Oak & Ash & Thorn: That Nerdy Tree Post I've Been Promising

"In the depth of the forest, an old oak grew/the pride of the greenwood there" --"The Oak & The Ivy", Bella Hardy

"Beware, beware, of your gardens fair/Let no man steal your thyme" --"Let No Man Steal Your Thyme", Lady Maisery

And here we are! Finally here with my long-promised nerdy English trees post. :) And really, I decided that what I wanted to do was quote the entirety of "Oak & Ash & Thorn" and then do a little blurb about each tree that's mentioned in the song, because That's How We're Rolling Today and I'm trying not to overwhelm myself as I'm prepping all my Sam Prepublished Posts. Plus that's really all I want to do anyway...geek out about this song (lyrics by Rudyard Kipling, who I don't usually like, but I make an exception for this poem) and talk about trees. 

Of all the trees that grow so fair, old England to adorn
Greater are none beneath the sun than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Yew that is old, in churchyard mould, he breedeth a mighty bow
Alder for shoes do wise men choose, and Beech for cups also
But when you have killed
And your bowl it is filled, and your shoes are clean outworn
Back you must speed for all that you need to Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Elm, she hates mankind and waits, 'til every gust be laid
To drop a limb on the head of him that anyway trusts her shade
But whether a lad be sober or sad, or mellow with ale from the horn
He'll take no wrong when he lyeth along 'neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Oh, do not tell the priest our plight
For he would call it a sin
But we've been out in the woods all night, a-conjuring summer in
We bring you good news by word of mouth, good news for cattle and corn
Sure as the sun come up from the south, by Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs
All on a midsummer's morn
Surely we'll sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

One of the things I was surprised about when I first arrived was how many of the trees here are ones that I already knew from Illinois--there are, of course, a few exceptions, but there are a lot of trees that were brought from Europe to the States, or vice versa, or which were widespread across both continents, which makes things a lot easier for this landscape architect, lol! (There were and are still quite a few trees I've had to learn, but overall it feels like I'm among friends.) Without further ado...on to those friends! 

(Any fun random folklore facts about these trees are from this website.) 

Oak
Quercus robur
The oak is only one of the main symbols of England...no biggie! :D But with that in mind, I think I've grown in appreciation for oaks since being here. One of the big parts of that has been getting to go to several ancient (or at least old) oak forests. I am obsessed with ancient oak forests. The oaks get leggy in a way you'd never see in an oak growing alone (which, to be fair, oaks growing alone are also lovely and I appreciate how easy they are to identify even at a distance, lol), but once they get to a certain height, the trunk will do some sort of interesting twist, and then there will be a lovely rather open canopy. En masse, it's breathtaking, and I could sit and look at an old oak woodland for ages. (All of that isn't even mentioning the fact that the undergrowth is very often delicate ferns and bluebells...) 

(okay this may not actually be ash, but close enough)

Ash
Fraxinus excelsior
Can we talk about that Latin name? Is that not the coolest Latin name ever? I'm kind of jealous. In the US we only have Fraxinus americana and Fraxinus pennsylvanica. Boo. Boooooring. Anywho. Sadly, ash is currently having a really hard time right now with the Emerald Ash Borer and some other issues. So I've only gotten to see a few ash trees in my time here. But when it's the autumn, ash is one of the most gorgeous trees you've ever seen, with leaves turning purple and red and orange. Truly lovely. It apparently also used to be considered a 'guardian tree', and has very strong wood. 

Thorn
Crataegus monogyna & Prunus spinosa
One of my favourite days in one of my classes this semester was when we went out to a dormant woodland and I learned how to do winter ID of hazel and hawthorn and blackthorn. It was brilliant, helped along by the fact that I think blackthorn is incredibly cool in general, even independent of its association with Brandon Sanderson, lol. I know the song is probably referring to hawthorn (also very cool, and with beautiful flowers) but I couldn't resist including both in the post, hehe. Hawthorn is something you come across absolutely everywhere in England, from hedgerows to people's yards to forests, and I love that about it, because it's a beautiful plant with a lot of wildlife value. (And also apparently a lot of faerie folk value. So, there's that. ;))

Yew
Taxus cuspidata
The song is Not Wrong--almost every graveyard and churchyard I've been to in England (and I've been to a lot) has had at least one yew planted in it, if not more, if not an entire long row of huge, dark yew trees. It's fascinating. They feel like very taciturn and secret-keeping trees to me. They're evergreen, so in some ways a symbol of eternal life, but they're also entirely poisonous, except for the little bit of flesh around their seeds. But also there's a cancer treatment made from them that's really effective. Enigmatic. That's what they are. (Also, really dark coloured. And they cast really thick shade. Intriguing.)

Alder
Alnus glutinosa
I always enjoy coming across alders because they're an indicator tree--they only really grow where the land is wet, so if you come across one, you can infer various things about the land it's growing on. Useful for site analysis. :) I also appreciate that they're super easy to identify in the winter because of the cones that hang on for ever. Apparently, the song is right about them, too--because alder wood gets really tough and hard in water, it was often used for clogs & shoes. 

Beech
Fagus sylvatica
I love beeches. Not only because they're dead easy to identify--with super smooth bark and distinctive needle-shaped buds--but because they're beautiful trees. When fully leafed out, they cast deep, beautiful shade, and if you stand underneath and look up, the leaves are silvery underneath, which, if the sun is shining on the branch you're look at, creates the most beautiful effect. Interestingly, I've actually found them growing as an understory plant in the forests here, which I wasn't expecting. When they're grown alone (not in a forest), they also create a beautiful silhouette. I just...the aesthetic, guys. 

Elm
Ulmus spp.
Ahhhh elm. The ugly stepsister of all of these trees, lol. Elm is fun because it's not especially easy to identify (it's not hard, but it does look like a few other things), so when one does get it right and figure out that a tree is an elm, one feels a bit of a sense of accomplishment. But it really is a super brittle tree, and will drop branches with zero provocation. Landscape architects are all warned not to plant them in parking lots or along streets, because they will damage cars. So there ya go. 

Honourable mention of a couple of other favourites that aren't in the song:

Linden
Tilia spp.
There are so many lindens here. Not in the forests but planted literally everywhere else--in people's yards, along roads, in parks, &c &c &c! (And at Chatsworth House, as you can see!) And I'm developing a large soft spot for them. They're just really pretty! And prolific! They have multiple shades of green between their foliage and flowers, their new foliage is really pretty and shiny, and they're beautifully shaped. (And their leaves are heart-shaped. I love heart-shaped leaves. <3) I saw some pollarded lindens the other day (pollarding is where a tree is heavily cut back, so that it sends out multiple new shoots from the top of the trunk, rather than one thick trunk/set of branches) and it reminded me of a weeping willow, with the branches cascading down.

 

Plane 
Platanus x hispanica
This particular hybrid is actually properly called the London Plane Tree, so you can imagine my excitement when I got to London and found that there are for real a whole bunch of London Plane Trees planted everywhere in London. (They're a very popular city tree here, and found lots of other places, too.) They're not the most prepossessing trees, perhaps, but they have these big, beautiful leaves, and trunks that look like they're camo-patterned, and I like them. 

Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris 
This is the one pine tree that I can confidently identify on a regular basis, and the fact that it's also the most common pine in at least the area of the UK that I'm in makes me happy. (The other two most common pines are two that I constantly get mixed up, Pinus nigra and Pinus radiata, which is Most Vexing. I think I finally have the ID sorted, but it's taken me FIVE MONTHS.) Scots pines are not the most visually beautiful pine, granted, but they have this really cool orange exfoliating bark that I really like. And they tend to grow in the wilder northern places here, which I am a Big Fan Of. :) Because they're not as common further south, apparently they were often planted as markers of important places or boundaries. 

So, so, so! Tree nerdery! We love it. :)