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Blog - yew

Woodland types :Yew Woodland.

Woodland types :Yew Woodland.

by Chris, 17 September, 2015, 2 comments

Yew woodland (in Southern England) tends to develop on the thin soils that form over chalk, often on the sides of dry valleys . They can be found along the North Downs, and in West Sussex on parts of the South Downs. Yew woodlands can also be found in the Cotswolds and in the Wye Valley (on limestone). In Ireland, there is a significant Yew wood near Killarney, again growing on top of limestone. Yew woodland may develop from chalk grassland, when grazing by sheep or rabbits is removed. With no grazing, Juniper and / or Hawthorn start to grow.  Then, between these, shade-tolerant Yew seedlings begin to grow.   Eventually, the Yew will overtake the Juniper / Hawthorn, and shade them out. The dead remains of juniper and hawthorn sometimes may be seen on the floor of a Yew woodland. Read more...
Gin and Juniper

Gin and Juniper

by Chris, 29 January, 2014, 3 comments

Juniper ‘berries’ are fragrant and provide the oils / chemicals that give gin a distinctive flavour.  The ‘berries’ used in gin production are rarely from the U.K. Many come from Italy or Macedonia, where the hot summers allow the full development of these oils (contained within the seeds).  A ‘berry’ takes some two years to come to maturity and ripen fully.  The ‘berries’ are often harvested by beating the Juniper shrub with a stick so that the ripe ‘berries’ fall to the ground for collection. The ‘berries’ are not, in fact, berries but cones.  Juniper is a conifer (the other two native coniferous trees are Scots Pine and Yew).  Whereas the cone of Scots Pine hardens and become a woody structure as it ages, the cone of Juniper has fleshy, ‘soft’ scales that merge together to give a berry like structure, which encloses the seeds.  The ‘berries’ or cones are green when young but turn a purple black colour as they mature. Read more...
Bleeding Yew tree in Pembrokeshire

Bleeding Yew tree in Pembrokeshire

by Angus, 14 June, 2013, 15 comments

Often one sees sap coming out of an old tree, usually where it is healing up, but usually these "bleeding" areas heal up quite quickly. Recently I came across a most remarkable yew tree when I visited the ancient village of Nevern in Pembrokeshire. It has a 6th century church (St Brynach's Church) and in the churchyard there are a number of ancient yew trees (Taxus baccata). One of these yews near to the gate is called the "Bleeding Yew" which is about 700 years old and here are some photos I took of it. It has a blood-red sap running out of it which has the consistency of blood - though it dries pink rather than brown. I dipped my finger in it and there wasn't any distinctive smell or stain, but as people say that most parts of the yew tree are poisonous, I didn't taste it. Read more...
British hedges ( in woodlands, gardens and farms)

British hedges ( in woodlands, gardens and farms)

by Angus, 12 October, 2012, 5 comments

We British like our hedges - perhaps it's part of the British reserve, keeping people at arms' length, or maybe it's because they are very functional for keeping stock in fields and marking boundaries. For wildlife, hedgerows have long been important avenues of local migration and hedges represent their own distinct habitat. The attitude of the authorities towards hedges has undergone a roller coaster ride over the last 50 years. In the 1970s, the government were paying grants for the removal of hedges with the objective of encouraging the creation of larger fields to make agriculture more efficient - these were bad times for conservation - Oliver Rackham describes these as "the locust years".  More recently grants have been available for planting hedges and their unauthorised removal in the countryside has become a criminal offence with the Hedgerow Regulations of 1997. Read more...
How old is that tree ?

How old is that tree ?

by Richard, 28 October, 2011, 7 comments

How often does the question arise "how old is that tree"?  Experienced foresters can often look at a tree and make a good estimate, based on trees they have felled in different areas where different growth rates can lead to trees of very different size of the same age. For the less experienced, ageing trees can be much more difficult, assuming we are not felling them to count rings!  Some trees are virtually impossible to age, very old yew, mainly because of their great age cannot be accurately dated, see http://www.ancient-yew.org/mi.php/dating-yews/99 for further details. Read more...
Botanic Gardens, Arboreta ........

Botanic Gardens, Arboreta ……..

by Lewis, 29 October, 2010, 1 comments

There are over 2,200 botanic gardens in 153 countries around the world and the UK's oldest is Oxford's.  It is fairly small considering how many plants it contains, covering about 4.5 acres, and it feels very like the Chelsea Physic Garden in London.  This may not be too surprising as they were both founded to support the practice and teaching of medicine.  The Oxford Botanic Gardens were founded in 1621 as the Physic Garden and after only a few years the yew tree (see photo below) was planted which is still in the garden today.  Read more...

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