Associated with witchcraft and death, it’s known as the ‘Dark crone of the woods’. A long, hard winter is known as a ‘blackthorn winter’.

ENGLISH OAK

(Quercus robur) Silhouette Think of a child’s drawing of a tree and you’ll be on the road to spotting the oak, with its spreading, semi-circular arching branches. As you’d expect, this king of the woods reaches heights of up to 40m. Unmistakable feature A cluster of orange-brown buds at the tip, with rusty-brown scales. Also worth noting Its distinctive spreading shape, with twisting branches that form a broad crown. Its bark is a yellowish green in young trees

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?” LEWIS CARROLL

and silvery brown in older specimens, with deep, knobbly grooves and, often, a covering of lichen.

Fascinating fact Acorns don’t appear for at least 40 years into the life of an oak.

Tree lore The Druids believe the oak tree is sacred; they harvest mistletoe from it, which grows in the higher branches, using it in their ceremonies.

HAZEL

( Corylus avellana)

Silhouette The hazel tree is often multi-stemmed – its branches come from the main stem low to the ground following coppicing to harvest its straight branches. If left to grow, it can reach heights up to 12m.

Unmistakable feature Yellow catkins, which appear before the leaves and dangle from its branches at the end of winter. Also worth noting Hazel has a smooth, grey-brown bark, which peels with age, and bendy, hairy stems. Leaf buds are oval, blunt and hairy. Hazel often has many stems sprouting from the ground, resulting in a bushy shape. It’s often coppiced, so look for tall, straight stems. Fascinating fact The Celts believed that hazelnuts were a source of wisdom and thought that the spots on a salmon’s skin symbolised the number of nuts they’d eaten. Tree lore Hazel is regarded as something of a magical tree, with sticks – or rods – used to ward off evil spirits, and as wands for water-divining.

LIME

(Tilia x europaea) Silhouette Loosely columnar, it has close-growing vertical branches that form a dome at the top, which can be as high up as 50m.

Unmistakable feature Pretty, shiny red buds have two to three scales and appear at the end of hairy red twigs.

Also worth noting The pale grey-brown bark is ridged; leaf shoots and distinctive large burs appear at its base. This ornamental specimen is often found in parks and large estates.

Fascinating fact Lime blossom was used as a soothing herbal tea during the First World War.

Tree lore Often linked with fertility, lime was planted in France and Switzerland on battlefield sights.