Tree Walk - September 2015

Nineteen people joined Owen Johnson on Saturday 12th September for a fascinating walk and talk looking at trees in The Plantation and Warren Glen.

With characteristic touches of humour, Owen set the trees we saw in a historic and prehistoric context, and talked about the various environmental factors that determine how they grow. He commented on the bright white undersides of the leaves of White Poplar 'going out like a light' in the rain when the dense white hairs are covered in raindrops, and the aromatic foliage of the Bay, a native of southern Europe but often found growing wild in Britain, deterring insect attack.

The dense foliage of Yew makes it the best tree for shelter, and it would probably have been used for outdoor meetings, including early Christian gatherings, so in time the church would have been built beside the tree, leading to the idea of Yew trees being planted in churchyards.

Everyone must have learned something new.