Trees Gallery - Mellerstain

Mellerstain House

Mellerstain House is a Robert Adam masterpiece, located within 100 acres of mature parkland, with formal gardens, an Italianate terrace, sturdy oaks and majestic beeches, and a thatched cottage discreetly tucked away with its own enclosed parterre garden. We stayed in a cottage on the estate for a week, and most of the photos here were taken in fading evening light.

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Abies Koreana abies - from L. abeo - to rise, to go up, koreana - from Korea

Korean fir

Compact evergreen conical tree to 18 m, native to the higher mountains of S Korea, with thick dark green needles, slightly notched at the tip, with white bands of stomata beneath. The cones are cylindrical blue or purple cones, some with protruding green or yellow bracts, often borne on young trees. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they lie mostly either side of and above the shoot, with fewer below the shoot.

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Acer palmatum acer - from the Latin for maple; palmatum, palm-like, referring to the 5 lobed hand shaped leaves;

Japanese maple

A slow-growing shrub of broadly arching habit, native to Japan, Korea and China, typically growing to 4 m, with a larger spread. There are so many varieties that unless there is a name tag, it is difficult to pin down the correct one.

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Aesculus carnea , aesculus the ancient name for a type of oak; carnea, Latin, meaning flesh-colored or pink, referring to the tree's distinctive flowers.

Red horse chestnut

An artificial hybrid between A. pavia (red buckeye) and A. hippocastanum (horse-chestnut). Its origin uncertain, probably appearing in Germany before 1820. It inherits the red flower color from A. pavia. Flowers are borne in plumes on branch ends in spring, followed by producing leathery fruit capsules in autumn, not spiky like those of the parent plant. Not as tall as a. hippocastanum, growing to 12 m. . Its

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Alnus glutinosa old Latin name for alder; glutinosa for, Latin for 'sticky', referring to the young twigs, buds, and leaves which are coated in a resinous gum.

Alder

A.k.a. common alder, black alder, European alder, a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 m, native to most of Europe, SW Asia and N Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a pioneer species, colonising vacant land and forming mixed forests. Eventually it dies out of woodlands because the seedlings need more light than is available on the forest floor. Its more usual habitat is forest edges, swamps and riverside corridors. The timber has been used in underwater foundations and for manufacture of paper and fibreboard, for smoking foods, for joinery, turnery and carving.

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Araucaria araucana araucaria - after a region of Chile; araucana - the native tribe who used the tree's seeds for food.

Monkey puzzle

A.k.a. monkey tail tree, pewen, pehuen pine or piñonero, an evergreen tree growing to 30–40 m, native to C and S Chile and W Argentina. It is on the IUCN list as endangered in its native region due to logging, forest fires, and grazing. It is usually dioecious male and female cones on separate trees . The male (pollen) cones are oblong and cucumber-shaped. It is wind pollinated. The bark can be up to 15 cm thick, possibly an adaptation to resist wildfires.

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Buddleja weyeriana buddleja, after botanist Revd. Adam Buddle (1662–1715); weyeriana, after Major William van de Weyer (1870 - 1946), who developed the hybrid Sungold describes the pure yellow-orange flowers. sungold

Butterfly bush

A large deciduous shrub with arching branches bearing narrow, dark green leaves and rounded clusters of sweetly scented orange-yellow flowers in summer and autumn.

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Cedrus atlantica cedrus - from Greek kedros, cedar; atlantica - from Latin, 'from the Atlas Mountains'

Atlas cedar

A large coniferous evergreen tree, 30 to 35 m, with a trunk diameter of 1.5 to 2 m. A native of the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria. It is very similar to the other true cedars; some authorities consider it a subspecies of c. libani; others rank it as a distinct species.

Cornus kousa Latin Cornus - horn, from the cornel tree, (not clear) kousa - the Japanese name for the tree

Kousa dogwood possibly from dagwood - dags being sharp skewers, which the dogwood could furnish (cf. dagger)

A.k.a. Chinese dogwood, Korean dogwood, or Japanese dogwood. A small deciduous tree growing 8–12 m, native to E Asia including Korea, China and Japan. The fruit is a globose red compound berry 2–3 cm in diameter. It is edible, with a sweet and creamy flavour, and is sometimes used for making wine.

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Cotoneaster (bullatus?) cotoneum Latin for quince, aster meaning resembling; bullatus, Latin for puckered or having blister-like swellings.

Hollyberry cotoneaster

A large deciduous shrub, with bright shiny-red berries, found naturalized in woodland, scrub, hedgerows and quarries, and on railway banks, roadsides, sand dunes, cliffs, walls and waste ground. Reproduction is by seed, which is frequently bird-sown. (BSBI Plant Atlas description). A neophyte a plant not native to a region, introduced and escaped into the wild in recent history (after 1500). in the UK, originating from W. China. It is listed, aong with other cotoneaster species bullatus, horizontalis, integrifolius, simonsii, microphyllus , on Schedule 9 lists non-native plants which are established in the wild which may not be released or allowed to escape into the wild unless authorised by a licence. of the UK Wildlife & Countryside Act as an invasive species.

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Crataegus laevigata from Greek krátos, meaning strength, referring to the tree's hard wood; laevigata is Latin and means smooth or slippery surface, which describes the leaves.

Midland hawthorn

A.k.a. English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, a native of W and C Europe. It is a large shrub or small tree growing to 8 m, with a dense crown. The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in May, in corymbs a type of inflorescence in which the lower flowers have longer pedicels than the upper ones, creating a flat-topped appearance. of 6 to 12, each flower with five white or pale pink petals and two or sometimes three styles, each of which produces a seed (unlike c. monogyna which has 1). The fruit is a dark red pome, slightly broader than long.

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Fagus sylvatica Fagus - Latin for beech; sylvatica - from Latin silvanus, of the forest

Common beech

Native across Europe, growing to a height of more than 40 m and develop a huge domed crown. The reddish brown, torpedo-shaped leaf buds form on short stalks and have a distinctive criss-cross pattern. Beech is monoeciousboth male and female flowers grow on the same tree . In April and May the tassel-like male catkins hang from long stalks at the end of twigs, while female flowers grow in pairs, surrounded by a cup. Beech woodland is shady and characterised by a dense carpet of fallen leaves and mast husks which prevent most woodland plants from growing. Only specialist shade-tolerant plants can survive beneath a beech canopy.

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