Medieval

Oaks

Oaks
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur)[English Oak]

It is a long-lived tree, with a large widespreading crown of rugged branches. While it may naturally live to an age of a few centuries, many of the oldest trees are pollarded or coppiced, both pruning techniques that extend the tree's potential lifespan, if not its health.

Quercus robur' is planted for forestry, and produces a long-lasting and durable heartwood, much in demand for interior and furniture work. The wood is characterised by its distinct (often wide) dark and light brown growth rings. The timber is around 720 kg per cubic meter in density.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Marble_gall

Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea)

The wood is important, used for construction purposes (particularly timber framing), shipbuilding, and for making oak barrels for wine.

. Bark . Coppice . Dye . Fine-grain . Firewood . Flavoring . Fodder . Fruit . Hardwood . Hedgerows . Indoor use only . Marshy or moist soil . Medicinal . Moisture resistance . Paper . Piles . Seeds and Nuts . Softwood . Special Uses .

Wood and Trees - external links .

Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .

Pines

Pines
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

Scots Pine is an important tree in forestry. The wood is used for pulp and sawn timber products. A seedling stand can be created by planting, sowing or natural regeneration.

In Finland and the Scandinavian countries, Scots Pine were used for making tar in the pre-industrial age. There are still some active tar producers, but mostly the industry has ceased to exist. It have also been used as a source of rosin and turpentine.

The wood is pale brown to red-brown, and used for general construction work. It has a dry density of around 470 kg/m3 (varying with growth conditions).

Wood and Trees - external links .

Poplars

Poplars
Poplar is widely used for the manufacture of paper.

Poplar wood has exceptional flexibility. Poplar wood, particularly when seasoned, makes a good hearth for a bow drill.

Due to its high tannic acid content, the bark has been used in Europe for tanning leather

Aspen (Populus tremula)
Black Poplar (Populus nigra; southern Great Britain only)

Wood and Trees - external links .

Rowans and Whitebeams

Rowans and Whitebeams

The wood is dense and used for carving and turning and for tool handles and walking sticks. Rowan berries are a traditional source of tannins for mordanting vegetable dyes.

The fruit of European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) can be made into a slightly bitter jelly which in Britain is traditionally eaten as an accompaniment to game, and into jams and other preserves, on their own, or with other fruits. Rowan berries are usually too astringent to be palatable when raw. Collecting them after first frost reduces the bitter taste.

The density of the rowan wood makes it very usable for walking sticks.

European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Common Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) and several related apomictic microspecies.

Wood and Trees - external links .

Service Tree

Service Tree (Sorbus domestica; recently discovered growing wild on a cliff in south Wales)
The fruit is a component of a cider-like drink which is still made in parts of Europe. Picked straight off the tree, it is highly astringent and gritty; however, when left to blet (over-ripen) it sweetens and becomes pleasant to eat.

Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis)
It is relatively rare and in Britain is now usually confined to pockets of ancient woodland, although it can also be found growing in hedgerows. It can often be found associated with oak and ash woods, preferring clay and lime based soils.

The fruit, sometimes called "chequers", are edible and taste similar to dates, although they are now rarely collected for food. They are usually too astringent to eat until they are over-ripe and bletted. They were traditionally known as a herbal remedy for colic; the tree's Latin name, torminalis means 'good for colic'. Before the introduction of hops, the fruit were used to flavour beer.

Wood and Trees - external links .

shrubs

Native large shrubs
These larger shrubs occasionally reach tree size:

Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)

Galen, a Greek physician of the 2nd century A.D., knew of Alder Buckthorn, although he did not distinguish clearly in his writings between it and other closely related species. All of these plants though, were credited with the power to protect against witchcraft, demons, poisons, and headaches.

The bark (and to a lesser extent the fruit) has been used as a laxative, due to its 3 - 7% anthraquinone content. Bark for medicinal use is dried and stored for a year before use, as fresh bark is violently purgative; even dried bark can be dangerous if taken in excess.

Purging Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
The bark and fruit were used as a purgative in the past, though their potentially dangerous violent action and side effects means they are now rarely used.

Elder (Sambucus nigra)
The dark blue/purple berries can be eaten when fully ripe but are mildly poisonous in their unripe state. . All green parts of the plant are poisonous, containing cyanogenic glycosides (Vedel & Lange 1960). The berries are edible after cooking and can be used to make jam, jelly, chutney and Pontack sauce. Also when cooked they go well with blackberries and with apples in pies. Both flowers and berries can be made into elderberry wine.

This plant is traditionally used as a medicinal plant by many native peoples and herbalists alike. The flowers can be used to make an herbal tea as a remedy for inflammation caused by colds and fever.

The strong-smelling foliage was used in the past, tied to a horse's mane, to keep flies away while riding. The stem can be used to make a whistle, after the pith has been removed.

Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)

The plant is thus often grown in organic gardening and permaculture to prevent harm to orchard crops, while benefitting from the fact that even frugivorous birds will hunt pest insects during the breeding season, as their young require much protein to grow.

The straight woody shoots produced by the plant which can be used as prods, skewers or arrows. The prehistoric archer known as Ötzi the Iceman, discovered on the border between Italy and Austria in 1991 was carrying arrows made from dogwood.

Wood and Trees - external links .

Willows

Willows (Salix spp.; several species)
Willow wood is also used in the manufacture of boxes, brooms, cradle boards, chairs and other furniture, dolls, flutes, poles, toys, turnery, tool handles, veneer, wands and whistles.

In addition tannin, fibre, paper, rope and string, can be produced from the wood. Willows are also popular for wicker (often from osiers), which is used in basket weaving, fish traps, wattle fences and wattle and daub.

Willow bark contains auxins (plant growth hormones), especially those used for rooting new cuttings. The bark can even be used to make a simple extract that will promote cutting growth.

Willows produce a modest amount of nectar that bees can make honey from, and are especially valued as a source of early pollen for bees.

Willow is grown for biomass or biofuel, in energy forestry systems, as a consequence of its high energy in-energy out ratio, large carbon mitigation potential and fast growth.

The leaves and bark of the willow tree have been mentioned in ancient texts as a remedy for aches and fever, and the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about its medicinal properties in the 5th century BC. It contains salicylic acid, the precursor to aspirin.

Bay Willow (Salix pentandra)
Crack Willow (Salix fragilis)
White Willow (Salix alba)
Almond-leaved Willow (Salix triandra)

Sallow, Goat Willow (Salix caprea)
Both tannin and salicin can be extracted from Goat Willow bark. The tree is not considered a good source of timber as its wood is both brittle and known to crackle violently if burned.

Grey Willow (Salix cinerea)

All woods are composed of 60% cellulose and 28% lignin. These substances make up the fibrous and woody cell walls of plants and trees and are held together by cementing properties. The individual consistencies and colors are the elements remaining of about 12%. Other characteristics are due to the way that the wood is sawed and cured. There are hardwoods from deciduous trees and softwoods from coniferous trees.

Osier (Salix viminalis)
Salix viminalis is a multistemmed shrub growing to between 3–6 m (rarely to 10 m) tall. It has long, erect, straight branches with greenish-grey bark.

It is commonly found by streams and other wet places. The exact native range is uncertain due to extensive historical cultivation; it is certainly native from central Europe east to western Asia, but may also be native as far west as southeastern England. As a cultivated or naturalised plant, it is widespread throughout both Britain and Ireland, but only at lower altitudes.

Along with other related willows, the flexible twigs (called "withies") are commonly used in basketry, giving rise to its alternative common name of "basket willow"

Apis - Bee evolution, distribution ⇝

Wood and Trees - external links .

Pages

Oaks

Pines

Poplars

Rowans and Whitebeams

Service Tree

shrubs

Willows