Hornbeam

 

Hornbeam Carpinus betulus has always been one of my favourite trees. It's native to southern England but widely planted up here in the North East, often for its wonderful chrome yellow autumn foliage. It's known also for its hard timber, hard enough to blunt carpenters' chisels and saws and durable enough for traditional uses like wooden gear wheels for windmills and water mills, and teeth for rakes. Some say that the name hornbeam comes from the timber being as hard as animal horn.

Hornbeam is particularly beautiful in late autumn after most of the leaves have fallen, when the clusters of seeds still dangle like little pagodas from the twigs. Eventually the seed clusters break up and individual seeds fall and spin to earth on their winged bracts. The hard seeds, which are tiny nuts, are favourite food of hawfinches, so I always look for them at this time of year, though I've yet to see one of these spectacular rare birds here. I've only ever seen them in southern England.

The tree is also very attractive in spring, when it's covered in catkins and when the beautifully pleated leaves begin to unfold. 

Next Year's Christmas Card, an Early Spring and a Job Well Done .... ..........

While we were out walking in Teesdale this morning we encountered this very obliging Robin ...... 

.... that struck a variety of poses that might be suitable for next year's Christmas cards. 

 Incredibly, hazel catkins are coming into bloom along the River Tees near the Meeting of the Waters. With a mild weekend forecast they look like they'll be shedding pollen in the New Year. Strange days indeed.....yesterday we saw lesser celandines in bloom in Sunderland (but I forgot to take a photo). 

Meanwhile, lambing will begin in a few weeks. We spotted this magnificent ram in a field of sheep, with a contented look on his face that suggests a job well done....

A Tree-Spotter's Guide to Flowers: 2

Many trees produce their flowers in elongated catkins in spring, often before the foliage expands. Most - but not all - catkin-bearing trees are wind pollinated and produce vast quantities of pollen to ensure that pollination and seed set occurs. Hazel catkins are the most familiar ....

... along with alder catkins. Alder is usually the first tree to flower in spring.

Male catkins of hornbean are smaller than those of most other trees and produced just before the leaf buds open.

Silver birch male catkins are long and slender. The female catkin, seen here just above the leaves, is much smaller and points upwards. It will produce large quantities of seeds in winter, which are important food for finches.

Silver birch tree in full flower, in April.

There are separate male and female trees of goat willow (also known as sallow). This is the female catkin, with large numbers of stigmas. After pollination it'll produce masses of downy seed in early summer. Unlike all the other trees in this post, goat willow is pollinated by insects - flies, bees and butterflies - and both male and female trees are sometimes visited by blue tits that also have a liking for nectar - so this may be the only tree species in Britain that's pollinated by birds.

Male goat willow catkins, beginning to expand their golden stamens.

A male goat willow tree in full flower in late March can light up a hedgerow - and is an important source of nectar and pollen for the first insects that emerge in spring.

Poplar catkins are seldom seen (unless you go tree-spotting with binoculars) because they are produced right at the top of mature trees, but they are often the most attractive flowers of all the wind-pollinated species. They are much stouter that catkins of other trees. The best time to look for them is after a spring gale, when they are often broken off and litter the ground under the tree.

For more information about trees click here