Our Featured Trees

The Indian Horse Chestnut

Aesculus indica

The Illustrated tree is at Eastnor Castle
Find them at Queenswood Arboretum towards the SW end of Queens Ride:
https://queenswood.treefinder.herefordshirewt.org/tree/H878/map

Click HERE to find them on the Queenswood Tree Finder map

An Indian Horse Chestnut in full bloom at Eastnor Castle

Closely related to the familiar the European horse chestnut or conker tree (which is in fact originally came from Turkey and the Balkan peninsula), the Indian Horse Chestnut is a native of the Himalayan lowlands, between Kashmir and Western Nepal. It was introduced to Britain in 1851 where it has proved to be quite winter-hardy, growing well in any good garden soil, including chalky ones. Yet despite its many attractions, it has not been as frequently planted as its European cousin.

While it can reach 30 metres in its native habitat, it is generally smaller in the UK, usually attaining about 10 to 15 metres, with a broadly rounded crown. Like the common horse chestnut, the leaves are ‘palmate’, being divided into several leaflets radiating out from a central point, each leaflet with a short stalk. They are bronze when they first emerge in the spring but soon turn to a dark, glossy green and are somewhat more slender and delicate than those of the common horse chestnut;.

The trees typically bloom in June, producing masses of masses of spikes of white and pink flowers. They make a spectacular display and the flowers are, much appreciated by bees, which collect the brick-red pollen.

The fruits are ovoid and green, smaller than those of our familiar horse chestnuts and also lacking spines. Inside, the nuts are also smaller and so are unlikely to be of much value in a contest!

The Dove or Handerchief Tree

Davidia involucrata

This is Queenswood Arboretum Tree of the Week
D893 & D119 Handkerchief Trees
Find them at Queenswood on Sovereign Walk

Click HERE to find it on the Queenswood Tree Finder map

These are truly two of Herefordshire’s ‘Remarkable’ trees for their height and canopy spread, and their wonderful spring display.

Like the Flowering Dogwood, featured a couple of weeks ago, the white ‘petals’, are actually large, showy modified leaves or bracts, which protect and attract insects to the tiny flowers at their centre.

Originating from SC & SE China where they grow in mountainous mixed forests, these particular trees were planted at Queenswood in 1965, and many may know this species as a Dove or Ghost Tree because of the way the bracts hang and move in the wind.

In the mid-1800s, the genus Davidia was named after Father Armand David, a French Vincentian missionary and keen naturalist based in China, who first discovered a single specimen growing 2,000m above sea level, and sent dried specimens to Paris where it was studied and described as a new genus and species.

As well as cherished for their beauty, Handkerchief trees do also support UK wildlife by providing pollen-rich flowers which attract various bee species and other pollinators in May, whilst their green small fruits provide food for wildlife in the autumn

Broadleaf cockspur thorn

Crataegus x persimilis 'Prunifolia'
Tree D56 at Queenswood Arboretum

A native of eastern North America, the fine specimen at Queenswood Arboretum was planted in 1960. Currently it is covered with an abundance of bright red berries and it is worth taking the time to stand back and admire it from a distance as well as studying it close up. It is usually described as a 'small garden tree', suitable for planting in a small garden and while that is generally the case, the Queenswood specimen has thrived until, after 65 years, it has achieved a size that may be too large for most small gardens.

This species is known for its glossy, dark-green, oval foliage which turns glowing shades of yellow, orange and copper in the autumn. Clusters of small, white flowers appear in May and are followed by the colourful crimson berries you can see today, which will adorn the branches well into winter. These nutritious berries are a vital food source for a variety of birds, including thrushes and waxwings, as well as for squirrels, whilst its thorny branches offer shelter and nesting sites for birds, and its spring flowers are loved by honey bees and other pollinating insects. It is also the thorniest of the hawthorns, with long, sharp thorns along the branches

At Queenswood, find this fine example next to Sovereign Walk and close to the Redwoods:
https://queenswood.treefinder.herefordshirewt.org/tree/D56/map

Featured Tree:

The Mayten tree - Maytenus boaria

The Mayten (or, to use its native South American name, Maitén) is an attractive tree native to southern Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and southern Brazil. ; quite hardy in the UK, it makes an elegant small to medium sized tree, although it can reach 20 metres and, with its drooping shoots and narrowly oval, fresh-green leaves, it has something of the appearance of a willow; it is, however, evergreen, retaining its leaves in all but the coldest winters. It's not commonly found in the UK, but with its elegant weeping form and its evergreen habit, it is well worth considering for planting in a parkland or garden.

In South America, its tender leaves are used to feed cattle; indeed the specific name ‘boaria’ (derived from ‘bovine’) was applied because cattle enjoy feeding on the foliage. In fact in Argentina, the tender shoots that emerge from the edges of the branches in spring are apparently used as a vegetable, fried in oil with garlic and served as an appetizer.

Pagoda tree or Scholar tree - Styphnolobium japonicum
(Formerly Sophora japonica)

The tree illustrated is in a private garden in the south of the county
At Queenswood, find it in the Summer Garden in the east of the arboretum, east of Sovereign Walk:
https://queenswood.treefinder.herefordshirewt.org/tree/K371/map
The tree at Queenswood is the cultivar Styphnolobium japonicum 'Violaceae' with pink tinged flowers;
it is the County Champion, being the largest example of this variety in Herefordshire

Sometimes known as the Japanese Pagoda tree (as its scientific name suggests) it is in fact native to China, although introduced to and widely planted in Japan. It is fully hardy in the UK and deserves to be more widely planted for its feathery, rich green foliage and especially for its attractive white (or pink-tinged), fragrant pea-like flowers. These are produced by mature trees and are particularly valued for their appearance late in the season, in August or September when, in a good year (they need a warm summer to flower freely) they can smother the tree. They continue to flower for up to a month, after which they drop without withering, sometimes making the ground under the tree white with fallen blossoms. Trees can reach 15 to 20 metres with a wide-spreading crown. Planted as a street tree (as it is in the USA, Japan and, with increasing frequency, in UK cities), it requires formative pruning when young to create a clear stem with appropriate clearance.