Metasequoia glypostrobodies: Dawn Redwood

A conical deciduous conifer native to SW China. Known only from fossil records till 1941, now a popular garden tree. This line of Redwoods has been planted along Oxford Road next to the Aquatics Centre maybe as a failed attempt to screen the car park behind.

The trunk tapers and is buttressed at the base, becoming ridged in older trees. This along with the small tree pit has caused the pavement to rise up and crack underneath. The bark is a rich reddish brown, peeling in vertical strips.

They have 2.5cm long, flat needle like leaves, pale green at first becoming darker with age. They emerge early in spring, turning yellow, pink or red before falling in Autumn. Yellow and green clusters of flowers, male and female grow on separate clusters in Spring and produce rounded cones about 2.5cm across.

Sorbus aria: Common Whitebeam

A medium sized deciduous tree reaching up to 25m. It has a spreading or domed crown or can sometimes be no more than a shrub. This whitebeam is behind a wall along a cycle path in Fallowfield and is growing up a small bank. Native to the South of Britain but found in many hedgerows and woodland edges mainly prefering limestone and calcareous soils. Often planted in towns and along roadside due to a slight pollution tolerance. 

The branches are spreading and hairy when young becoming smooth with age. Buds grow up to 2cm long and are ovoid, green and tipped with hairs. 

The bark is smooth and grey when young but getting darker and developing fissures with age. The leaves are oval, 12cm long, toothed or shallowly lobed at margins and very hairy, especially on white underside. Produces white flowers in stalked clusters opening in May and bright red, ovoid fruits 1.5cm long in September.

Galanthus nivalis: Common Snowdrop

A familiar spring perennial that is possible native to the South of Britain but widely naturalised and abundant. They favour damp woodland but can be found in many fields and parks. This one is located in Plattfields Park where a small patch of scattered snowdrops have grown. 

The flowers are 15-25mm long with pure white outer segments but 3 inner segments that are white with a green patch. They are solitary, nodding flowers that appear January-March. They grow capsules for the seeds and the leaves are long, grey-green, narrow all basal.

Calluna Vulgaris: Heather

A dense evergreen undershrub abundant throughout the UK and in many moorlands and heaths is the dominant plant. It prefers acid soils and is not found in wettest terrain. Also frequently found in mature conifer woodlands.  Here it is being used as an ornamental shrub in a formal garden in Plattfields Park. They have 4-5mm long bell shaped flowers that are usually pink but sometimes white and come out August-September.

The Flowers attract bees and are a great source of nectar in the winter. The leaves are short, narrow, in 4 rows along the stem. They have small capsules that hold the seeds. 

Larix decidua: Common Larch

A deciduous conifer dropping its needles in winter. They form a distinctive, tall, narrow, conical shape if growing alone but often grown in straight rows in plantations. Native to the mountains in central and east Europe but long established in Britain as a timber species and occasionally as an ornamental tree in gardens like this one found in a formal garden in Plattfields Park in Fallowfield.

The branches are mostly horizontal but lower branches on older trees can be slightly drooping. 

The bark is rough, greyish brown in young trees becoming fissured with age. It can be used for tanning leather.

The needles grow up to 3cm long in tight bunches of up to 40. Fresh and green when first open becomeing darker with 2 pale bands before summer and changing red-yellow before falling in autumn. 

Male flowers small. yellow, soft cones, realising pollen in spring. Female cones red in spring, maturing and becoming woody, brown and ovoid. Cones ripen in first year but persist onto twigs after seeds released. The common Crossbill favours these seeds and has a bill adapted to parting the cone scales to get to the seeds.

Carpinus betulus: Hornbeam

This hornbeam is located near the lake in Plattfields Park. It is a large tree that can grow upto 30m tall. Native to Britain occurring in pure stands in some woodlands and hedgerows and widely planted as a specimen tree in parks. High tolerance to heavy clay soils and also widely coppiced.

The bark is silvery grey with deep fissures lower down and occasional dark bands. The bark often becomes gnarled and twisted forming interesting patterns. 

Branches are densely packed, ascending and twisted, creating a recognisable outline in winter holding greyish-brown, partly hairy twigs. 

Male catkins grow to 5cm long. They are yellowish green with red outer scales. The fruits occur in clusters of winged nutlets upto 14cm long usually consisting of 8 pairs of small hard cased nuts with a 3 pointed papery wing. The tough seeds provide food for the Hawfinch which is the only britsh bird able to crack into them.

Hornbeams can also be used as ornamental Shrubs as used here outside the Business School on All Saints Campus. It is being used aesthetically as a continuation of the benches. 

The leaves are oval and pointed with a rounded base, short petiole and double toothed margin. They have 15 pairs of veins and hairy on the underside. Leaves turn a beautiful yellow in autumn, turning orangey-brown before dropping. Trees planted in hedgerows will retain leaves long into winter.

Malus domestica: Cultivated Apple

A familiar orchard tree that produces numerous amounts of apples. This is a single specimen located in my back garden. It is a fairly small tree but they can grow up to 15m. Often found in gardens and orchards across the UK and can also be found in isolated places where apple cores have been discarded such as landfill sites.

The branches get tangled if not regularly pruned and often grow low down if not pruned. The twigs are downy and the leaves grow up to 13cm long in an elliptical shape but rounded at the base with a slightly pointed tip and toothed margin. Top of leaf slightly downy with a very downy underside. Flowers range from white to a pinky tinge often in small stalked clusters. 

Fruits normally larger than 5cm in diameter but come in a massive variety of sizes, colours ranging green-red and tastes as there are more than 2,000 types of cultivated apple that are particular to the UK. The bark is usually brown and fissured. The bole has odd features due to being left for many years before pruning bottom branches. Pruning every year will help the fruit productivity.

Ulex europaeus: Common Gorse

This evergreen shrub was found in a small car park in Plattfileds Park. They grow up to 2m and have grooved spines up to 25mm long. Normally found on heaths and grassy places and favour acid soils but common and widespread throughout the UK. Gorse is a very hardy plant that is also considered invasive as it can outgrow native plants. 

The flowers are 2cm long, bright yellow and have of a coconut scent and 4-5mm long bascal bracts in January-December. They have hairy pods and the leaves are trifoliate meaning they have 3 leaflets. 

Rhododendron ponticum: Rhododendron

An ornamental evergreen shrub native to Asia and SE Europe but planted widely around the UK. This one is along a pathway in Plattfields Park. They can grow up to 5m tall and favour acid, damp soils. It has an invasive habit and ability to overgrow native species so is often maintained. This one may have self seeded due to the scruffy look with other plants growing through it such as a young Sorbus.

The branches are dense and become heavily tangled with shiny, leathery, elliptical dark green leaves. They have dry capsules that contain numerous flat seeds.

The flowers are 4-6cm long in a bell shape with a pinkish red colour. They grow in clusters and flower in May-June. These are the buds before they open.

The bark is reddish and scaly.

Urtica dioica: Common Nettle

Known widely as Stinging Nettle due to its sting to prevent animals from trying to eat it. A very widespread and common plant that grows best on nitrogen enriched and disturbed soils. These nettles are in an open field and stand out in clumps as they are one of the few thing the rabbits won't chew. they can grow up to 1m tall but are often managed and cut back.

It's leaves are oval with pointed tips and toothed margins. They are in opposite pairs and grow to 8cms long. They have pendulous catkins during June-September. Their fruits resemble flowers.

Cotoneaster horizontalis: Wall Contoneaster

A stiff shrub with dividing branches that spreads in a flat plane. It is deciduous but leaves appear very early. Widely grown in gardens like this one, growing up the front of someone's house but occasionally naturalised, mainly on calcareous soils. They grow to a height of roughly 1m with a spread of 3m. They are a common plant often chosen for their hardiness and low cost.  

They have bright red spherical berries and solitary, pink flowers come out in May-June. The glossy leaves are 5-10mm long.

Salix fragilis: Crack Willow

I found this large mature crack willow in Ivel springs next to a small stream where I spent a lot of my childhood playing in the woods. It has a broadly domed crown and a thick bole with a large base. The branches are arising from low down near the base.

The bark is dull grey-brown covered with with interlocking crisscrossed ridges. The shoots are dull reddish brown, becoming brighter in early spring as leaves emerge. Leaves are long and glossy with toothed margins and have short green petioles.

This willow has recently dropped a large branch which has formed a makeshift bridge across the river. Perfect for me as a child. Crack Willows often drop branches or small twigs that can be carried along by a river and if they lodge into a bank will root and can form another tree. Often river banks will be lined with same sex trees all derived from pieces of the same tree.  

It has a small Sambucus shrub growing at the base along with Urtica dioica. It also seems to have some form of moss growing around the bottom of the base.

This is another Crack Willow located nearby. This has an unusual shape to the base and looks as if it has grown out of fallen branches forming this root like feature.

Ligustrum ovalifolium: Garden Privet

A much-branched, evergreen spreading shrub. It is seen as a very common hedging shrub found in many front gardens, such as this young specimen. They grow to about 3m heigh and it will take roughly 5-6 years before these shrubs will act as a tall screening hedge.

The branches are dense much divided with downy young twigs. They have creamy white, fragrant, 4 petalled flowers during May- June and shiny, round, poisonous fruits that become black and ripe in autumn and grow in clusters.   

The bark is reddy brown with vertical scar like gashes. The leaves are rounded-oval and are good food for larvae.

Prunus laurocerasus: Cherry Laurel

This is an small evergreen tree or in this case a shrub in my garden. Laurels are often planted as an ornamental species. They produce suckers freely and self seeds so often spreads out to produce dense thickets. 

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The leaves are leathery and oblong with a short-pointed tip and rounded tapering base. They grow to 20cm long and 6cm wide. They have very small teeth at intervals. The leaves also contain cyanide.

The bark is dark greyish brown, with many lenticles. The branches are dense with smooth pale green twigs. 

They grow fragrant white flowers about 13cm long fruits that turn from green to red to black.

Rubus fruticosus: Bramble

Bramble is a very common swarming shrub that has hundreds of microspecies. Arching stems shown below have variable shaped prickles that root when they touch the floor. Often found in hedgerows and scrub. This one was found along the riverside in Ivel Springs.

Grows to roughly 3m high with 3-5 toothed leaflets and 2-3cm pink or white flowers and producing blackberries in May-August.

Many dead woody stems lie at the bottom of the shrub. This makes a great habitat for many animals including mice.