List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Many lists of trees of Great Britain and Ireland have been written. There are a number of issues surrounding the inclusion of a species in such a list. As can be seen from the outline of debate below, there is no 'correct' list of trees of Britain and Ireland.
Issues of debate
[edit]Definition of species
[edit]There are a number of different opinions regarding the validity of some species, notably apomictic microspecies and whether some 'species' may actually be hybrids. In particular, the number and definition of species in the genera Sorbus (rowans, whitebeams etc.), Ulmus (elms) and Salix (willows) are open to debate.
Definition of native
[edit]Native species are considered to be species which are today present in the region in question, and have been continuously present in that region since a certain period of time. When applied to Britain and Ireland, three possible definitions of this time constraint are:
- a species that colonised these islands during the retreat of ice at the end of the last ice age
- a species that was present in these islands when the English Channel was created and the land bridge between Britain and continental Europe was flooded
- a species that has colonised without human assistance; in some cases this is uncertain.
The only endemic tree species in Britain and Ireland (that is, that are native only to this region) are some apomictic whitebeams.
Species that were native in the region in prehistory before the last ice age, but not subsequently, are generally regarded as extinct and no longer native.
Many additional species have been imported by humans; the total list of all introduced trees numbers several thousand. A far smaller number of these have become widely naturalised, spreading by their own accord without recourse to further human assistance.
Definition of tree
[edit]A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant with secondary branches supported by a primary stem (compare with shrub). There is no set definition regarding minimum size, though most authors cite a tree species as being one which regularly reaches 6 m (20 ft) tall with a single stem.[1] Species like Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and Purple willow (Salix purpurea), which may reach 6 m but not on a single stem, are not treated as trees.[1]
List of species
[edit]Native trees
[edit]- Alders
- Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
- Apples
- Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
- Ashes
- Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
- Beeches
- European Beech (Fagus sylvatica; native status disputed; did not reach Britain until over 2,000 years after the Channel formed, with human introduction as a food source for its nuts)[2]
- Birches
- Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
- Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)
- Box
- Box (Buxus sempervirens)
- Cherries and Plums
- Wild Cherry (Prunus avium)
- Bird Cherry (Prunus padus)
- Elms
- Hawthorns
- Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
- Midland Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata; southern Great Britain only)
- Crataegus × media - occurs as a natural hybrid wherever monogyna and laevigata overlap.
- Hazels
- Common Hazel (Corylus avellana; usually a shrub, but occasionally develops tree form[1])
- Hollies
- European Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
- Hornbeams
- European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus; southern Great Britain only)
- Junipers
- Common Juniper (Juniperus communis; usually a shrub, but occasionally develops tree form[1])
- Limes
- Small-leaved Lime (Tilia cordata; southern Great Britain only)
- Large-leaved Lime (Tilia platyphyllos; southwestern Great Britain only)
- Maples
- Field Maple (Acer campestre; southern Great Britain only)
- Oaks
- Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur)
- Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea)
- Pines
- Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
- Poplars
- Aspen (Populus tremula)
- Black Poplar (Populus nigra; southern Great Britain only)
- Rowans and Whitebeams
- European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
- Common Whitebeam (Aria edulis, syn. Sorbus aria) and several related apomictic microspecies
- Service Tree (Cormus domestica, syn. Sorbus domestica; recently discovered growing wild on a cliff in south Wales)
- Wild Service Tree (Torminalis glaberrima, syn. Sorbus torminalis)
- Strawberry-trees
- Strawberry-tree (Arbutus unedo; Ireland only; recent genetic studies suggest that it is not native, but an early bronze age introduction.[3])
- Willows (Salix spp.; several species, but mostly shrubs rather than trees)
- Bay Willow (Salix pentandra)
- Grey Willow (Salix cinerea; usually a shrub, but occasionally develops tree form[1])
- Goat Willow (Salix caprea)
- Yews
- European Yew (Taxus baccata)
Native large shrubs
[edit]These larger shrubs occasionally reach tree height, but not on a single stem so do not qualify as trees:
- Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
- Purging Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
- Elder (Sambucus nigra)
- Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
- Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
- Rock Whitebeam (Sorbus rupicola)
- Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)
- Spindle (Euonymus europaeus)
- Eared Willow (Salix aurita)
- Purple Willow (Salix purpurea)
- Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)
- Wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana)
- Common Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
- Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
Endemic species
[edit]An endemic species is a plant only native to a certain area. Outside this area, unless spread naturally it is considered non-native, usually as a result of cultivation. Britain and Ireland have few endemic trees, most being micro-species of Whitebeam. But there are some interesting endemic trees nevertheless.
- Plot's Elm[4] – English Midlands only.
- Apomictic Whitebeams endemic to the British Isles:
- Sorbus arranensis – Isle of Arran only.
- Arran Service Tree – Isle of Arran only.
- Sorbus pseudomeinichii - Isle of Arran only.
- Lancashire Whitebeam - North Lancashire & South Cumbria, around Morecambe Bay only.
- English Whitebeam - Great Britain and Ireland only.
- Bristol Whitebeam - Avon Gorge only.
- Devon Whitebeam – Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Ireland only.
- Ley's Whitebeam – Brecon Beacons only.
- Lesser Whitebeam – Brecon Beacons only.
- Sorbus leptophylla – endemic to UK
- Sorbus arvonensis - endemic to the Menai Strait region of North Wales.[5]
- Sorbus wilmottiana – endemic to UK
- Bloody Whitebeam – Exmoor only.
- Somerset Whitebeam – coastal North Devon and Western Somerset only.
- Cheddar Whitebeam – Cheddar Gorge only.
- Watersmeet Whitebeam – North Devon only.
- Llangollen Whitebeam – Llangollen only.
- Irish Whitebeam – Ireland only.
- Leigh Woods Whitebeam, Leigh Woods only.
Naturalised trees
[edit]- From Europe
- Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster; rarely)
- European Black Pine (Pinus nigra; rarely)
- Norway Spruce (Picea abies; rarely)
- Caucasian Spruce (Picea orientalis; rarely)
- European Larch (Larix decidua)
- European Pear (Pyrus communis; sometimes regarded as native)
- Plymouth Pear (Pyrus cordata; sometimes regarded as native[6])
- Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
- Cherry-laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
- Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
- Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
- Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa; a Roman introduction)
- Swedish Whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia)
- Grey Alder (Alnus incana)
- Italian Alder (Alnus cordata)
- Holm Oak (Quercus ilex)
- Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris)
- Alpine Laburnum (Laburnum alpinum)
- Common Laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides)
- Common Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
- English Elm (Ulmus minor 'Atinia'; a Roman introduction)
- Crack Willow (Salix fragilis; formerly considered native[1] but now known to be an archaeophyte)
- White Willow (Salix alba; formerly considered native[1] but now known to be an archaeophyte)
- From Asia
- Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi)
- Tree Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster frigidus)
- From North America
- Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
- Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)
- Black Spruce (Picea mariana; rarely)
- Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
- Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
- Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
- Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)
- Lawson's Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
- Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa; rarely)
- Red Oak (Quercus rubra; rarely)
- Black Cherry (Prunus serotina; rarely)
- From South America
- Monkey-puzzle (Araucaria araucana; rarely)
- Rauli (Nothofagus alpina; rarely)
- Roble Beech (Nothofagus obliqua; rarely)
- Chilean Myrtle (Luma apiculata; in Ireland and Cornwall)
- From Oceania
- Cabbage-tree (Cordyline australis)
- Intercontinental hybrids
- London Plane (Platanus × hispanica, rarely)
Naturalised large shrubs
[edit]- From Europe
- Osier (Salix viminalis)
- Almond-leaved Willow (Salix triandra)
Record British trees
[edit]The tallest tree in Great Britain (and second-tallest tree in Europe) is a 103-year old Douglas-fir in North Wales, 71 metres tall[7]
See also
[edit]- Trees of the world
- Woodland management
- Coppicing
- Pollarding
- Forestry in the United Kingdom
- British National Vegetation Classification
- List of forests in Ireland
- List of forests in the United Kingdom
- Coillte
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Mitchell, Alan F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-212035-6.
- ^ Harris, E. (2002) Goodbye to Beech? Farewell to Fagus? Quarterly Journal of Forestry 96 (2):97.
- ^ Skeffington, Micheline Sheehy; Scott, Nick (30 December 2021). "Is the Strawberry Tree, Arbutus unedo (Ericaceae), native to Ireland, or was it brought by the first copper miners?". British & Irish Botany. 3 (4). doi:10.33928/bib.2021.03.385 – via britishandirishbotany.org.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
- ^ "Menai Whitebeam".
- ^ NHM Flora for Fauna checklist
- ^ "Common Douglas-fir in Snowdonia, Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom". Monumental trees. 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
External links
[edit]- The Woodland Trust (UK conservation charity promoting woodland restoration and expansion.)
- Forestry Commission (UK government department responsible for protection and expansion of Britain's forests and woodlands.)
- Elwes, Henry John, and Henry, Augustine, 1906 The trees of Great Britain & Ireland BHL Monograph.Includes rare introduced trees.Seven volumes and seven volumes of excellent black and white plates.
- Tree Council of Ireland Heritage trees