LOOSE AND LEAFY

Saturday, February 25, 2012

FEBRUARY PRICKLES

Two problems crop up this time every year. One is . . . well, not exactly a problem - but intriguing; to tell hawthorn and blackthorn apart.

The upright twig on the right is clearly blackthorn but
. . . although I think there is hawthorn coming in from the left,
I'm really not certain.
Behind them, flowering prettily
(as it does all year)
is gorse.

For the most part, it’s easy. But there are bushes, here and there, where I get it wrong. Not that, in the course of world history this really matters - it’s just that the distinctive blackthorn thorns aren’t evenly spread and until the leaves / blossom begin to appear . . . I can stand in front of a bush feeling very silly and cross with myself.

A hawthorn leaf bud breaks open.
See the short thorns?
But blackthorns have a lot of short thorns too - even though the
the remarkably long ones are what we are likely to look for. (See below.)

The easy bit is that hawthorn produces its leaves before its blossom - and that’s what’s beginning to happen.

The light of late afternoon casts a glow on this blackthorn thorn.
The tip and the thorn behind it show the proper un-glowed upon colour.
This one is a four and a quarter inches long.
(12cm.)

Whereas blackthorn blossoms before its leaves break - which is not what’s beginning to happen yet.

The other problem (and I always feel a bit uneasy about this) is that, for some readers, hawthorn and blackthorn are special trees. It’s not that I object to people finding them special - it’s just that I sometimes think we go adrift from each other at this time of year. I am specially impressed by blackthorn. Hawthorn’s ok too. But I don’t consider either of them to be magical - not in the really 'magic' kind of way. And I suppose I get defensive on behalf of other trees and plants that I keep an eye on for this blog. The elderberry and sycamore, field maples (if that’s what they are) and the miles of blackberries and alexanders . . . and, later on, dandelions and viper’s bugloss . . . even the seaweed! - I’m sticking up for them. They are as ‘special’ to me as May and Sloe. And gorse of course.

The tree on the right is one of those I'm not sure whether to call 'sycamore' or maple.
Either way, it produces very beautiful 'keys' or 'helicopters' in the autumn.
The messy, giant blob on the left is blackberry.
The castle is Sandsfoot - built during the reign of HenryVIII.

* * *

About ‘Tree Following’.

I’ve put a box in the sidebar for this. If you’d like to let me know when you post about ‘your’ tree (don’t assume I know automatically because I follow your blog - I might miss it) I’ll put a note there.

Further down the page, there's a blog list of people with trees they are paying special attention to. This updates itself automatically whenever a post is posted so it doesn't take any notice of content - it's simply the latest on that blog, whether it's anything to do with trees or not!

All photos taken today, February 25th 2012, except for the hawthorn leaf - which was yesterday.

Monday, February 20, 2012

FUNGI IN FEBRUARY

I'm going back to February 4th (when the ground was frozen solid and the light was dim) because I don't want to miss showing you the fungi I saw in the woods -

This is the fungus we met first a couple of weeks ago in the post
'I'm a Tree Follower - What About You?'

by a river where there are a lot of fallen and felled trees. In these pictures, they are yew and sycamore.

I won't pretend to know anything about them, just put them here for you to see - though if anyone would like to suggest what they are - that WOULD be interesting!

It's forever striking me how interest shifts as one gets closer to things. It's almost as if they become something else completely.

A few years ago, I decided there was no reason why I shouldn't name fungi in my own way - devise new names. That way, I wouldn't run the risk of misleading anyone, of saying things are what they are not - and I named one after pasta shells. As part of the Blogger setup, you can see what words people have typed into a search engine to land up here, on Loose and Leafy. It's surprising how often people are looking for 'Fungi which look like pasta'! This one, I now name 'Mutton Pie'.

Though when you look at its underside . . .

Enlarged!

Part of the underside of 'Mutton Pie' fungus.

There were quite a few like this (about six inches across) on the logs in the picture above. I don't like them much - though they are interesting. The top-side texture is strange. (They were growing flush with the bark so I couldn't see their underneaths.) They seem to have dragons' scales growing through them.

I'm not sure if the green is an intrinsic part of the organism or a mould that sets in or .. . what! (Remember the picture above is enlarged from about two square inches.)

Further along the track, growing from the remains of a tree which still has its roots in the ground was this.

These are quite big. I call them 'Uplighters'.

The Mutton Pies were growing on wood which was beginning to flake away. So was the one with dinosaur's scales. The Uplighters are on a tree that still has life in its roots, with what seem to be suckers growing out from them. The fungi below are growing on wood that has been left in place long enough after felling for moss to grow over the bark - but they are not flaking away and keep their shape.

This is what they look like close to.

I haven't got a name for them yet. Have you?

This is the elderberry tree I am following.

February 19th 2012.

When I set out to take the picture, there was sunshine.

No sooner had I shut the door behind me than

evening fell and the light failed.

Still - enough was left to see by!

Here's an update on other people who are 'following' trees.
Posts marked in bold are ones which have been published since
the last Loose and Leafy post on
February 11th 2012.

Patio Patch - Wych Elm - Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’

Welsh Hills Again - Horse Chestnut

Garden’s Eye View

Windy Willow

The Blackberry Garden

Small Matters

Down by the Sea

Saturday, February 11, 2012

HOW COULD I ABANDON A SYCAMORE?

This is the elder, I'm following . . .

. . . but how could I abandon last year's tree? I've been following it for several years.

So I went back for a catch-up visit.

Near enough, everything's the same with the sycamore. But that, in its way, is inspiring. It's probably one of the things we look for in a mature tree. Its solidity. It's bound-to-be-there-ness.

And that is true of this.

Its trunks will hardly dwindle. Even if the tree were to die - they'd still be there.

The path beyond might have changed - but it hasn't!

Here it is now . . .

and . . .

here it was in February 2011.

In this picture, the tree itself is in the right of the frame. In the 2012 photo (above) we are a little further along. But give it a couple of seconds and you'll get your bearing.

The Asplenium scolopendrium (Hart's Tongue Fern) is still below it, a few feet down the bank. It looked a bit tired last year, but it's come through the winter refreshed.

Can't all be easy sailing for the sycamore. One of its twigs has fallen - but it has many to spare!

And, between its toes, our old friend from last year (and the year before!) the Arum maculatum - fresh and new and green and . . . yes! still there!

Arum Maculatum
is also known as 'Lords and Ladies'
and 'Jack in the Pulpit'.

This was what it looked like for the post of February 7th 2011. Further ahead than it is at present - which surprised me. (You can see the whole post about the tree as it was last February HERE.)

I'm a tree follower - what about you?

BLOGS FOLLOWING TREES

Patio Patch - Wych Elm - Ulmus glabra‘Camperdownii’

Welsh Hills Again - Horse Chestnut

Garden’s Eye View

Windy Willow

The Blackberry Garden

Moongazy Girl - is also following a Horse Chestnut - click HERE for her first tree-following post.

Gardening Ways - First Post in a Series about Gary's chosen tree - a magnificent plane at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.

Small Matters

Tree Care Tips

Gill Heavens of On the Edge Gardening has posted an Introduction to the trees she will be following this year at - Lime (Tilia x europaea) and Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica “Atropurpurea”)

Arigna Gardener - Twisted Willow - Introduction

Hyde Daily Photo - The Tree Un-named - Two Posts . . .
. . . The Bottom of a Tree and The Top of a Tree (with the middle HERE!)
Down by the Sea

Let me know if you would like your blog added to the list - either by leaving a note in comments or email me at looseandleafy@googlemail.com

Ditto, let me know whenever you post about ‘your tree’ and I'll put an updated link to it here.

And

Remember - you can also keep in touch with other tree-bloggers by signing up with

Treeblogging.com