jwade

But can't oak make pure stands? And what about atlantic oak woodland - are these habitats not pre 1600 with 'ancient semi natural' characteristics?

I couldnt see any thorns, but the glossier leaf does make me lean towards some sort of thorn tree.

Could be an Aria sect sp. Maybe Sorbus folgneri (the cultivar 'lemon drop) or it could well be a

I can't seem to find the full list, but just relaying news that I read via Kew. I'm sure it must be public domain by now. I can only find the pilot as mentioned. Boletaceae No.14 Edit. In regards to the RDB fungal lists I should say.

Just a quick side note some of the fung amongst us may have noticed, it's nice to see that an official Red data list has been published for British fungi. Although British fungal Red Data Lists were published in 1992 and 2006, neither of these were officially approval by the JNCC. This latest list is based on DNA analysis so makes it more robust I guess.

Looks like a crepe myrtle. Lagerstroemia indica, lovely tree and great bark, doesn't flower too well unless there is lots of summer heat (my experience of it in the UK that is). Good for a sunny wall or aspect, tends to flower in september/october time.

Indeed it is a Loquat.

A bluish-green stain fungi or 'green elf cup' , of which I've never seen the fruit bodies before. This example found my the mrs on a nearby nature reserve, not the sharpest of photo's but Chlorociboria aeruginascens perhaps?

Excellent news, nice to see so many healthy young seedlings. The fruits can be messy to process!

Cracking documentation of really under appreciated native tree, hopefully it'll have a good few years left in it. Have you ever tried to grow on the seed in plugs to plant in other areas of the wood? Seeds need quite a long winter chill to get them going. Shame that the fencing didn't allow for natural germination in the leaf litter. I've had good germination rates from wild service collected in parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. I've also observed that trees growing on exposed steeper terrain tend to sucker and regenerate clonally (as is often the case with service), maybe because of root disturbance.

Looks like an alangium sp. perhaps?

Glad this is of interest! I'm guessing the p. pomaceus isn't really all that uncommon, I've seen it on Blackthorns also, but in Herefordshire and Worcestershire I think there is lots of it on Damsons and other cultivated plums - due to the heritage of fruit growing. In this instance it was a damson located within a hedgerow, and there only appeared to be webbing on this particular tree. Further down the hedgerow on other Damsons there were none. Maybe the gnat is just picky about its site. I'd expect to see it on cultivated prunus cerasifera pissardii's, there are reports of this sort of webbing on ornamental cherry in Kidlington.

Here's a find from a few months back which might be of interest to some. Both myself and one other were documenting a nearby cherry orchard (for noble chafer) and noticed this fungus gnat webbing on a hedgerow damson close to where I live. Fungus gnat is thought to be Sciophila pomonae, which produces these curious webbings with holes on Phellinus pomaceus. Apparently the experts think this is quite scarce (RDB listed as vulnerable), although is probably more frequent when actively looked for, particularly in orchardy (technical term) areas such as Herefordshire and Worcestershire/ Vale of Evesham. Apparently only 4 confirmed records across GB.

Firstly these are Loquat trees, known as Eriobotrya japonica, I can see some yellowing of the foliage (chlorosis) which is fairly common on these trees. Not sure what the holes are, but it's probably some insect that has munched through them. The blotches could be fungal, apple scab (Venturia sp.) has been known to cause these symptoms - perhaps as a result of the wet spring? Not much else I can add, I only grow one of these in a pot within a polytunnel in the hope that one day it'll be hot enough to get fruits!

yep, so would I. What is the trees context? Acer distylum is not a commonly encountered snakebark maple, normally found in specialist collections. But may be wrong.

Yep, I'd lean towards that definitely. Even some of the experts don't agree on A.davidii, some treating subsp. groserii as a subspecies and others a species in it's own right.

The long drip tips and the snakebark look to the branches suggest to me this is an Acer sp. Acer davidii has variation in lobing, some being lobed, others weakly or unlobed.

It looks like one of the snakebark maples - most common ones I see are Acer, rufinerve, capillipes, or davidii. Most often see Acer davidii, so it may be that, it has variable lobing on the leaves.

There is no spoon...

I know this park well, and also the tree in question and have always had a quick peek as I've walked past it - shame to see it finally be taken down. Do you know what species you'll plant in it's place? I think this park would benefit from some more 'informality' in terms of deadwood habitat. It's surprising how well the public perception can be, especially as one gradually starts managing parks for habitat - no one really starts to notice.

Indeed we do have one in Worcester, right behind the cathedral tucked away.. Although a few months back I noticed the scaffolders knackering the branches and causing quite a bit of compaction around the root plate. I have grown plants from this tree in Malvern, infact there are two forms, s. domestica f. pyrifera and pomifera. It's one of those trees that's a bit of a mystery when encountered, with pinnate foliage like a rowan but large apple/pear like fruits and rougher bark. Also it's uncertain whether it is truly native, there are thought to be some truly 'wild' populations near Barry on limestone cliff in Wales - these trees are literally clinging on (as most endemic sorbus seem to be). These ones have been found to be at least 400 years, there are other populations in Gloucestershire and along the Glamorgan coastline. The Wyre forest is famed for having a large tree that was vandalised and later replanted. Lovely thing though, beautiful fruits and cracking autumn colour and should be sought out and planted more often.

I think it requires a specialist filter conversion, most cameras are designed to filter out this spectrum. Although it is possible to get this look in post processing, in photoshop etc. Nice effects though, works well on trees, waterfalls and blue skies...