ALDER, BLACK

Ilex verticillata

DESCRIPTION: Height: slow growth rate; seldomly grow tall (average 6–15ft.) Branches: Oval rounded; twiggy branches; multistemmed clump. Leaves: 1.5 to 3" alternate, simple leaves; purplish green foliage turns black with first frost. Flower/Fruit: Small white flowers in early summer; small, bright red berries in dense clusters on female plants; persists into winter.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Distilled water of the leaves is excellent for bathing imflamed or burnt skin and wounds. Fresh leaves laid upon swellings dissolve them and stay inflammation. Refreshing to worn feet.

APPLE, EUROPEAN CRAB / APPLE, WILD

Pyrus malus

DESCRIPTION: Height: rarely grows considerable height in woods and copses; in orchards and open ground, can grow 20ft up to 30ft. Branches: branches of the Crab-tree become pendant, with long shoots which bear the leaves and flowers. Leaves: dark green and glossy. Flower/Fruit: in small clusters produced in April and May; buds are deeply tinged with pink on the outside the expanded flowers an inch and a half across. The fruit develops and becomes in autumn the beautiful little crab apple, which when ripe is yellow or red in colour and measures about an inch across.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The apples (fruit) are used in a variety of ways for cooking and preserving.

ASH, COMMON

Fraxinus excelsior

DESCRIPTION: large tree with a long silvery grey stem in lowland woods; on higher ground it becomes a shorter picturesque billowing hedgerow feature; branches reach out widely and twist skywards; deciduous and comes into leaf late in spring; may live up to 400 years; largest average 45m in height.

TIMBER: pliable and tough but not tough enough to use untreated outside; light brown wood; does not fracture easily.

USES OF WOOD: very good firewood; tool handles, oars and hockey sticks.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Leaves have laxitive and diuretic properties. Bark can be used in decoction (bitter tasting) as treatment for fever. Can also be used as an antiperiodic.

ASPEN

Alnus glutinosa

DESCRIPTION: rapidly growing tree (0.5m per year for first 30 - 40 years), mature at about 60 years with long trunk and narrow crown; distinctive outline in winter; requires plenty of light.

TIMBER: The wood is light reddish brown and porous with course texture.

USES OF WOOD: General purpose hardwood and pulpwood. Particularly suitable for turning, formerly used to make clogs. Burns quickly when used for firewood but suitable for charcoal (used to be used for charcoal for gunpowder). Hardens when immersed in water and suitable for making piles.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The bark and leaves contain tannin and have astringent properties. Used in folk medicine to treat chills.

BEECH

Fagus sylvatica

DESCRIPTION: Magnificent, large, deciduous tree. Height: Max 40m. Age: mature at 120 years.

TIMBER: Pale brown hard wood but relatively easily worked. Whitest wood considered to be best grade.

USES OF WOOD: Large trees for timber. Not suitable for outside use although used for piles immersed in water. Used for furniture and many other uses such as bowls, spoons, tools, plywood, and veneers. Valuable as sawn timber. Good for firewood and production of charcoal.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The nut is known as mast and occurs in abundance every five to eight years. It is nutritious and rich in oil and attractive to birds and small mammals including deer and badger. The oil can be extracted and used for culinary purposes.

BIRCH, DOWNY

Betula pubescens

DESCRIPTION: A short lived smallish tree very similar to Silver Birch but with downy twigs and without the little warts found on silver birch. Slower growing than Silver Birch.

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USES OF WOOD: Bark may be used as paper; tannin from bark can be used for tanning hides.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Bark and leaves are used to treat skin disease. Birch tea (bitter tasting) helpful for rheumatism. Distallation of the leaves yield birch tar oil, an astrigent ingredient of ointments for eczema and psoriasis. Young shoots and leaves secrete a substance when combines with alkalies can be a tonic laxitive. The inner bark has been used to treat intermittent fevers. The vernal sap is diuretic.

BIRCH, SILVER

Betula pendula

DESCRIPTION: Smallish, fast growing short lived tree. Light-demanding species. Rapid growth for first 20 years and mature at 40 years. Height: max 25m. Age: max. 60–80 years.

TIMBER: White to pale fawn in colour and easily worked. Flexible and tough but not very strong. Trees in Britain commonly rotten in centre reducing usefulness.

USES OF WOOD: Good firewood and pulpwood. Treated wood used for fence posts. Used in turnery and formerly for cotton reels and bobbins. Larger timber not usually produced in Britain. Twigs used for making brooms, bessoms.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Seeds consumed by redpolls, siskins and other small birds. Apparently a wine fermented from the sap was credited with medicinal properties. Wood and bark can be distiled to give birch tar used to make leather waterproof. The bark is waterproof and used in tanning. The young leaves are a diuretic.

BLACKTHORN / SLOE

Prunus spinosa

DESCRIPTION: Perennial shrub or small tree. Has virtually black, thorny branches. Its little five-petalled flowers with red anthers blossom in March and April before the small, oval, finely-toothed, fresh-green leaves appear on reddish stalks. The leaves becoming longer, up to 4 cm, narrower and a darker, duller green as they mature. In September or October come the almost round fruits, or sloes, each a gleaming purplish-black with a bluish-white bloom. Ultimate height 16ft.

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USES OF WOOD: Knobbly walking sticks and marquetry are made from the hard, durable wood.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The sloe can be used to make preserves or sloe gin. Sloes are very bitter until they have been caught by the first heavy frost of winter.

CHERRY, WILD

Prunus serotina

DESCRIPTION: Height: 50–80ft. Bark: black and rough and separates naturally from the trunk. Leaves: deciduous; 3–5in long, about 2in wide; obovate, acuminate, with incurved short teeth; thickish and smooth and glossy on upper surface. Flowers: bloom in May, and are white, in erect long terminal racemes, with occasional solitary flowers in the axils of the leaves. Fruit: about the size of a pea, purply-black, globular drupe, edible with bitterish taste, is ripe in August and September.

TIMBER: The root-bark is of most value, but that of the trunk and branches is also utilized. This bark must be freshly collected each season as its properties deteriorate greatly if kept longer than a year. It has a short friable fracture and in commerce it is found in varying lengths and widths 1 to 8 inches, slightly curved, outer bark removed, a reddish-fawn colour. These fragments easily powder. It has the odour of almonds, which almost disappears on drying, but is renewed by maceration.

USES OF WOOD: Wood polishes well, as it is fine-grained and compact, hence it is much used by cabinet-makers.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Cherries (fruit) used in cooking and preserving. Cherry tree has been used as an stringent tonic, pectoral and sedative. It has been used in the treatment of bronchitis of various types. Is valuable in catarrh, consumption nervous cough, whooping-cough, and dyspepsia.

CHESTNUT, EUROPEAN

Castanea sativa

DESCRIPTION: Height: max. 30.5m (100 ft.) with crown spread about half its height; an excellent shade tree. Leaf: Prominent, triangular teeth on leaf edges; leaf elongated, with rounded base; long petiole (leaf stem). Flowers: spike-like white or creamy colored; heavily scented. Nuts: 1–5 nuts encased in a prickly burr. Relatively large, 0.5–2in. in diameter; tips are pointed; surface hair only at tip; vascular bundles in a large star pattern on hilum end; 2 to 3 nuts in each burr.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Chestnuts (nuts) useful in cooking; low in oil. Leaves are used for medicinal purposes, including fever and coughs. A tincture of the fruit improves blood circulation.

DAMSON, WILD / BULLACE

Prunus insititia

DESCRIPTION: Height: A tall shrub, sometimes developing into a small tree about 15ft. high. Bark: brown; downy when younger. Leaves: downy underneath, alternate, finely-toothed, on short, downy foot-stalks. Flowers: white with broader petals, borne in less crowded clusters and not on the naked branches, but expanding just after the leaves have begun to unfold. Fruit: The globular, fleshy fruit, marked with a faint suture, has generally a black skin, covered with a thin bluish bloom, often an inch across, and drooping from its weight. Occasionally yellow varieties are found.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Fruits (damsons) and flowers are used to make wines, cordials, jams, puddings, pies and tea. The bark of the root and branches is considerably styptic. An infusion of the flowers, sweetened with sugar, has been used as a mild purgative for children. Also used as a remedy for intestinal complaints.

ELDER

Sambucus nigra

DESCRIPTION: Elder is a small tree which flourishes whenever the nitrogen content of the soil is high.

TIMBER: hard and yellowish-white.

USES OF WOOD: The wood is and was used to make small items such as toys, combs and wooden spoons; dyes can be obtained from parts of the tree: black from the bark, green from the leaves and blue or lilac from the flowers.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Fruits (elderberries) and flowers are used to make wines, cordials, jams and tea. Bark, flowers and fruits have many medicinal uses, including cough, cold and flu. The leaves, bruised, if worn in the hat or rubbed on the face, prevent flies settling on the person. In order to safeguard the skin from the attacks of mosquitoes, midges and other troublesome flies, an infusion of the leaves may be dabbed on with advantage. The bark of the older branches has been used as an ingredient in black dye, also the root. The leaves yield, with alum, a green dye and the berries dye blue and purple; the juice yielding with alum, violet; with alum and salt, a lilac colour.

ELM, WYCH

Ulmus Glabra

DESCRIPTION: Large deciduous tree. Susceptible to Dutch Elm disease and accordingly not planted any more.Height 40m. Age up to 500 years.

TIMBER: Strong and supple pale brown wood. Prone to shake. Cannot be split leading to particular uses. Does not decay when immersed in water.

USES OF WOOD: Used to be used to make chests, water pipes and troughs and for sea defenses. Also for sections for cow sheds, cribs and mangers, hubs of wheels, coffins and furniture.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Leaves once used to feed livestock. Elm bark is good for inflamed parts of the digestive system as well as intestinal disorders and complaints. Makes an excellent poultice for boils, abscesses or ulcers.

GREENGAGE

Prunus italica

DESCRIPTION: Tree is small and hardy. Fruit (greengage plum) is firm, green flesh and skin even when ripe

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The fruit (greengage plum) are used in a variety of ways for cooking and preserving.

HAZEL

Corylus avellana

DESCRIPTION: Deciduous shrubs and small trees frequently coppiced and used for hedges. Height max 6m. Max age 70–80 years.

TIMBER: White to reddish, tough and flexible. Was extensively coppiced providing long sticks for a variety of uses.

USES OF WOOD: Used in past for cask hoops, basketry, walking sticks, hurdles, thatching, spars and devining rods. Good firewood.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Nutritious and tasty nuts (hazelnuts).

LAUREL / BAY

Laurus nobilis

DESCRIPTION: A pyramid-shaped tree or large shrub with aromatic, evergreen leaves and shiny gray bark. It can reach 60 ft (18.3 m) in height in its native range, but generally is much smaller, 3–10 ft (0.9-3.1 m) tall.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The leaf (bay leaf) is used whole in cooking as a seasoning; leaves should not actually be consumed because it can cut the mouth, throat stomach. The bark of the root is beneficial to problems with the spleen and liver. The berries are effective against poisons of venemous creatures and the stings of wasps and bees. Useful for women when giving birth, but if taken too early during pregnancy may cause early childbirth. The berries help colds and rheumatism, the consumption, coughs and shortness of breath. A decoction of the leaves and berries is good to sit in for diseases of the bladder, pain in the bowels and urine or menstrual trouble.

LIME, LARGE-LEAVED / LINDEN

Tilia platyphyllos

DESCRIPTION: Large deciduous tree rare and restricted in habitats. Height: 32m.

TIMBER: Relatively soft white or yellow wood, valuable timber. Does not change dimensions or warp once seasoned.

USES OF WOOD: Good for carving and making small articles and model making. Bark has strong fibre (bast) and once used for ropes.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Sugar can be made from sap and beekeepers regard as a good source of nectar. On continent flowers dried to make tea.

OAK, COMMON

Quercus robur

DESCRIPTION: Large deciduous tree. Height 30–40 m. Age: 1000 years or more.

TIMBER: Pale brown strong wood. More susceptible to epicormic growth.

USES OF WOOD: Depending on size and quality used for sawn timber, veneer, building timber, hardwood pulp, poles, fencing, firewood and charcoal. Coppicing of woodland used to produce stakes. Wines and spirits matured in English Oak casks.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Acorns (nuts). Bark may be used as an astrigent, but may be too strond in some situations due to strong tannin levels. Useful for treating intestinal problems and hemorrhoids. As a gargle, the decoction of the bark can be used for afflictions of the throat.

OAK, SESSILE

Quercus petraea

DESCRIPTION: Large deciduous tree growing slowly as seedlings, but faster when aging. Height: 30–40m. Age: 1,000 years or more.

TIMBER: Pale brown hard wood. Less susceptible to epicormic growth than Common Oak, reducing the incidence of knots in the timber.

USES OF WOOD: Depending on size and quality used for sawn timber, veneer, building timber, hardwood pulp, poles, fencing, firewood and charcoal. Coppicing of woodland used to produce stakes.

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PEAR, CALLERY

Pyrus calleryana

DESCRIPTION: Height: 20–40ft; rapid growth rate. Leaf: 1.5 to 3in alternate, simple glossy dark green leaves; yellow, scarlet, purple fall color. Flower/Fruit: White, flowers in March; unpleasant odor; 0.5in rounded brown fruit

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Pear (fruit).

PLUM, FAIRLANE WILD

Prunus americana

DESCRIPTION: Leaf: Alternate, simple, ovate to elliptical, finely serrated margin, sharply pointed tip, 3–4in long, green above, and slightly paler beneath. Flower: White, 5 petals, 1 in across; long filaments, yellow anthers; appear in small clusters in early spring with the leaves. Fruit: Fleshy drupe, nearly round, 1in across; reddish-purple to yellow-brown some glaucous bloom, ripen in mid to late summer. Twig: Slender, reddish-brown some thorns, later developing an exfoliating gray film; buds reddish to gray and sharp pointed; leaf scars raised. Bark: Initially reddish-gray, smooth with numerous horizontal lenticels, later becoming rough with irregular ridges and exfoliating curling strips. Form: A multi-stemmed, shrubby, small tree with a spreading crown reaching up to 30ft tall with numerous rigid spiny branches.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Plum (fruit).

QUINCE, COMMON

Cydonia oblonga

DESCRIPTION: The quince is a deciduous thornless shrub or small tree, 4-6 m (13-20 ft) high and 3-4.5 m (10-15 ft) spread, with crowded gnarled branches and a low crooked habit. Young branchlets are covered with a pale greyish wool. Leaves are oval or elliptical, 5-10 cm (2-4”) long by 4-6 cm (1.6-2.2”) wide, untoothed, dark green above, pale with a dense felt of grey wool beneath (especially when young). They turn a rich yellow in autumn. Flowers are 5 cm (2”) across, pink or white, solitary at the end of short twigs, produced in May or early June, after the leaves. Trees are self-fertile, with a good fruit set in both cool and hot climates; pollination is via bees. Fruits are light golden-yellow, green or orange, usually pear shaped (but sometimes round and apple-shaped) and very fragrant. The fruit pulp is firm, aromatic and always contains gritty cells. Individual fruits can weight up to 0.5kg (1lb) or more, and ripen late in the autumn. Fruits contain seeds which are poisonous. Quinces are a lot more aromatic and fragrant than apples, and quince juice contains a lot more pectin than apples do. The blossoms are large, apple-like flowers in the spring, and the fruit is large and fragrant. The fruit is not very edible raw but is an excellent ingredient in candy and jam and jelly, and in pies mixed with other fruit.

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MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Quince (fruit) eaten once cooked or combined with other foods (flesh turns pink after cooking); often made into wine and preserves. Fruits turn from green to yellow as they ripen. They should be left on the tree as long as possible to achieve the best flavour, but must be picked before frosts. Used as a herbal medicine, as an infusion to treat sore throat, diarrhoea and haemorrhage of the bowel. It is effective against inflammation of the mucous membranes, intestines and stomach. The stembark is used as an astringent for ulcers, and the fruits used for their antivinous, astringent, carminative and peptic qualities. The seeds, soaked or boiled in water, release the mucilage from the seed coat and make a jelly-like consistency, which has been used for sore throats and eye lotions. Quince leaves contain 11% tannin and can be used for tanning.

ROWAN

Sorbus aucuparia

DESCRIPTION: Small vigorous hardy deciduous tree producing large number of red berries in autumn. Coppices well. Height: 15–18m. Age: 100 years or more.

TIMBER: Dense, hard pale brown wood.

USES OF WOOD: Turnery and carving and good firewood. Used to make bows in middle ages. Formerly used for tool handles, mallet heads, bowls and platters.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Berries are edible and used to make rowan jelly. Enjoyed by birds who disperse seed.

SYCAMORE

Acer pseudoplatanus

DESCRIPTION: A large member of the maple tree family; height up to 35m in Britain; when mature, sometimes broader than it is tall; bark is smooth and silvery grey until the tree matures, when it gets somewhat rougher.

TIMBER: impervious to water.

USES OF WOOD: ---

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: The tawny coloured fruit is edible. The fruit, sap and bark was used in medicine; sap has been used to make wine; sugar can be distiled from the sap.

WILLOW, WHITE

Salix alba

DESCRIPTION: A small deciduous tree with long thin leaves. Height: 16m.

TIMBER: pale brown wood.

USES OF WOOD: shoots used for rough baskets and hurdles; burns rapidly; pollarded every 4-5 years to produce crop of straight poles. Useful for rapidly growing windbreaks and screens.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: Used as an acalgesic, anti-inflammatory and tonic. Useful for treating fevers, headache and arthritis.

YEW

Taxus baccata

DESCRIPTION: Medium sized evergreen tree with characteristic red fleshy berries (called arils). Single seed in each aril. Height Typically 15–28m. Very long lived, maybe even 2000 years.

TIMBER: Brown, very durable wood.

USES OF WOOD: Used for furniture and for tool handles. Good firewood.

MEDICINE, FOOD AND DRINK: All parts of the tree except red aril are poisonous to man and animals, although deer browse young seedlings. Birds eat the arils and spread the seed.