Reg’s Meadow - January 2006
Winter Patterns – Bark, Twigs and Stems
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Roman snail |
Reg ’s Meadow is now in its dormant period. As we walked around it early in December there was very little wildlife in evidence. We saw a flock of Long-Tailed Tits, heard the song of Yellowhammers and found one Roman Snail sheltering in the hedge.
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Mown foliage |
The only bright colour came from the glowing red of rose hips among the white froth of Old Man ’s Beard. We did not find a single flower, even along the hedgerows where the ground foliage has not been cut. The meadow was mowed in November, with one narrow strip left in the centre as a cover for wildlife. The mowed foliage from the central area has now been removed and piled into a mound beside the bottom hedgerow, where it sits steaming gently in the watery sunshine of cold winter mornings.
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Confused Hazel! |
The mature hedges have been trimmed and many of the leaves have fallen from the trees, although a surprising number of leaves are still clinging doggedly to their branches. One young Hazel tree appeared decidedly confused, having dead leaves, buds and catkins all on its branches at the same time!
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Larch needles |
Cedar of Lebanon |
The young larches in the copses are still green but they will soon begin to shed their needles. Unlike other conifers, Larch is deciduous, producing new foliage each year. The young Cedar trees, which look very similar to Larch, are not deciduous and will keep their needles through the winter.
As the trees and shrubs become bare we can begin to see things that have been hidden for much of the year and an array of differently coloured and textured bark patterns has emerged along the hedgerows and in the copses.
The bark of a tree has various functions, including protecting the tree from extremes of weather or from attack by fungi, bacteria and grazing animals. Bark has two main parts, an inner layer of living tissue and an outer, dead layer. On trees with thin bark the outer layers sometimes peel or flake away but on those with thicker, persistent bark the surface often develops deep fissures as the tree matures. Browsing by animals such as deer and rabbits is a serious problem and can kill a tree completely if the bark is grazed off in a circle around the whole trunk. Some trees, such as Birch, have developed a defence mechanism against this by producing thicker bark at the base of the trunk, with much thinner bark higher up the tree where browsing animals cannot reach.
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Silver birch 1 |
Silver birch 2 |
This thicker bark can be seen at the base of mature Silver Birch trees, which have beautiful and varied bark patterns. The Birch trees in the meadow are still very young and have smooth bark with few fissures. The two photographs shown here were taken in another part of the park.
Many different bark colours and patterns can be found in our meadow, some of which are shown below.
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Young Ash |
Mature Ash |
Cherry |
Hawthorn (ornamental) |
Cedar |
Most of these photographs are of immature trees and hedgerow shrubs. It is quite difficult to reach the mature trees around the edge of the meadow because of a thick layer of brambles, thorns and climbers surrounding the hedgerows.
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Wild Rose |
Twisted stems |
Once they have been laid bare by winter, the various twisted shapes and colours of the hedgerow plants add the finishing touches to the tapestry of winter bark in the meadow.
Featured Plant– Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba)
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Old Man's Beard |
Old Man's Beard and |
A native perennial of the buttercup family, found in hedgerows, woodland edges and scrub, mainly on chalky soils. It has woody, vine-like stems which climb up trees and shrubs, reaching a height of up to 30 metres. Loose clusters of almond-scented white flowers appear in July and August and numerous nut-like fruits with rounded heads of long feathery plumes are produced in September and October. These remain on the trees and bushes well into the winter, giving an almost snow-like appearance to the hedgerows.
Alternative names include Traveller’s Joy, Father Christmas, Baccy Plant, Boy’s Bacca, Smokewood, Shepherd’s Delight and Woodbine. The name Clematis is from the Greek meaning “long, lithe branches” and vitalba means “white vine”. The dry stems were traditionally cut in winter and used for smoking, giving rise to the names referring to tobacco, and Richard Mabey suggests in “Flora Britannica” that the plant may have inspired the Woodbine cigarette brand name. “Smokewood” may also refer to the appearance of the clouds of feathery fronds in the hedgerows when seen from a distance. The stems have also been used traditionally in basketry.
In medicine the plant has been used in homeopathy to treat rheumatism, skin rashes and swollen glands. The boiled roots and stems were used traditionally as a cure for itching. The plant appears in the Bach Flower remedies, quoted for “Indifference, Dreaminess, Inattention and Unconsciousness”, and is one of the ingredients of the well-known Rescue Remedy.
