PortsmouthandSouthsea Tree Wardens St James’ Green tree trail
By Councillor Caroline Scott
The Latin names for the trees on the trail are shown in italics.
1 Horsechestnut Aesculus hippocastanum introduced about 1600 - the white flowering variety is generally larger than the red flowering one.
2 Green Beech Fagus sylvatica - very shiny ribbed leaves but prone to global warming. The dense foliage of these trees produces a top quality leaf mould. Good examples are to be found at Queen Elizabeth country Park. The French use the wood to make sandals called sabots.
3 Atlas cedar Cedrus glauca - very easily recognisable by its silvery blue needles and its shape.
4 English Oak Quercus robur - Common or pedunculate oak differs from the sessile oak which has leaves on long stalks and acorns on very short ones. Oaks support the widest variety of insects, invertebrates and fungi.
5 Red Oak Quercus rubra - Notice how much larger the leaves are in this variety which turns a beautiful shade of red in the autumn. If you look through the gap in the trees to your right you can see the lovely weeping beeches to the north of the site.
6 Copper Beech Fagus orientalis - A variety of this species was discovered in Germany in the 19th Century. The Victorians widely planted cuttings from this tree in their parks and gardens.
7 Silver Birch - Betula pendula - A beautiful delicate tree whose silhouette in winter is easily recognisable even when it has no clothes on!
8 Sycamore - Acer pseudoplatanas - Introduced to this country around 1250. In Scotland this is known as the Dool tree or the mourning tree as men were hung from its sturdy boughs.
9 Holm or Holly Oak - Quercus ilex - Many of the Holm oaks you can see in the hospital grounds would have been planted by the patients when the hospital opened in 1879. They create a secluded environment for the patients past and present. It is said that when Prince Albert looked across from the Isle of Wight he wanted to see more greenery in the winter and so that may be the reason for planting so many of these -evergreen oaks along the south coast of England.
As you walk around the perimeter of the green notice the triple row of conifers planted for Her Majesty's 1977 Silver Jubilee.
10 Lime - Tilia platyphylos - The best place to view the Lime is by standing by the bench looking south towards the Locksway Road. The Lime is not a fruit tree as its name suggests. It is the Linden tree or Line tree because the inner bark was used to make string. Feeding aphids on the tree produce a sticky substance similar to LSD! Maybe that's why lime honey is so deliciously addictive?
11 Giant Redwood - Feel the texture of the red bark of this introduced tree which can grow up to 50 metres high: Commonly found in North America.
12 Golden Oak - Quercus fastigiata - As you leave the green notice the Golden Oak at the entrance to the main drive which was planted to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.
New members are welcome. For further information about PortsmouthandSouthsea Tree Wardens:
· contact Pauline Powell on 023 9266 7962 or visit
· www.portsmouthsouthseatreewardens.co.nr
April 2010