As stated in the previous post, bark is a mixture of living and dead cells.  Cork cells abound, especially in trees like the cork oak, where the cork may be regularly harvested.  This may be used for flooring, insulation and yes - corks for wine bottles. However, bark is a source of many things.  From early times, bark from trees like alder, buckthorn, oak, birch etc were used to make dyes for clothing.  Material from the inner bark of some trees (e.g. lime, willow, mulberry) was a source of fibres for clothing and cordage (string / yarn). Herbalists also found a use for the bark of certain trees.  Infusions of willow were used to treat fevers, the ‘ague’, rheumatic aches and pain.  It contains salicin, which the body converts to salicylic acid, an early 'form' of 'aspirin'. Interestingly, Nicholas Culpeper, in The Complete Herbal (of 1653) gives a number of uses for willow, including to staunch wounds, but does not mention pain control. The bark of the Cinchona [Jesuit’s bark] gave quinine - a treatment for malaria [caption id="attachment_39935" align="alignleft" width="300"] Amber[/caption] When a tree, like a pine, is injured (through storm damage or insect attack), the bark can produce resin - a sticky and viscous liquid.   The resin is produced in resin ducts present within the bark tissue, though the ducts may be present in deeper tissues. Research has shown that ponderosa pine trees that had more (and wider) resin ducts survived drought and bark beetle attack better.  The resin can harden and help seal wounds . Many resins contain terpenes, such as alpha-pinene and limoneme.  The resin from pine and other conifers can under special circumstances be converted into amber.  Sometimes, the resins produced can be fragrant. Trees of the genus Boswellia and Commiphora produce a aromatic resin that gives frankincense and myrrh respectively.  Both are produced by the wounding of a tree so that its resin seeps out.  Both may be used in the making of incense. Another bark exudate comes from certain species of Acacia - Gum arabic, which forms from the hardened sap (adjacent image).  Acacia species belong to the ‘Bean’ family (Fabaceae).  The gum is collected from trees, mostly in Sudan and the Sahel.  Gum arabic is a mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides.  The polysaccharides are constructed from the sugars arabinose and galactose. It is soluble in water and edible, and has a number of uses in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Tapping or wounding the bark of different trees can result in various fluids being released, for example, latex.    White or yellow latex is produced by the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).  The latex is found in special vessels within the bark - laticifers. The process of tapping rubber trees is outlined in some detail here.   Latex production is not confined to woody trees, small herbaceous plants like dandelion and spurge can produce a white, milky latex (as can the opium poppy). [caption id="attachment_39984" align="alignleft" width="300"] Euphorbia latex[/caption] The latex produced by some members of the Spurge family can cause burning pain, inflammation or even blistering - for example that of the Pencil tree.  Such toxic saps most likely evolved to deter animals from grazing. Sometimes, a watery sap may be collected from the bark.  This is the case with Birch.  Sap may be collected (tapped) in early Spring, when sugars and other materials are being mobilised for growth, leaf production etc.  Sap may be collected later but is said to then have a bitter taste.  The sap is an interesting ‘cocktail’ of amino acids, protein, sugars (glucose & fructose), betulinic acid, proteins, vitamins C & B, and minerals.  It is used to make a much favoured drink in Northern Europe and should be consumed within days of collection.  Birch trees are quite sensitive to tapping. Not watery, but very sugary is Maple Syrup. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes through their bark and into their trunks. Starch is stored in the trunks and roots before winter, it is then converted and mobilised in late winter / early Spring. The collected  sap (through tapping) is then heated to produce a concentrated syrup. Thanks to Montemari at Pixabay for image of gum arabic

Trees for a longer life? Researchers from US Forest Service has completed a survey of tree planting in Portland, Oregon and concluded that the more tres are planted in an area, the longer people live. The Portland “Friends of Trees” have planted some 50,000 oaks, dogwoods and other trees around the city over the last thirty years.  After adjusting for factors such as race, income, age and education, the team found that where more trees had been been planted, fewer people died.    This was true for all areas - wealthy or less so. Furthermore, as the trees aged, the mortality rates of the people nearby went down.  Trees generally improve air quality and moderate extreme high temperatures.  A recent report in the medical journal The Lancet suggested that many of the premature deaths from the 2015 heat wave in Europe could have been avoided with 30 percent more tree cover. Birds in decline. UK bird populations are in decline.  Much of the decline occurred in the 1970’s and 80’s, and was particularly noticeable in populations of farmland and woodland birds.  However, the losses have continued in recent times, with a 5% decline between 2015 and 2020. Again, woodland birds have fared poorly with a 12% decline in this period.   The steepest decline in population numbers are seen in species such the Tree Sparrow, Willow Tit, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Nightingale.  These have all declined by 90% or more since the late 1960’s. The Turtle Dove shows the biggest decline of any species. Habitat loss is thought to be the main driver of population decline for many species, but oil and plastic pollution are also factors, as is disease - such as trichomonasis and avian flu  Certain species typically associated with urban areas / habitats (Swift, House Martin, Starling and House Sparrow) are also declining. Predation by cats might be a factor, the Mammal Society estimates that cats in the UK catch some 92 million prey items over Spring and Summer, of which around 27 million are birds. Disease such as avian malaria is another factor, one study found 74% of sparrows were infected with the parasite Plasmodium relictum; the changing nature of urban gardens may also be a consideration.  Bees and sunflower pollen grains Bees and bumblebees are struggling with various parasites /infections.  One parasite is the gut pathogen Crithidia bombi.  This is known to affect the ability of bumblebees to create a successful colony. Previous studies have indicated that the the gut microbiome of the bees can help protect against infection by this parasite.  Now a study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that sunflower pollen can help bees resist infection.  It was not known why sunflower pollen was effective, it could be that the shape of the pollen grains was important or the chemical makeup within the grains, or a combination of the two. To test the ‘anti-parasitic nature of the pollen’, an experiment was set up so that some bees received the outer shell of the sunflower pollen (the sculptured exine), whilst another group received the materials from the centre of the pollen grains (but no outer coverings), and a third group received whole pollen.   Bees that received whole pollen grains or just the spiny shells had far less of the parasite in their gut compared to those eating the ‘soft centres’ .  The pollen grains and pollen shells reduced infection by 80 to 90+%.  So it is the spiny shape of the pollen grains that is important in reducing infection in the bees.  'Physical removal' of pathogens is known in other animals, for example, great apes infected with certain nematodes or tapeworms will consume bristly leaves.   These 'irritate' the gut and increase the expulsion of the parasites.

Bark exists to protect a tree from ‘attack’ by the elements, pests, ‘predators’ (animals who would eat it) and disease causing organisms.  There is no easy definition of what constitutes bark,   a slightly technical definition might be ‘the tissues that lie outside the vascular cambium'.  The vascular cambium is a layer of dividing cells that gives rise to xylem tissue and phloem tissue.  The cells nearer the centre form the xylem, those towards the outside form the phloem.    The inner part of the bark contains various types of living cells, for example, glands that produce latex (as in natural rubber), oils and resins.  Moving outwards, there lies the rhytidome or outer bark, an amalgam of living and dead material - notably cork cells.  The cork cells fill with a waxy material - Suberin. Eventually, these cells die and form much of the bulk of the bark.  The nature of bark is immensely variable. Wind, fire and frost can seriously damage or kill trees but bark helps  to protect them.   Trees are eminently combustible as is evidenced by the recent forest fires in Australia and California. However, some trees have a very thick bark that can protect them against fire.  The cork oak has a bark that can be up to 30 cm thick, it is so thick that it can be harvested periodically without killing the trees.  Cork oak is grown extensively in the mediterranean region. Giant Redwoods too are noted for having an extremely thick bark. Their bark is very fibrous and can be up to three feet thick, it offers protection against fire (and rock fall which is also a hazard in their home habitat). In contrast to cork oak and redwoods, some trees like the eucalypts have a bark that is rich in oils and very flammable.  The bark also ‘peels’, strips are shed onto the forest floor. There are many species of Eucalyptus and several different types of bark are recognised.  [caption id="attachment_35352" align="alignleft" width="300"] Woodland recovering from a fire[/caption] If and when this oil rich bark builds up on the forest floor, it will contribute significantly to the intensity and ferocity of any fire. Indeed, it has been likened to adding petrol to a fire ’3 centimetres of leaf litter can cause a conflagration equivalent to one fuelled by a centimetre of refined gasoline’.  The leaves are also rich in oil so the crowns of the trees can also contribute to / exacerbate any fire.  The peeling or exfoliation of bark is not restricted to Eucalypts, it can be seen in trees much closer to home - such as the birch.  Its bark can be removed in long strips and has been used in covering a canoe or roofing material. Whilst bark can protect against fire, it can also deter animals - large or small from inflicting damage.  For example, there is an African species of Acacia known as knobthorn that has a bark covered with thorn-like structures.  These 'thorns' deter elephants from eating the bark.  Elephants can consume a lot of vegetation in a day and tree bark is much favoured.  A variety of animals may feed on bark material, for example deer, squirrels, and beavers, but the list could also include orang-utans, rhinos, bush babies and porcupines. North American porcupines use their large front teeth to eat bark and stems. Bushbabies generally feed on insects during the wet seasons, but during drought / dry periods - they feed on the resins / gum that flows from the trees in their woodlands. In the UK, a lot of bark damage is done by deer, especially during the winter months when other food sources are limited.  In the summer months, male deer rub their heads / antlers against the trunks of trees - inflicting damage.  Such activity can prevent regeneration in natural woodlands.  Tree guards may be needed to allow young trees to establish themselves (or fencing to create a ‘deer free’ zone).  Guards also protect against rabbit damage.  Grey squirrels can also cause damage to trees as they gnaw stems to reach the ‘sweet’, sap-filled tissues just below the bark, this activity is usually seen in late Spring and early Summer. [caption id="attachment_5312" align="alignleft" width="300"] xylem vessels[/caption] Whilst bark is broadly protective, it can also offer a home to certain pests.  Bark beetles lay their eggs below the bark so that when the larvae hatch, they can feed on the nutrient rich tissue of the cambium and phloem.  Bark beetles have been responsible for the loss of millions of trees in the United States and Canada.  The scale of the loss is much greater than in the past, when cycles of beetle infestation and fire created a mosaic across the countryside of young and old trees.  Ageing stands of trees coupled with warmer winters (which have helped the overwintering stage of the insect)  have contributed to the spread of bark beetles.  The beetles breed and feed beneath the bark, damaging the phloem and cambium tissue.  Consequently, the tree's transport systems begin to fail and the beetles may also introduce disease-causing fungi and bacteria. To a certain extent, trees are able to repair damage to their bark but the response is varied according to the nature of the damage and the tree involved. Some trees can produce ‘callus tissue’ that heals over the ‘wound’, leaving a scar. Some trees, such as the pines, produce resins and antimicrobial compounds in response to injury.  This sticky resin may trap insect invaders as is witnessed by those trapped in time capsules of amber.   Apart from bark beetles, other animals and plants live in or on bark in a variety of associations, some parasitic as is the case with fungi (like the polypores), whilst lichens and mosses are epiphytes.  They use the bark as a substrate on which to live, grabbing nutrients and water from rainwater as it trickles down.   The many uses of bark tissue can be left for another woodlands post. [caption id="attachment_39940" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Section through bark[/caption]

Earlier flowering times. A survey has shown that plants are flowering earlier in the year.  Cambridge University researchers compared the dates of flowering of some four hundred plus species before and after 1986. They found that plants are now flowering roughly one month earlier.  More recent decades have been associated with rising air temperatures. This change in flowering time may have profound consequences for the plants.  The vast majority of plants are dependent on pollinating insects (bees, bumblebees, hoverflies) to set seed and complete their life cycles.  By flowering early their cycle, plants may not match up  with the activities of their pollinators. They may flower but their pollinators bee ‘missing’. Their pollinators need to emerge from their overwintering stage earlier. Earlier flowering may not matter for those plants that are visited by several pollinators but for those that are dependent on one or two specific visitors - it may critical.  For example, Sainfoin.  Sainfoin is host to a particular (solitary) bee Melitta dimidiata (remote image here).   It is a monolectic bee; i.e., a bee that collects food (nectar and pollen) from only one species of flower - the sainfoin.  If the sainfoin flowers earlier in the year and the bee does not match the shift in flowering, then the bee has a problem. Work on the effects of climate change on pollinators has been somewhat limited to date, but studies in Japan suggest that bees / bumblebees are somewhat behind plants in their response to environmental changes. Bee and bumblebee news. Recent research data provide evidence that (buff tailed) bumblebees are not able to detect or avoid concentrations of pesticides [imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, or sulfoxaflor], as used ‘on the farm’ - from signals sent by their mouthparts. The mouthparts are covered with tiny hairs and these hairs have ‘pores’ in them. Chemicals pass through these ‘pores’ to sensory cells; this is how the bee tastes and smells. It seems likely that the bumblebees are at considerable risk of consuming pesticides in their search for nectar when visiting pesticide-treated crops. [caption id="attachment_19675" align="alignleft" width="300"] Bumbles foraging in artichoke[/caption] Another agrochemical,  Roundup,  has been found to affect the learning and memory of bumblebees. Roundup, which contains glyphosate, affects their ability to learn and memorise connections between colour and taste.  Impaired colour vision is likely to affect the foraging and nesting success of the bees.  The research was conducted in Finland by researchers at the University of Turku. In yet another concerning study, researchers at the University of Maryland have found that the life span of laboratory-raised honey bees has reduced considerably.    Five decades ago, the lifespan for a worker honeybee (Apis mellifera) under controlled laboratory conditions was about 34 days. Now it is some 17/ 18 days - according the report in Nature.  The study also reviewed the scientific literature [from the 1970s to now] and noted a trend in the life span of bees.   Shortened worker bee lifespan has implications for colony health and survivorship.  The work at the University of Maryland is ongoing. Methane release. Ghost forests are found in coastal areas.  As a consequence of climate change, sea water has ‘invaded’ low laying areas and trees have died. The dead trees are sometimes referred to as ‘snags.  A  number of woodland / forest communities along the eastern coast of the United States have been affected.  Recent work by North Carolina State University has shown that these ghost forests release methane.  The methane is generated by bacteria in the soil but then ‘escapes’ by means of the ‘snags’.  As it passes through the wood of the ‘snags’, microbes may consume and alter the methane.   As methane is a potent greenhouse gas, understanding the nature and extent of these methane emissions from ‘ghost forests’ is important. Tree rings The study of tree rings has been invaluable in dating many historic objects ./ archaeological sites.  Now, it seems that they could play a role in estimating the amount of carbon that trees are actually absorbing (carbon sequestration), if woodland / forest inventories are coupled with core samples of the trees. The measurement of the annual rings from such cores could create a record of ‘tree growth across space and time’, yielding a more accurate estimate of the amount of carbon being taken up by woodland and forests. Forests, soils and oceans are major ‘carbon sinks’.

According to the United Nations, a forest is anywhere that is at least 20% trees.  As 21% of our capital city, London, lies under the canopy of trees - it is an urban forest*. It is estimated that there are some 8 million plus trees - nearly as many trees as people.  London is not alone, Johannesburg is a densely wooded city with some 6 million trees, planted throughout the streets and private properties. Tree Cities of the World is a programme that recognises cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained and  sustainably managed. Urban environments can create difficult conditions for tree growth and development. The trees may be exposed to pollutants, high temperatures (heat island effect), drought and/or flooding, and challenging conditions for growth. . Whilst trees may be planted, their subsequent care / nurturing may be limited due to insufficient resources (money / care etc).  There needs to be long term maintenance to sustain not just healthy trees but also to make sure that the trees do not damage pavements / roads etc (for example, through root penetration).   Trees for Streets is a new national tree sponsorship scheme that some councils have partnered with, which gives local residents the chance to have a tree near them or in a local park.   It is a project run by the charity Trees for Cities which aims to support local communities in revitalising forgotten spaces, planting trees and improving the local environment. [caption id="attachment_39418" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Greenery in SE London. View towards St.Helier's hospital.[/caption] In the past, London was a much smaller city surrounded by countryside and woodland, but there are still areas of ancient woodland within it.  Some of this woodland remains such as the Great North Wood in South London (hence Norwood and Forest Hill). Other place names - Wood Green, Forest Gate, Nine Elms and Burnt Oak bear witness to the wooded landscape that was once prevalent across London. In fact, some 8% of London’s area is still woodland, and some of it is even defined as ancient woodland (e.g. Epping Forest). [caption id="attachment_39421" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Dulwich Park[/caption] There are also the many parks of London - Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Richmond Park, Dulwich Park etc.  Add to these the trees found in school fields, private gardens, squares (like Berkeley and Portman Squares), plus the trees that line so many streets (estimated at 900,000).  Trees (like sycamore and buddleia) have also colonised areas of the built environment,  like railway lines / cuttings.  The most common London trees are sycamore (7.8%), oaks (7.3%) and birch (6.2%). However, the urban forest has a wide spectrum of species that includes native species, such as  ash,  hawthorn,  hornbeam,  field maple and  holly,  but there is a wide variety of exotics and cultivars in parks, streets and private gardens.  In some parts of the capital, the London Plane is a noticeable presence, due to its resistance to pollution and tolerance of root compaction. It sheds 'large flakes' or sections of its bark exposing new material of a variety of colours (brown, grey, yellow), and is sometimes described as ‘self cleaning’.  The London Plane is thought to be a hybrid of the American sycamore and Oriental plane.  So the urban forest is quite diverse in terms of species when viewed across the capital, but there are parts of the city where species diversity is poor and the age profile of the trees is sometimes limited.  This homogeneity can favour pests and disease.  Diversity generally favours to resilience.  Currently, trees face diseases such as acute oak decline, Chalara ash dieback, horse chestnut leaf miner, Massaria disease of plane and oak processionary moth.   London’s urban forest faces an increasing human population and the challenges of climate change.  The latter may bring substantial warming and changing rainfall patterns. Wetter, milder winters and drier, hotter summers may be more common in the coming decades. Some trees will be better able to cope with these changing conditions.  Future planting will have to follow the maxim of “right tree, right place”. The value of London’s forest is difficult to quantify or to put a figure on. It is a major part of the ‘green infrastructure’ – that is the matrix of green spaces, parks, recreation grounds, lakes, canals, and rivers plus the street trees , green roofs and allotments that provides a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. The importance of green, leafy spaces came to the fore during the early days of the Covid pandemic, helping with mental and physical wellbeing of Londoners.  [caption id="attachment_27166" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mature oak in park.[/caption] The components of the forest offer valuable habitats for wildlife and also provide biological corridors /  stepping stones that enable birds and various animals to move through the urban environment. The ancient woodlands and veteran trees offer a home to a variety of wildlife such as bats, stag beetles, orchids etc.  In recent heatwaves, people have appreciated that trees also provide shade and cooling in streets and parks. Another aspect of extreme weather is very heavy rainfall, trees and green areas can help reduce the risk of flooding, allowing more water to enter the soil rather than running off hard surfaces of tarmac and concrete.   Trees also help capture pollutants, improving local air quality by capturing fine particles from the air (much of this is through deposition on leaf surfaces).  One source suggest that trees remove some 2241 tonnes of pollutants each year.  Trees and shrubs seem particularly effective in removing ozone, and through its photosynthetic capacity the urban forest can take up carbon dioxide into organic form. The amount of carbon taken up by London’s urban forest each year has been estimated at 77,200 tonnes. To maintain and augment this urban forest, it is important  in the coming years that the threats of pests and diseases are fully assessed and controlled  The threats arising from climate change are recognised / mitigated Woodlands are properly managed (eg. coppicing); this may include the training of personnel. Create opportunities for planting of trees, hedgerows and woodland. [caption id="attachment_39422" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Tree nursery - 'ready for planting'.[/caption] * https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/04/21_0024_Leaflet-CC-factsheet-Urban-forests_wip06_Acc.pdf

The Wild Service Tree is a native British species.   Nowadays,  the tree is quite rare and  can be an  indicator of ancient woodland.   The wild service tree or chequers tree (Sorbus torminalis) is a member of the Rose family (Rosaceae).  The term torminalis is botanical latin meaning “of or belonging to the gripes, good against the colic”,  because the fruits were (at one time) used as a remedy for the colic. It is a tree native to England and Wales but not to Scotland or Ireland.  Within those two home nations its distribution is patchy; it is not a common tree.  However, it is widely distributed across Europe  (notably France and Germany). The tree is light-demanding species and it suffers if the canopy closes in, so tends to favour the woodland margins, coppiced areas with open and sunny conditions and hedgerows.  It does not ‘like’ water logged conditions, nor dry sandy soils.  Trials in Sweden, Norway and Denmark indicate the good growth is achieved soils with a silt content of just under 14%, and it can tolerate a pH range from acid through neutral to slightly alkaline. The tree can grown to a height of 20 to 30 metres, if the conditions are right - and the growth can be fast.  Young trees can grow at a rate of one metre a year.   It sends down quite deep roots and develops strong laterals (which may extend beyond the diameter of the crown).  This means that they are ‘windfirm’ and relatively drought tolerant.  The leaves bear some similarity to those of maple.  In Spring, the tree produces bunches of creamy white flowers, which provide pollen and nectar for insects. The flowers when fertilised produce brown berries.  Like Medlars, these may be bletted - allowed to become over-ripe and have been used to make jams, drinks.   However, many of the fruits fall to the ground where they may be eaten by birds or small mammals. If eaten by birds, then the seeds may be dispersed over a wide area but natural regeneration from seeds is uncommon (though suckering from roots is a possibility).  Young plants / saplings may be targeted by voles and mice, they are also sensitive to competition (especially from brambles). The tree is not grown for timber production in the UK, but abroad the timber is valued as one of the hardest, native European woods.  The colour is yellow to light red, though old trees can have a deeper colour.  Because of its hardness it was used in the past to make mill cogs, mangle wheels, parts in textile mills and wine presses.  Now, the wood is used in furniture making and for wind instruments (flutes, recorders, bag pipes).  Wild service trees, grown for timber, are ‘raised’ in ‘coppice with standards”, where the service trees are the standards. Thanks to Ruth for images.  

For biodiversity to flourish, a wide variety of microhabitats is needed.  With many micro-habitats, more species are able to thrive. It may seem counter-intuitive but deadwood offers opportunities for a diverse range of species. Within a woodland, there are various types of deadwood, providing shelter and food for many organisms.  Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of deadwood is standing but dead trees.  If the dead tree was a veteran, then it will provide a variety of micro-habitats.  Holes and crevices may be used by bats and birds, the decaying wood will be colonised by bacteria and fungi, bracket fungi may erupt - whilst the bark will continue to offer a substrate for mosses and lichens.  As the wood decays, the material becomes a home for saproxylic beetles. Stag beetle larvae feed on decaying wood underground,  whilst the adults rely on fat reserves built up during their larval stage. Adults can ‘drink' oozing sap  and the juice of soft, rotting fruit. In the UK, some 650 beetle species are associated with deadwood [visit Dr Ross Piper’s website for full details of these insects].  As with many insects, many saproxylic beetles are threatened with extinction - due to the decline in the number of veteran / ancient trees.  Saproxylic beetles, apart from being important in the recycling of materials, are also food for birds and mammals. A previous blog has extolled the virtue of dead hedges.  Dead hedges are simply piles of branches and twigs arranged to create a barrier / hedge. They represent  a way of disposing of material that arises from thinning or clearing operations in woodlands. This ‘waste material’ of saplings and side branches are sometimes referred to as “arisings" by tree surgeons, or "lop and top” by foresters. Using this material in this way is good for wildlife, particularly for small mammals and birds - as it gives them somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain, and protection from predators. It's also good for insects.  As the material rots and decomposes, it adds humus / nutrients to the underlying soil. Larger pieces of wood from the felling of trees can be arranged to form a stack or pile, by simply laying branches and logs on top of one another  Such a stack wil rot and decay over time, but will provide a home to a variety of wildlife. So, deadwood in its various forms, is an important part of woodland ecosystems. It has a role in delivering biodiversity, but it also provides ‘ecosystem services’, such as soil formation and nutrient cycling. Deadwood contributes to the detrital food chain, which is driven by fungi, bacteria and detritivores.   Below : All that remains of a historic tree - the Wilberforce Oak. It was here at Holwood House (Keston , near Hayes, Bromley) in 1788 that William Wilberforce resolved to address the task of abolishing the slave trade. It took some twenty years for his vision to be realised. [Thanks to Ruth for images of the Wilberforce Oak] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holwood_House

Electric bees ? Both bumblebees and flowers carry an electric charge.  Flowers have a weak negative charge, whilst the bees have a positive charge.  The attraction between these two opposing electric fields may help the bees sense flowers.  The electric charge of a bee may even stimulate a flower to release a burst of scent, aka volatile organic compounds.  This was true for petunias, but not snapdragons.  When a bee has visited a flower, the negative charge is briefly lost - maybe a signal to tell other bbees not to visit? Other work by Bristol University has indicated that synthetic fertilisers and pesticide can interfere with a flower’s electric charge for some time after spraying, and that this can modify the foraging of bumblebees. "Black bees" The black bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, faces a number of threats like the domestic honey bee.  It is also known as the European Dark Bee or the Black German Bee. It has been present since the retreat of the last Ice Age, but its distribution has become restricted as a result of habitat loss, parasitism by Varroa mites and viruses. The black bee can be distinguished from other honey bees by its stocky body and sparse abdominal hair (which is brown), and overall dark coloration - so they appear black or dark brown. Recent research (using DNA analysis) has shown that black honeybees can be found in many locations in Ireland and are not extinct, as previously suggested  Black bees are noted for their longevity and hardiness (ability to cope with winter temperatures); it is possible that if winters become shorter / milder that this change may not favour black bees. Weird weeds? It seems that our gardens may be home to ‘new’ or unusual species of plants.   The Royal Horticultural Society would like gardeners to report on interesting ‘weeds’ that might find as they could be rare plants or plants growing in unusual places / areas.  You are asked to take photographs of anything that you find interesting, and upload the images to iNaturalist. Reporting on unusual plants is not the only thing that the RHS is interested in. There are other garden projects that one can contribute to, for example, reporting sightings of garden pests such as the berberis sawfly, cellar slug, hemerocallis gall midge, lily beetle, rosemary beetle and spittlebug. Mycorrhizal networks. A common mycorrhizal network (CMN) is when fungal hyphae connect the roots of many plants (either of the same or different species) below ground.  They have attracted considerable attention in recent times (woodland wide webs), with claims, for example, that resources are transferred through CMNs to increase seedling performance and mature trees send resources / defence signals to offspring etc.  However, a recent report in Nature has suggested that there is a ‘bias’ towards citing the positive effects of CMNs and that, to date, knowledge of common mycorrhizal networks is limited.