CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

  The curse of the black spot! Tar spot fungus  Rhytisma acerinum , that disfigures sycamore leaves in summer, continues to develop on its d...

Every autumn, as the last leaf falls, I've had good intentions of recording a set of images of the characteristic silhouettes of differe...

Insects begin to attack tree leaves almost as soon as they emerge from buds in spring. Some eat foliage but others turn leaves into secure ...

Thursday's Guardian Country Diary is about the remarkable range of small invertebrates that live under the flaking bark of old sycamor...

Mature elm trees may be a rare sight now because of Dutch elm disease but shrubby hedgerow elms are still common. The twigs are covered with...

Take a close look at sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus buds at this time of year, just as they are beginning to swell, and you'll probably f...

A really good crop of beech Fagus sylvatica nuts is good news all round for wildlife, providing a food resource that lasts well into the...

A beech Fagus sylvatica bud. It always seems to me that buds are under-appreciated natural objects, not just because of their inherent bea...