Trees Gallery - Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) - page 8

Quercus ilex 'Fordii'

Holm oak

A.k.a. Evergreen oak, q. ilex angustifolia. The type can grow to 30 m in height. The crown is broad, domed, with ascending branches and often with low stems, trunk short and thick. It can also grow as a flattened, suckering shrub. Catkins are dense and pendulous, pale green, opening in a mass of yellow stamens. These are followed by acorns borne on a downy peduncle a stalk bearing a flower or fruit , singly or in groups of up to three, ripening in the first year. The cup is light green with appressed scales, enclosing one third to one half of the nut. The 'Fordii' variety was named after one of the proprietors of Lucombe and Prince’s Nursery. There are 7 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Quercus ithaburensis macrolepis

Valonia oak

Native to SE Italy, Asia minor and N Africa. A deciduous, monoecious tree growing to 15m. The acorns are solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3, sessile or borne on a very short, thick peduncle. They ripen in their second year. They have a large cupule, hemispherical or turbinate, with thick scales. About a third of the acorn is enclosed in the cupule.The cups, known as valonia, are used for tanning and dyeing, as are the unripe acorns called camata or camatina. The ripe acorns can be eaten raw or boiled. There are 21 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Quercus macranthera x petrea

Caucasian oak

A.k.a. Persian oak. A deciduous tree up to 20m. The acorns are barely stalked, the lower half enclosed by a cup which is covered outside with erect, lanceolate, downy scales. This specimen has hybridised with q. petrea, There are no photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website

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Quercus phillyreoides

Ubame oak

A native of China and Japan. An evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 5m tall. The bark is dark gray or blackish brown, flaky, with superficial longitudinal fissures. Young shoots slender, grayish brown pubescent, later glabrescent. Female inflorescences are followed by acorns born singly or in pairs with one third enclosed by a cup-shaped cupule. This species is widely cultivated and is found in collections around the world. It is commonly planted in Japanese gardens, often as a hedge or as clipped topiary. It bears a superficial resemblance to Phillyrea latifolia, after which it is named. There are 12 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Quercus robur

Common oak

A.k.a. Pedunculate Oak, English Oak, German Oak, Truffle Oak, Darach (Gaelic) Native to Europe, N Africa, SW Asia. A large, deciduous tree growing up to 40m. Leaves have 4–5 deep lobes with smooth edges. Leaf-burst occurs mid-May, with leaves having almost no stem, growing in bunches. Long, yellow hanging catkins spread pollen into the air. Acorns are on long stalks and in cupules the cup-shaped base of the acorn . As it ripens, the green acorn turns brown, loosens from the cupule and falls to the canopy below, sprouting the following spring. There are 16 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Quercus robur forma fastigiata

Cypress oak

A.k.a. fastigiate oak or pyramid oak. A very upright form of oak that makes a tall column to 20m, appearing almost like a conifer from a distance. Indeed, the common name Cypress Oak refers to its passing resemblance to the Italian cypress, although the leaves are classic English oak shape and not anything like needles or scales. There are 13 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Quercus robur filicifolia

Cut leaved oak

A variety said to have been found wild in S Germany in the 1850s. Filicifolia refers to the deeply cut leaves The acorns are pedunculate having a peduncle (a stalk bearing a flower or fruit) , as in Q. robur, and the leaves are short-stalked as in that species. There are 5 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website

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Rhododendron calophytum var. calophytum

Beautiful face rhododendron

SW China (Yunnan, Sichuan), where it lives at altitudes of 1,400–4,000 m. A substantial evergreen shrub growing to 12m. The leathery leaves are narrow and up to 30cm long. In early Spring trusses of 15 to 30 bell-shaped, pale pink flowers, spotted with maroon inside, are produced. There are 61 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Salix alba rockanje

White willow

A deciduous tree typically grows to a height of 25m. Spring catkins measuring 4-6cm emerge alongside the leaves. S. rockanje has particularly silver haired young shoots; probably named after a village in S Holland. There are 11 photos on the RBGE website.

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Sequoiadendron giganteum

Giant redwood

A.k.a. California Big Tree, Mammoth Tree, Sierra Redwood, Wellingtonia. A massive, monoecious, evergreen, coniferous tree to 90–95 m tall, native to the USA (California), where it is on the IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature red list as endangered. Leaves are spirally arranged in 3 ranks, very variable in size according to the age of the branch they are on. Pollen cones are terminal, on the same branches as seed cones. There are 87 photos on the RBGE Garden Explorer website.

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Sorbus aucuparia

Mountain ash

A.k.a. European Mountain Ash, Quicken Tree, Rantry, Rowan, Mountain Ash, Caorann (Gaelic). Native to Europe, N Africa, SW Asia. Mature trees can grow to 15m and can live for up to 200 years. The bark is smooth and silvery grey, and leaf buds are purple and hairy. Leaves have 5–8 pairs of serrated leaflets, arranged alternately. Young twigs start hairy and become smooth; buds are hairy all over. Flowers are hermaphrodite each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts , borne in dense clusters, each bearing five creamy-white petals. There are 55 photos on the RBGE Garden explorer website.

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