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    Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs
    Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs
    Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs
    Ebook340 pages1 hour

    Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs

    By Bob Gibbons

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    About this ebook

    This book is as visually impressive as it is useful in the field, with many stunning full-page and double-page photographs to support the authoritative text.
    The introduction explains the basics of tree forms and their identification. Each species is illustrated by the author's remarkable photographs. The text covers information such as ID features for bark, flowers, fruit and leaves, blossoming and fruiting times, distribution, habitat, status, confusion species and interesting facts such as plant uses.
    Printed on quality paper, the paperback format with flaps adds to the book's durability in the field and provides built in page-markers for quick reference.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateSep 25, 2014
    ISBN9781472915573
    Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs
    Author

    Bob Gibbons

    Siân Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons met in 1983, on a trek from Kashmir to Ladakh. By then Bob had already driven an ancient Land Rover from England to Kathmandu (in 1974), and overland trucks across Asia, Africa and South America. He had also lived in Kathmandu for two years, employed as a trekking company manager. Before they met, Siân worked in computer programming and systems analysis, but was drawn to the Himalaya en route from working in New Zealand. Since they met they have been leading and organising treks in the Alps, Nepal and the Sahara, as well as driving a bus overland to Nepal. Journeys by a less ancient Land Rover from England to South Africa provided the basis for several editions of the Bradt guide Africa Overland. For the sixth edition published in April 2014, they visited the fantastic boiling lava lake of Erta Ale in the Danakil desert of Ethiopia, and Somaliland. They were lucky finally to get visas to visit Eritrea, Angola and Congo for their most recent African research trips in 2016. In Kathmandu they previously worked with Pilgrims Publishing, producing cultural guides – Kathmandu: Valley of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol and Ladakh: Land of Magical Monasteries – and a historical look at the Guge Kingdom, Kailash: Land of the Tantric Mountain. In 2007 they wrote the Cicerone guide to Mount Kailash and Western Tibet, as well updating the Grand Canyon guide. During 2011 they returned to Tibet, this time driving the same old Land Rover back from Kathmandu to the UK overland via Lhasa, through China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Western Europe. Their Annapurna trekking guide was published by Cicerone in January 2013; the second edition is due later in 2017. For Himalayan Map House they are writing a new series of trekking guidebooks: Himalayan Travel Guides. Titles so far published include Manaslu & Tsum Valley (2nd edition); Upper & Lower Dolpo; Ganesh Himal & Tamang Heritage Trail; Everest; Langtang, Gosainkund & Helambu; Rolwaling & Gauri Shankar; Trekking around the Nepal Himalaya and Mustang. They have also recently published their autobiography, In Search of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol, in colour, black & white and Kindle formats, and a Pictorial Guide to the Horn of Africa.  

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      Book preview

      Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs - Bob Gibbons

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Silver Fir

      Douglas Fir or Oregon Fir

      Norway Spruce

      European Larch or Common Larch

      Scots Pine

      Maritime Pine

      Cedar of Lebanon

      Monkey Puzzle or Chilean Pine

      Monterey Cypress or Macrocarpa

      Wellingtonia or Giant Redwood

      Yew

      Common Juniper

      Barberry

      London Plane

      Box

      Redcurrant

      Laburnum

      Locust Tree or False-acacia

      Gorse

      Broom

      Roses

      Blackthorn or Sloe

      Wild Cherry or Gean

      Bird Cherry

      St Lucie Cherry

      Wild Pear

      Plymouth Pear

      Crab Apple

      Rowan or Mountain Ash

      Whitebeam

      Wild Service Tree

      Hawthorn or Quickthorn

      Midland Hawthorn

      Shrubby Cinquefoil

      Sea-buckthorn

      Buckthorn or Purging Buckthorn

      Alder Buckthorn

      The Elms

      Common Mulberry

      Beech

      Sweet Chestnut

      Pedunculate Oak, English Oak or Common Oak

      Sessile Oak or Durmast Oak

      Holm Oak or Evergreen Oak

      Walnut

      Bog-myrtle

      Silver Birch

      Downy Birch

      Dwarf Birch

      Green Alder

      Alder

      Hornbeam

      Spindle

      Hazel

      White Poplar

      Black Poplar

      Aspen

      Crack Willow

      White Willow

      Goat Willow or Great Sallow

      Osier

      Downy Willow

      Weeping Willow

      Net-leaved Willow or Net-veined Willow

      Fuchsia

      Stag’s Horn Sumach

      Smoke-tree

      Horse-chestnut

      Field Maple

      Sycamore

      Norway Maple

      Large-leaved Lime

      Small-leaved Lime

      Lime

      Mistletoe

      Tamarisk

      Dogwood

      Cornelian Cherry or European Cornel

      Strawberry Tree

      Rhododendron

      Labrador-tea

      Tree Heather

      Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant

      Privet

      Ash

      Holly

      Common Elder

      Red-berried Elder or Alpine Elder

      Guelder-rose

      Wayfaring-tree

      Glossary

      Bibliography and Resources

      Organisations and Societies

      Suppliers

      Places to Visit

      INTRODUCTION

      WHAT ARE TREES AND SHRUBS?

      Most people are familiar with the general features of trees and shrubs, though it is not always easy to define exactly what is meant by a ‘tree’ or ‘shrub’. Both are characterised by having woody stems and branches; this is achieved by a process of secondary thickening, where the stems increase in girth each year by laying down woody cells within the tissues, produced by special layers. The diameter of the trunks and branches can continue to increase throughout the life of a tree.

      In general, trees are thought of as woody plants that have a main stem that is 5m (16ft) or more in height, with a branching crown above this, whereas shrubs have numerous branches arising lower down and are usually less than 5m (16ft) in height. There is, of course, a good deal of overlap between these two categories, particularly with respect to young trees, trees growing in challenging conditions (such as high in the mountains, or in the far north) where they remain small, or shrubs growing in especially favourable conditions, where they grow large. Some plants, such as Common Juniper, Hawthorn or Hazel, are most commonly shrubs, but can certainly become small trees under the right conditions. In this book, we have included both trees and shrubs, so the distinction is less significant.

      We have included a few shrubs that are very small, often under 50cm (1½ft) in height, which might not normally be thought of as shrubs at all, such as Dwarf Birch, Bog Myrtle or Net-leaved Willow; however, these are fully formed shrubs, with woody stems, often closely related to much more typical shrubs or trees, and it makes sense to include them.

      THE SCOPE OF THIS BOOK

      This book covers the great majority of native trees and shrubs of Britain and north-west Europe, excluding only some of the more difficult species from large groups such as Willows Salix spp. In addition, it covers a number of the most common, conspicuous or distinctive non-native species that may be found planted or naturalised in the area. Some of these, such as the Giant Redwood or the Cedar of Lebanon, will only be found as planted specimens, as they have little ability to invade their surroundings; others, such as Sycamore or Rhododendron, have become so much a part of our vegetation that they are often simply thought of as being native.

      Hawthorn in flower in May.

      HOW TO USE THE BOOK

      Under each species, there is a general description of the tree or shrub, with an indication of its average maximum height. Occasional individuals will be taller than this, and of course many young or poorly grown examples will be smaller – it is just a guide to how large the tree normally becomes. Within this description, key features that help to identify the species are picked out, and – in some cases – specific reference to confusable species is made, with a note of the differences. Normally, details of the flowers, and the subsequent fruit if distinctive, are given.

      Many trees have separate male and female plants, e.g. Holly, or separate male and female flowers on the same tree, e.g. Hazel, where the familiar catkins are the male flowers, while the female flowers are small and inconspicuous. These differences are normally described.

      The heading ‘Habitat and distribution’ gives a description of what types of places the tree is most likely to be found in, e.g. mountain woodlands, river floodplains, etc., and whether or not it is likely to be planted or naturalised. Some species are only found as natives outside Europe, but have been planted here; for these, the country of origin is normally noted. Other species are native in this area, but have also been widely planted – e.g. Wild Pear – and an indication is given, if it is known, as to which is the original native area.

      ‘Flowering time’ gives an indication of the most likely time of flowering. However, in a large region such as north Europe, flowering times vary considerably with latitude, and also with altitude wherever there are hills or mountains, so this is just a guide. They will generally be later at higher altitudes or further north. Also, trees will not flower at consistently the same time each year, and a general trend for earlier flowering has been observed in many species, presumably due to global warming.

      In some instances, the heading ‘Similar species’ gives a briefer description of any additional similar or closely related trees and shrubs that also occur in the region. For example, Common Laburnum is an easily recognisable native or garden plant in much of Europe; but there are also some other very similar Laburnum species that could be confused with it, and these are described in this section.

      There are a few groups of trees and shrubs, such as the roses Rosa spp., the elms Ulmus spp. and to a lesser extent the willows Salix spp., that consist of a confusing mixture of species, hybrids, varieties and microspecies, often still subject to discussion amongst taxonomists. These have been treated slightly differently, more as a general description of the group, with some of the more obvious species picked out.

      Hips and leaves of Dog-rose.

      A number of specialist terms used in the text are defined in the glossary, rather than defining them each time they are used.

      Because there are relatively few species of trees in this region, the book is most easily used by simply scanning through the photographs to check for anything looking like your specimen.

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