European Trees
European
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The European Beech or Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. The natural range extends from southern Sweden (with some isolated locations in southern Norway) to central Italy, west to France and northern Portugal, and east to northwest Turkey, where it intergrades with the Oriental Beech (F. orientalis), which replaces it further east. Reaches a height of 30 m (100 ft), occasionally 45 m (150 ft). Diameter about 1-2 m (4 ft), sometimes greater. Clear bole 10-15 m (30-50 ft), according to growth conditions. |
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Olivewood (Olea hochstetteri) The Olive is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and parts of Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 meters in height.The silvery green leaves are oblong in shape, measuring 4–10 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.The small white flowers, with four-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.
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Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) The sycamore is a well-known tree, thought to have been introduced to Britain from Europe in the 15th or 16th Century. The domed crown is often broader than it is tall, as it can become very widely spread. The bark is grey and fissured, forming rectangular plates; orange patches may be revealed as these plates peels away. The dark green five-lobed leaves turn a deep golden-yellow colour in autumn. Both the shape and size of the leaves vary with the age of the tree. During April, many yellowish flowers grow in narrow, drooping heads. The paired, winged fruits are known to children as 'helicopters' in England because of their propeller-like path of descent |
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Although a large tree it is by no means tall, growing to a height of 12-15m (40-50 ft) but with a short bole which is never cylindrical because of its characteristic form of growth. The tree is continually pushing out new shoots from the lower part of the bole; these grow upwards and coalesce with the old wood, thus producing a fluted appearance to the bole, or as a series of fused steams. |
