Philipp Franz von Siebold was a nineteenth century German doctor and botanist, who worked for several years in Japan, accumulating an extensive collection of plants and animals from that area.  He was responsible for the introduction of  a number of (now common) garden plants to Europe - such Hostas and Hydrangea. Siebold is almost unknown outside Japan except among gardeners as many plants incorporate sieboldii and sieboldiana in their specific names - for example, species of Primula, cherry (Prunus), Sedum and Viburnum.  Siebold was also associated with the introduction of tea cultivation to Java.  On his return to Europe, he was based in Leiden where he worked on cataloguing and identifying his twelve thousand botanical specimens.   Unfortunately, one of the plants that Siebold introduced was the Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica, syn. Fallopia japonica). This has become a highly invasive weed in Europe and North America. The plant was discovered growing on the side of a volcano; it was named as the “most interesting new ornamental plant of the year” by the Society of Agriculture and Horticulture in Utrecht. Read more...

Wind, fire and frost can seriously damage or kill trees.   Animals also wound them when they feed on bark tissues, and when they rub their bodies or antlers against tree trunks. Insects, like bark beetles can cause significant damage damage to woodlands and forests. The extent of damage to trunks and the bark of trees varies considerably in relation to the nature of the ‘attack’.  If the damage to the bark is severe and the vascular cambium is exposed then neither new water nor sugar conducting tissue can be formed.  Damage to the (outer) cork cambium (phellogen) will limit the trees ability to form the outer tissues of the bark - which protect the tree.  If the damage is restricted to the outermost bark layer then this will render the tree more susceptible to further damage (be it from herbivores or temperature extremes). Read more...

Checking through my emails, I came across a link sent by a friend to one of the winter talks in the program offered by the Botanical Society of Scotland - specifically “The Scottish Uplands: how to revive a degraded landscape” by Dr Helen Armstrong.  The talk was live-streamed but was also recorded and is available here.   Dr Armstrong spent 24 years at the Nature Conservancy Council, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forest Research carrying out research and advisory work. The following is an attempt to summarise some of the key features of her informative and enlightening talk. Read more...

There has been such a diversity of interesting things popping up in the woods recently then fading right back almost as soon as they appear that it is almost overwhelmingly difficult to know where to lay ones focus for November’s post. In just a few weeks or so the peak mushroom season will be over, and then these monthly articles will be move away from our more typical looking types to the whatever crusts, rusts, slimes or jellies are out at any given time. At the moment, however, it seems like a Sisyphean task just trying to keep up with monitoring and capturing on camera the rich and colourful array of species appearing in brief successive waves in my local woods after spending so much of the year lying dormant – a task tinged with the sadness of knowing it will all be easing off again shortly. Read more...

Bark is the term that is often applied to the outer covering of tree stems and other woody plants. It serves to protect a tree from  Water loss Insect attack Infection by bacteria and fungi Physical damage (by fire, animals, rock fall) The nature of bark is immensely variable.  In some trees, the bark is extremely rough, corrugated and thick.  In others it is is thinner and appears to peel off in strips.   Redwoods are noted for having an extremely thick bark (see featured image above). Their bark is very fibrous and can be up to three feet thick. Read more...

The loss of pollinators, particularly honey bees, may bring about a synergy between pollinators such as hover flies and artificial intelligence technology.  Honey bees (and indeed bumblebee)s have been hit hard by habitat loss, pollution, the  extensive use of pesticides and the spread of viruses and varroa.  Bees provide an important ecosystem service, namely pollination.   bees provide the majority of plant pollination world-wide but the bees are fighting a losing battle and this represents a threat to food supplies.  In the United States, bee hives are 'bussed around' in a somewhat 'cavalier manner', indeed "Hives may be moved multiple times and several thousand miles per year" Read more...