Beech

The Beech is a large tree that grows to about 30 meters tall. It has a smooth, gray trunk and a broad, rounded crown. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in small clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, brown nut that contains two seeds.

Blackthorn

The Blackthorn is a small tree or large shrub that grows to about 5 meters tall. It has a dense, thorny crown and black bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in small clusters in early spring. The fruit is a small, black sloe that contains a single seed.

Blackthorn trees are a host plant for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the blackthorn blossom moth and the hawthorn moth.

The flowers of blackthorn trees are a food source for a variety of insects, including bees, butterflies, and moths.

Blackthorn trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including wrens, finches, and tits.

Dogwood

The Dogwood is a small tree or large shrub that grows up to 10 meters tall. It has a dense, spreading crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in white or pink clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, red drupe that contains a single seed.

Dogwood trees are a host plant for a variety of moths, including the dogwood leaf roller and the dogwood pug.

The berries of dogwood trees are a food source for a variety of birds, including thrushes, blackbirds, and fieldfares.

Dogwood trees provide nesting sites for a variety of small mammals, including voles and mice.

Sweet Chestnut

A a large deciduous tree that can reach heights of up to 30 meters. It features a broad, rounded crown and smooth, gray bark. Its leaves are long and narrow with serrated edges. Sweet Chestnut trees produce yellow catkins as flowers in early summer, and their fruit is a small, brown nut that houses two seeds. Sweet chestnut trees serve as a host for various insects, such as aphids, caterpillars, and beetles. The nuts of sweet chestnut trees are a key food source for animals including squirrels, jays, and wild boar. Additionally, these trees offer nesting sites for diverse birds, including woodpeckers, owls, and hawks.

Wild Cherry

The Wild Cherry is a medium-sized tree that grows to about 20 meters tall. It has a slender trunk and a narrow, oval crown. The bark is smooth and gray on young trees, becoming darker and rougher on older trees. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in white clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, red cherry that contains a single seed.

Wild cherry trees are a host plant for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the white-spot butterfly and the emperor moth.

The fruits of wild cherry trees are a food source for a variety of animals, including birds, foxes, and badgers.

Wild cherry trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including blackbirds, thrushes, and fieldfares.

Aspen

The Aspen is a medium-sized tree, reaching heights of about 20 meters. It features a slender trunk topped with a narrow, oval crown. On younger trees, the bark is smooth and light green, darkening and becoming rougher as the tree ages. Its leaves are heart-shaped, dark green on the surface and paler beneath. Aspen trees bloom with catkins in early spring, and their fruit is a small, flattened capsule filled with winged seeds. Aspen trees serve as a host for various moths, such as the aspen leaf miner and the aspen tiger moth. Their leaves are a crucial food source for animals like deer, hares, and rabbits. Aspens also offer nesting sites for numerous birds, including woodpeckers, owls, and hawks.

Hawthorn

The Hawthorn is a small tree or large shrub that grows up to 10 meters tall. It has a dense, thorny crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in white or pink clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, red or black pome that contains two or three seeds.

Hawthorn trees are a host plant for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the hawthorn moth and the green hairstreak butterfly.

The flowers of hawthorn trees are a food source for a variety of insects, including bees, butterflies, and moths.

Hawthorn trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including wrens, finches, and tits.

Penduculate Oak

The Pendulous Oak is a large tree that grows up to 40 meters tall. It has a broad, rounded crown and rough, dark brown bark. The leaves are lobed and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring. The fruit is an acorn that contains a single seed.

Pendunculate oak trees are a host plant for a variety of insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles.

The acorns of pendunculate oak trees are a food source for a variety of animals, including squirrels, jays, and wild boars.

Pendunculate oak trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including woodpeckers, owls, and hawks.

Rowan

The Rowan is a medium-sized tree that grows up to 20 meters tall. It has a broad, rounded crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are pinnate and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in white clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, red pome that contains two or three seeds.

Rowan trees are a host plant for a variety of moths, including the rowan moth and the hawthorn moth.

The berries of rowan trees are a food source for a variety of birds, including thrushes, blackbirds, and fieldfares.

Rowan trees provide nesting sites for a variety of small mammals, including voles and mice.

Sycamore

The Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus, native to central and southern Europe, was possibly introduced to Britain in the 16th century but may have been present hundreds of years before that. It now grows naturally and seeds freely everywhere. The Sycamore is a large tree that grows up to 30 meters tall. It has a broad, rounded crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are palmate and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in green or yellow clusters in early summer. The fruit is a pair of winged seeds that are joined together at the base.

Sycamore trees are a host plant for a variety of insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles.

The seeds of sycamore trees are a food source for a variety of animals, including squirrels, jays, and finches.

Sycamore trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including tits, finches, and nuthatches.

Field Maple

A medium-sized tree, reaching up to 20 meters in height. It has a broad, rounded crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are five-lobed, dark green on top, and paler underneath. Field Maple trees bloom with yellow clusters of flowers in early summer, and their fruit is a small, winged nut containing a single seed. Field maple trees host a range of insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles. Their seeds are a vital food source for various animals, such as squirrels, jays, and finches. Moreover, Field maple trees provide nesting opportunities for diverse bird species, including tits, finches, and nuthatches.

Hornbeam

The Hornbeam is a medium-sized tree that grows up to 20 meters tall. It has a broad, rounded crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring. The fruit is a small, winged nut that contains a single seed.

Hornbeam trees are a host plant for a variety of insects, including aphids, caterpillars, and beetles.

The leaves of hornbeam trees are a food source for a variety of animals, including deer, hares, and rabbits.

Hornbeam trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including woodpeckers, owls, and hawks.

Hazel

The Hazel is a large shrub or small tree that grows up to 10 meters tall. It has a dense, spreading crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring. The fruit is a small, brown nut that contains two seeds.

Hazel trees are a host plant for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the hazel pot-bellied moth and the hazel leaf-roller.

The nuts of hazel trees are a food source for a variety of animals, including squirrels, jays, and woodpeckers.

Hazel trees provide nesting sites for a variety of small mammals, including voles and mice.

Scots Pine

A large evergreen coniferous tree native to Europe and western Asia, reaching heights of 40 meters. It has long, slender needles and reddish-brown bark.

Scots pine trees are a host plant for a variety of moths, including the pine looper moth and the pine processionary moth.

The seeds of Scots pine trees are a food source for a variety of birds, including crossbills, siskins, and redpolls.

Scots pine trees provide shelter for a variety of mammals, including red squirrels, pine martens, and bats.

Dog Rose

The Dog Rose is a wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. It grows as a climbing, deciduous shrub, reaching up to 3 meters in height. The stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked thorns. The leaves are compound, with 5-7 leaflets, and the flowers are pink or white, with a sweet scent, blooming in late spring or early summer. The fruits, known as rose hips, are red or orange, rich in vitamin C, and used in teas and syrups.

Dog Rose plays a crucial role in hedgerows and wild gardens, offering habitat and food for wildlife. Its flowers attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, while the rose hips provide food for birds and small mammals during the autumn and winter.

Alder Buckthorn

The Alder Buckthorn is a small tree or large shrub that grows to about 10 meters tall. It has a dense, thorny crown and smooth, gray bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in small clusters in late spring. The fruit is a small, black drupe that contains a single seed.

Alder buckthorn trees are a host plant for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the brimstone butterfly, the white-spot butterfly, and the emperor moth.

The berries of alder buckthorn trees are a food source for a variety of birds, including thrushes, blackbirds, and fieldfares.

Alder buckthorn trees provide nesting sites for a variety of small mammals, including voles and mice.

Common Alder

Swamp-dweller, water-lover. The wood of this tough tree doesn't rot when waterlogged, instead turning stronger and harder. A fast-growing deciduous tree with heart-shaped leaves. It is native to the UK and is found in wetlands and along riverbanks. The Common Alder is a medium-sized tree that grows to about 20 meters tall. It has a broad, rounded crown and rough, dark brown bark. The leaves are oval-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring. The fruit is a small, cone-shaped cone that contains winged seeds.

Alder is the food plant for the caterpillars of several moths including the alder kitten, pebble hook-tip, the autumnal and the blue-bordered carpet moth. Catkins provide an early source of nectar and pollen for bees, and the seeds are eaten by the siskin, redpoll and goldfinch.

The wet conditions found in alder woodland are ideal for a number of mosses, lichens and fungi, along with the small pearl-bordered fritillary and chequered skipper butterflies, and some species of crane fly. Alder roots make the perfect nest sites for otters.

Guelder Rose

A large deciduous shrub reaching up to 4 meters in height with a spreading growth habit of 2 to 5 meters wide. It features greyish, hairless stems and three-lobed leaves. During summer, it blooms large, white flowers in flat clusters, followed by bright red berries in autumn. The broad, lobed leaves turn a brilliant red in the fall. This shrub offers significant value to wildlife: it serves as a food source for birds like bullfinches, mistle thrushes, and waxwings who feast on the red berries. It also provides pollen and nectar for various insects and offers cover for small animals.

Downy Birch

The Downy Birch is a medium-sized tree that grows to about 20 meters tall. It has a slender trunk and a narrow, oval crown. The bark is smooth and white on young trees, becoming darker and rougher on older trees. The leaves are triangular-shaped and dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring. The fruit is a small, winged nut that contains a single seed.

Downy birch trees are a host plant for a variety of moths, including the birch leaf miner and the birch moth.

The catkins of downy birch trees are a food source for a variety of birds, including finches, tits, and nuthatches.

Downy birch trees provide nesting sites for a variety of birds, including redstarts, flycatchers, and warblers.

Wild Service Tree

A deciduous tree native to the UK and parts of Europe, the wild service tree typically reaches heights of 10-25 meters. It has simple, alternate leaves that are broad and lobed, turning rich shades of red and gold in autumn. The bark is smooth and gray, often with a slightly checkered pattern. Wild service trees are a host plant for various moth species, including the scarce hook-tip and the yellow-tail. The fruits of wild service trees, known as 'chequers,' are a food source for a variety of wildlife, including birds such as thrushes and mammals like badgers. Wild service trees provide shelter and nesting sites for numerous bird species, enhancing local biodiversity.