e Trees in Friends of the Lake District’s Woodlands
is is a guide to help you identify some of the wonderful trees that can be found in Friends of the Lake District’s woodlands. e woodlands range from those which are ancient semi-natural (including Hows Wood in Eskdale, Resp Haw and Bull Coppice at Rusland, Greenbank in Ambleside), those planted that now form beautiful established woods (including Mike’s Wood at Staveley, Sweden Wood in Ambleside, the southern end of the Helm at Oxenholme, Middle Bleansley near Broughtonin-Furness), and newly planted young woods (Dam Mire Wood at relkeld). Together our woodland areas amount to approximately 60 hectares (ha).
Veteran Scots Pine tree at Greenbank Wood
Myths and Legends
Trees are surrounded by myths and superstition. Celtic myths suggest the Rowan tree – with its autumnal bright red berries – should be planted near houses to ward o witches and ensure good luck. Many pubs are called the Royal Oak, re ecting the then future King Charles II allegedly hiding in an oak tree in Boscobel Wood, Shropshire, to escape the Roundheads in 1651. e hawthorn is also called the May tree and the saying ‘Ne’er cast a clout till May be out’ means keep your winter clothing out until the hawthorn blossoms re ects this. Some believed that faeries lived in hawthorn trees and so they are often left untouched in elds as this superstition continues. Birch was associated with purity and new beginnings – at New Year, houses were swept with a birch twig broom to rid the house of last year’s misfortunes and wipe the slate clean for the year to come. Yew is symbolic of everlasting life and rebirth, but also death and resurrection in Celtic culture. Holly was seen as a fertility symbol and a charm against witches, goblins and the devil!
Rowan
Bird box in birch tree
Beech
Sweden Wood
Typical Species You May Find in Our Woodlands:
Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
CATKINS (Male)
A wetland tree; thrives in damp areas in Lake District. Growing upto 30m and living 60 years, conical shape. Dark, ssured bark, spotted stems and dark green racquet-shaped leathery leaves with serrated edges, but not a pointed tip (often indented). Flowers are oval-shaped catkins, the female owers turning into oval green fruits, later turning black and woody like cones.
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
LEAVES
LEAVES
FLOWERS
Growing upto 40m, grey/pale brown bark which ssures with age. Stalkless lea ets, 9-13 forming each leaf, in opposite pairs. Buds are black and single-winged seeds hang in big clusters. Leaves fall when they are still green. Some trees are male, others are female; some have both male and female branches; and some have both male and female owers on each branch. A branch or tree can change sex.
BUD LEAVES
Apprentices (left) and yew trees (right) in Rusland Woods
Non-native to Cumbria, growing upto 40m with a huge domed crown. Notable for orange leaves in autumn. Smooth, grey bark can ssure after disease or other trauma, oval waxy leaves pointed at the tip, with a wavy edge which turn darker from lime green with age. Flowers are catkins on long stalks and female owers as pairs in a cup, turning into beechnuts (each fruit splitting into four segments to release two triangular nuts). Can be confused with hornbeam but this has more serrated leaves.
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Upto 20m high and 200 years old in the Lake District. Dry soil. Elegant with silver white bark often with black pock marks. Small triangular serrated leaves coming to a de nite point. Flowers are catkins, like lambs tails which thicken to dark crimson fruits.
Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)
Growing upto 20m. Damp soil. More upright than silver birch with darker bark, more horizontal grooves and less paper-like bark. Grey-like bark, triangular leaves (more rounded than silver birch, and hairy). Flowers are catkins with crimson fruits.
FLOWERS (Male) LEAVES SEEDS (Female)
TRUNK
BARK CATKIN (Male)
CATKIN (Male) LEAVES TRUNK
Wild Cherry or Gean (Prunus avium)
LEAVES
FLOWERS
FLOWERS
One of only two cherry tree varieties to grow in woodland or hedgerows. Native, insect-pollinated. Growing upto 30m and for 60 years. e bark is a deep red/brown cream-coloured horizontal lines; shiny when young. Leaves are oval and green with pointed tips. Flowers are white, cup-shaped with ve petals, hanging in clusters and develop into deep red cherries, eaten and dispersed by birds. Can produce root suckers.
Bird Cherry (Prunus padus)
FLOWERS
FLOWERS
LEAVES
One of only two cherry tree varieties to grow in woodland or hedgerows. Growing upto around 10m high, smooth grey/brown bark which may peel. Leaves are oval and hairless, with pointed tips, and unlike wild cherry edges have sharp serrations. Heavily scented owers with ve petals growing in clusters which turn into reddish-black, bitter cherries.
Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)
A deciduous shrub rather than a tree, growing upto 4m high and 2-5m wide. reelobed leaves with serrated edges and a rounded base, turning red-orange-yellow in autumn. Flowers are attopped clusters of cream/ white/pink encircled by a ring of larger sterile owers, May to July. Clusters of bright red berries in autumn.
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
FLOWERS
LEAVES
Growing upto 10/15m and living upto 60 years. Grows well in shade or full sun. Short trunks with grey/brown furrowed bark. Oval, toothed leaves growing in clusters of 5-7 with noticeable stalks. Small, ve petal cream owers which grow as umbels (a ower cluster that resembles an umbrella) with a sweet smell, and turn into small purple/black berries in a hanging cluster.
LEAVES
Growing upto 12m in height if not coppiced, living upto 80 years. Having a smooth brown/grey bark. Leaves are oval, toothed, hairy with a pointed tip. Male catkins hang in clusters in mid February, female owers being small and bud-like which develop into oval fruits hanging in groups, and in turn into nuts with a woody shell and cup of leaves.
LEAVES
BERRIES FLOWERS
Can grow upto 15m and live for 300 years. is festive evergreen tree has spikey dark green oval-shaped leaves and smooth greybrown bark. Characterised by bright red berries in the winter and bright white owers with four petals in spring-summer.
FLOWERS (Female) CATKINS (Female)
Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
LEAVES
FLOWERS (Female)
Reaching 20-25m in Cumbria, this non-native tree has oval leaves similar to beech with a pleated/furrowed look and toothed edges. Pale grey bark with vertical markings, and seeds like small nuts about 3-6mm long. Flowers are catkins turning into papery, green-winged fruits, known as samaras. Lives upto 300 years.
Juniper (Juniperus communis)
LEAVES
FLOWERS
BERRIES
Usually reaches heights of 1-2m, can live for 200 years or more. Needle-shaped green leaves with broad silver bands on the inner side, grey brown bark which peels with age, berries which start o green and mature to purple/black.
Lime – Small Leaved (Tilia cordata)
TRUNK LEAVES
SEEDS BUDS
Relatively rare native tree, growing upto 25m in height. Grey/brown smooth bark, getting aky with age. Heart-shaped leaves with a pointed tip, heavily scented green/yellow owers with ve petals hanging in clusters which develop into round/ oval fruits with a pointed tip. Reddish/brown tufts on the underside of the leaf joins which distinguish it from other varieties of lime. Unusual in producing suckers from its base.
Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea)
CATKINS CATKINS
Oaks hybridise. One of two main species, the sessile oak has lobed leaves with long stalks and acorns without stalks. Grows 20-40m tall. Male and female owers are separate but on the same tree; they are catkins or clusters of leaves resembling red ower buds which develop into stalkless acorns.
English or Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur)
LEAVES
ACORNS
ACORNS
e other of the two main species, the English or pedunculate oak has tiny or no leaf stalks and acorns on longer stalks. Grows 20-40m tall. Round smooth-edged leaves with short stalks. Male and female owers are separate but on the same tree; they are catkins which turn into acorns with long stalks.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
LEAVES
BERRIES
FLOWERS
Also known as mountain ash, the Rowan tree is insectpollinated and grows upto 15/20m. Smooth grey bark, small, serrated lime green stalkless leaves arranged in pairs, purple hairy buds and bright red berries in bunches.
Our only native pine, growing upto 35m and living for 700 years. An evergreen conifer which produces pine cones from owers the year before. Blue/green needles, rust brown, rough bark which ssures with age. Favoured food for red squirrels.
LEAVES
FLOWERS
SEEDS
Non-native to Cumbria, growing upto 35m and living upto 400 years. Smooth grey/pink bark which becomes rougher with age. Large ve lobed leaves, green/yellow owers which hang down, and turn into winged fruits, favoured by children as ‘helicopters’.
Want to learn more about our land and the species you can nd there? Look out for our other guides!
www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/property-guides
SEEDS (Female)
SEEDS (Male) Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Parkland Sycamore
Goat Willow or Sallow (Salix caprea)
FLOWERS (Male) LEAVES
FLOWERS (Female)
Lots of species of Willow and they can hybridise making them hard to identify. Generally all grow fast in wetter areas. Most have long thin leaves and grey brown bark. e Goat Willow or Sallow is also known as pussy willow as the catkins look like cats’ paws. Growing upto 20m high. Leaves are oval, hairless on top but with ne hairs on the underside. Catkins turn into woody seeds.
Grey Willow (Salix cinerea subsp. oleifolia)
Growing upto around 10m high. Unusual again in having oval leaves which are twice as long as they are wide, with ne silver felt underneath and rusty hairs. Flowers are catkins which turn into woolly seeds. Perhaps eaten by animals to self-medicate.
Yew (Taxus baccata)
LEAVES
FLOWERS
BERRIES
Some of Lakeland’s oldest trees. Red/brown bark, leaves are small needles with a pointed tip, which are dark green above and green-grey underneath. Flowers are white-yellow globe-like structures or bud-like brown acorns which turn into red, eshy berries. Native, and related to the Irish Yew which has smaller, curved needle leaves that grow around a twig rather than in rows.
FLOWERS (Male) SEEDS
FLOWERS (Female)
About Friends of the Lake District
Established in 1934, Friends of the Lake District is a membership-based charity committed to looking after the landscapes of the Lake District and Cumbria.
&
www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/our-land
We own land in order to enhance the landscape; carry out practical conservation projects; increase access and model best practice in land management. Our land includes valleys, native woodlands, moorlands, uplands and commons, and is open to the public for all to enjoy.
Scan here to become a member today. Join us and over 6,000 people who are passionate about this magni cent place.
For more information on our land and volunteering opportunities, or how to join us and help to maintain these beautiful Cumbrian landscapes, please get in touch or sign up to our email newsletter.
Friends of the Lake District, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7SS
Tel: 01539 720788 | Email: info@fld.org.uk
Website: www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk Friends of the Lake District @friendsoflakes
Registered Charity Number: 1100759
