Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)

Gnarled lumpy bole

Edible fruit

These photos are of the large Mulberry tree in the walled garden in Brockwell park. I thought it was a nice thing to write about after the riots. This tree is well worth a look at it’s been in the walled garden since Victorian times and it should be there long after this current group of criminal looters are dead. Seeing our live in the context of the natural world is a powerful leveler. One of the gardeners in the park told me that Victorians would often plant these trees in their walled gardens to use as an indicator of spring; they shoot very late so once they shoot it’s a supposed guarantee that Spring is well underway. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this but I like the story. There are many members of the genus Morus. The White Mulberry and Black Mulberry are most common in Britain and are quite easy to tell apart as the black has heart shaped leaves and the white has long oval shaped leaves. This is a stunning tree brimming with edible fruit at the moment well worth a visit.

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)

Mountain Ash  berries, Herne Hill

Also known as Mountain Ash although they are not related to true Ash. This is a small to medium sized tree that can be seen quite commonly round London and is easy to recognize at the moment as they’re brimming with bunches of red berries. These trees are able to survive at high altitudes, hence the name but are also popular in towns. The berries are a very important winter stable for birds as they persist even after the leaves have fallen, they even attract migratory birds like Waxwing into town. The berries are edible but are said not to be very pleasant on their own. I’ve heard they can be made into a pleasant conserve to eat with game. Be very careful that you’ve made 100% correct identification there are lots of dangerous berries about!

Eucalyptus

I took a photo of this beautiful Eucalyptus tree yesterday evening as I’m working long days at the moment and I was looking for something quick and easily identifiable to write about. Little did I know there are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus worldwide, in fact it’s a genus that could quite easily provide a life of study on it’s own. Most Eucalyptus are native to Australia. Some species are more commonly known as Gum trees, the sap that they contain is a very important natural substance that provides natural antiseptic and cleaning oil. To counter the positives their ability to drain huge quantities of water is obviously less popular.

False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia)

Annoyingly, I’ve not been able to post on two days this week as work has been totally dominant. I thought I’d post on something close to home today. This pictures are of the False Acacia tree in my front garden in SE London. I did not know what it was until today and I’ve been meaning to find out. False Acacia are medium size trees growing to around 30m. The leaves contain 3-10 pairs of yellowish green oval alternate leaflets. The tree bark is spirally ridged. It produces dense pea like flowers which are smell great. It was planted in Britain in 1636 and is native to the USA. They are common around London and the South East.

Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Ruskin Park

 

Leaflets make up the leaf

The Horse chestnut or conker tree as it is known is one of the most common and easily identifiable trees in Britain and they are very common in London. They are recorded as early as the 16^th century in Britain but are native to the mountains of the Balkans. The leaf that you can see in the photo is made up of between 5 and 7 leaflets at the end of a long stalk this is known as palmate.  According to my Collins tree guide the name is thought to derive in two parts, one from the use of conkers in 16^th Century Turkey to treat ailing horses and two because of the superficial resemblance of the fruit to sweet chestnut of which there is no relation. The conkers are used in some herbal treatments but do not eat them without specialist instruction of how to extract their goodness as they can be poisonous especially when young and fresh. Many of the trees you’ll see around London are suffering from blight or bleeding canker, you may see it as it browns the leaves which will prematurely drop or as sticky liquid protruding from blemishes on the trunk. It works at cutting off the water supply to the crown and methods are being tested to help the tree fight the disease. In some cases the trees have been known to recover of their own accord so don’t be tempted to cut the tree down at the first sign of bleeding canker.  

Magnolia (Magnoliaceae)

There are about 35 species of Magnolia in Britain. The one photographed, again in Dulwich park, is a Saucer Magnolia. As with all Magnolias there are lots of different cultivars so you will see Saucer Magnolias with different flower colours. When I think of a flowering Magnolia tree I see something similar to the above photo but there are lots of very different looking flower types including the Star Magnolia and Campbell’s Magnolia, which look quite different. These trees seem to be present in driveways, especially, all over London. There are few trees that rival the flowering properties of Saucer Magnolia with the possible exception of certain cherry blossoms. Magnolias are thought to be amongst the most primitive of flowering plants with fossils dating back many millions of years. Their use is not only ornamental but also medicinal and as timber. Parts of the bark may be used by herbalists to treat coughs and problems with the digestive tract.