Winter Trees at Ravensroost Wood
Paul Darby carefully cutting a few twigs for identification purposes
Although I’m not exactly a dullard when it comes to identifying our native British trees, there are rather a lot of them. So when the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Paul Darby sent me an invite to join him once again for a morning Identifying Trees in Winter he didn’t have to ask twice. I can tell an Ash from an Oak, identify Hazel, Alder, Beech, Horse Chestnut, Field Maple, Sycamore, Walnut, Hornbeam, Yew etc and can separate Hawthorn from Blackthorn even with no leaves. I can even identify some less obvious ones like Spindle but, where I struggle is with the tricky little blighters like the Willows which so often hybridise. Our venue for the day, Ravensroost Wood, proved to be a great choice as it contained many of our original native species like Wych Elm, Guelder Rose, Aspen, Small-leaved Lime and the rare almost Rowan-like Wild Service-tree. Read more
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