What's this, boys and girls?

[sandspider]

Trying out a tree ID key, and it comes up with turkey oak which I don't think is right. Anyone know what this is? (The foreground twig, leaf and berries(?), not the big trees in the background)

 

Thanks.

[BTS]

Trying out a tree ID key, and it comes up with turkey oak which I don't think is right. Anyone know what this is? (The foreground twig, leaf and berries(?), not the big trees in the background)

 

Thanks.

 

Hawthorn

[Paul Jenks]

What he said

[se7enthdevil]

yep, you got one thorny tree there

[sandspider]

Cheers gents. That was my first thought due to leaf shape, but it doesn't have any thorns, and it's quite a big tree - 15-20m high. I suppose hawthorn doesn't have to be thorny, and can grow into a decent size tree if not in a hedgerow and left alone?

[se7enthdevil]

would that be a cockspur hawthorn then?

 

i think they are thornless

[armybloke]

Thorns are a form of protection against predation and are costly to the trees energy supply. Should the tree not need them then why make them? By way of example you may notice in your travels that some Holly trees have hardly any spiky leaves unlike those in the New Forest where the ponies eat them to de-worm themselves which are prickly beyond comprehension - ouch! Trees are VERY clever and we sometimes don't appreciate that very much.

[sandspider]

Could be a cockspur - though it seems tall for one. It's also not in great shape (thin / weak foliage and heavy dead ivy infestation) so it might be saving its energy for things other than thorns...

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

depending on genetics some Hawthorns can be devoid of thorns

[treerjb]

Cockspur thorn also has thorns (nasty ones), and different shaped leaves.