Some thoughts on British Native Trees for today's wildlife challenge.
How often do we
look at trees and ‘wonder’?
As a living species
that can survive several thousand years, many trees must have stood
quietly in the background to many thousands of thinkers!
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Some thoughts on British Native Trees for today's wildlife challenge.
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Thinking about trees for this 30 Days Wild Random Acts of Wildness nature challenge...can thoughts on a tree thousands of miles from Britain help put Britain’s local native trees into perspective...the distance between them is not so far really.
Have you ever
stood inside a tree?
In a baobab tree, in
Africa, on a blazing hot sunny day – along with a class of
children... The tree had a wide opening in its trunk and we all stood
together within its shady walls.
The baobab tree can
reach around 100 ft – which makes its 36 ft diameter seem quite in proportion. In a larger tree, it is possible that every child in
the village school would have squeezed into it, as well as their
teachers. Such trees have been used as shops, houses and other small
buildings and huts. Its trunk can store 1000 ltrs of fresh water and
it is able to withstand bush fires – it regrows its trunk bark, as
if by magic!
It is home, host and
provider to many species: from birds and humans to bats (which
pollinate the flowers that only bloom at night!) and baboons,
reptiles and even elephants! It is a food source for wildlife and
humans, rich in vitamins A and C, providing nutrition from its fruits
and juices, which includes tasty smoothies. Even its edible leaves
have medicinal qualities, its bark can be used to make rope and its
pollen, glue!
It is known as The
Tree of Life, unsurprisingly, and it is easy to imagine how one tree
can hold many secrets and tales – even when it dies, it dies from
the inside...it suddenly collapses, as if by magic!
Magical indeed!
Britain’s
Native Trees
What
about Britain’s native trees – by comparison are they,
perhaps, a little unexciting…?
Birds,
bats and insects live in holes in our native trees. Either they make
the holes, such as the woodpecker, they make use of natural cracks
and crevices in the tree bark (nuthatches and tree creepers) or reuse
woodpecker and other ready-made holes. Even bluetits make use of
discreet holes and cracks in the bark. Squirrels live in our native
trees and, locally, they have a feast in the hazlenut (cobnut) trees.
From the roots, they provide gateways to the underground worlds of
dens and sets, homes to foxes and badgers, as well as host many
varieties of UK native plants...and all the way out to the ends of
the branches, many birds, wildlife and insects feast on our local
trees, which provide leaves, nuts, berries and seeds.
The
oak tree is a keystone species, a national tree emblem for
several countries, including England, and symbolic of strength,
wisdom and endurance. Like the baobab tree, its history is steeped in
poetry, tales, myths and legends: from Robin Hood and his men’s
hideaway in a hollow oak to a critical part for an oak tree in Shakespeare’s
Macbeth, to many tales of elves, witches and fairies. There really are a lot of faces and creatures within the gnarled trunks and branches of oak trees - there's even something hiding in this small section of ancient oak tree - more of that later...). The oak has
been a tree of the gods, kings and, even, queens (Queen Elizabeth Oak
Tree). More recently The Suffragette Oak was named Scotland's Tree of
the Year in 2015.
Traditionally,
it has been used in medicinal remedies and cures, although it is toxic to some animals, including horses, and needs the tannins
removed before
human consumption. However, humans can eat the acorns, once
the tannins have been removed
– how about some caffeine free coffee! Or a stew! Or roasted acorn nuts…! As with the baobab, it can be used in a variety of ways; it is a prized as a very strong wood for
furniture and flooring, house and ship timber of the past, and also
for flavouring drinks and food, such as wines and cheeses.
So
whilst is cannot be called a
tree of life in
its entirety – combined with
other British native trees, many of which provide edible fruits and
offer cosy homes,
it can be viewed as one of a
number of native trees that provide and support life –
our own special trees which
have stood by our
insects, wild animals and birds as
they have evolved over
thousands of years...hosting
thousands of insects,
birds and wildlife, providing food and drink in
a thousand recipes,
featuring in a thousand
stories and poems, myths and legends (not
to mention paintings!) and
having a thousand and
one other
uses from products to home
remedies and herbal cures…!
Despite the baobab's geographical distance, it is not such a distant tree from our own native trees in some ways. It is even known as the 'upside-down' tree - and it is not so far off looking like an upside down oak tree, either!
Magical Indeed!
For the #30dayswild post in 2016, Nature Challenge : Meditate in the Wild, click here.
For the #30dayswild post in 2016, Nature Challenge : Meditate in the Wild, click here.