Cotoneaster horizontalis

Native to Western China, this plant is used excessively in the UK as ornamental planting in any public places and car parks. Its leaves are small dark green and waxy, the sheer density of the plants leaves creates a dark green waxy appearance all over. This plant can is used as a single ornamental species but can also be used as a hedge. It grows around 1m tall and spreads to around 1.5m if left unmanaged. It tends to spread very evenly.

This shrub produces an abundance of red berries, these are harmful to humans but many bird species feed from the plant. Berries occur in autumn and persist into winter. Its flowers appear in summer and can range from pink to white.

I have photographed two different specimens of the shrub, one being used as a neatly trimmed hedge, the other spreading more freely clinging to a building. This shows the versatility of the species and how it can be and has often been used in a number of different ways.

Ligustrum ovalifolium – Privet

Native to Japan, one may confuse this plant as an indigenous species to the British Isles as it is has been used in such abundance. It is the most commonly used hedging plant in cultivation in the UK and could be described as an archetypal suburban shrub.

The shrub is most often clipped neatly and used as hedging. However when left unclipped, it can produce an abundance of white flowers, appearing in mid summer. These flowers produce a pungent smell, considered unpleasant to some. Each flower consists of four curled back petals, with two red or yellow anthers. Its fruit are small purple/black coloured and grow in clusters, they are eaten by many bird species but are poisonous to humans. Some plants may produce thousands of fruits if conditions are favourable.

Rubus fruticosus – Bramble

A native species to the British Isles, the bramble can be found almost anywhere in the UK. It can be found in many different types of plant communities, from heaths and dunes to woodlands (although not native to pine woodland). It is more common in lowland than upland areas but can be found in either. Brambles can be self-seeded and grow almost anywhere there is soil. The specimen in my photographs is a ruderal one found in the back garden of a house in Manchester.

An interesting characteristic of the bramble is its ‘two year life span.’ In their first year of growth they are biennial and growth is vigorous and vegetative. It’s leaves on ‘1^st year’ shoots are compound and palmate with 5-7 leaflets. In its second year, lateral shoots develop bearing flowers, and its leaves are slightly smaller and have 3-5 leaflets.

When the tips of the shoots come in direct contact with the ground, they can develop roots and form a daughter plant. This is a form of reproduction, the daughter plant will have the same genetic makeup as its parent plant.

Bramble flowers are white or pale pink and appear in late spring or early summer. The ‘blackberry’ fruit develops through these flowers, however some brambles produce fruit and seed without fertilization through a process called apomixis. This can create some minute differences in the plant and has created some microspecies, however these can be difficult to identify as the differences are minute.

Blackberries are an important food source for many insect and mite species, some relying solely on bramble fruit. It also supports wildlife in other ways, such as birds who take refuge in bramble thickets as its prickly branches offer protection from predators. This also makes bramble an effective hedgerow for retaining animals as its thorns and branches deter animals.

Metasequioa glyptostroboides - Dawn Redwood

  The sole living species of the genus Metasequoia! Considered an endangered species, native to Central/ Western China. Sometimes known as a ‘water fir.’ It is a large deciduous tree growing up to around 60m. In maturity it can form large buttresses on its lower trunk, its bark is normally quite deeply ridged and vertically fissured. Its trunk forms a distinctive ‘trunk’ under each branch. Its short, bright green, leaves (1-3cm) are set opposite each one another, turning reddish brown in the autumn. Species growing in hot regions produce small cones in early spring. These cones are set about in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the other. They mature around 8-9 months after pollination.

  The specimen I have pictured appears to be too large for its planting beds and will inevitably have to be removed. It is a large tree that needs a fair amount of space, so is not appropriate to be planted directly next to a busy pavement and car park.

Salix fragilis - Crack willow

 A large tree in maturity, growing up to around 25m. It has a broadly domed crown, thick bole and large base. It’s leaves are long and glossy, however less glossy on the underside and slightly paler. They are widely spaced on the shoots and have short green petioles. Crack Willow bark is a dull grey-brown/ yellow with thick overlapping ridges. It’s branches generally arise from the trees base. 

   It produces yellow, pendulous, male catkins that open around the same time as the leaves in the early spring. Female catkins (on separate trees) are green and pendulous.

  The specimen I have pictured has been planted, amongst others, as an ornamental plant on the UMIST campus in Manchester City centre, where it and other specimens appear to be thriving and look very attractive. 

Prunus avium – Wild Cherry

Wild Cherry is a large deciduous tree with a tapering bole and high domed crown. Its bark is a shiny reddish brown with circular lines of lenticels peeling horizontally into tough papery strips. Its branches spread widely and terminate in smooth reddish twigs. Its leaves are ovate with a long pointed apex and forward pointing irregular teeth on the margins. The leaves grow up to 15cm long and have a smooth and dull green upper surface. The petiole is 2-5cm long with two glands near the leaf. It produces white flowers in long stalked clusters of 2-6 that open up just before the leaves. They have 5 petals up to 1.5cm long. Its fruit is round, up to 2cm long with a depressed apex and a dark purple/red-black shiny skin (sometimes yellow skin). It is a widespread native of most of Europe except for the far North and East. Birds are particularly fond of its ripe fruits and can completely strip a tree within a day or so. Its timber is hard and strong and used for turnery and making furniture.

Acer pseudoplatanus – Sycamore Maple

Sycamore maple is a fast growing, vigorous deciduous tree with a broadly domed crown. Its bark is greyish, broken up by numerous fissures into irregular patched that can sometimes fall away revealing an orange under layer. Its branches are quite thick near the main bole, terminating in grey-green twigs with pale lenticels and reddish buds.

Its leaves are opposite, up to 15cm long and divided into 5 toothed lobes. The leaves produce a bright green display in spring as they are so large and abundant. Its flowers are prolific, pendulous yellow clusters up to 12cm long opening about the same time as the leaves in April/May. Paired fruits ripen during the summer and reach a length of 6cm. They are green in colour to begin with becoming redder and finally brown and dried. It has a horseshoe shaped, winged fruit that spreads easily as it is carried effectively by the wind. Sycamore is native to the hills and uplands of central and South Europe but it is widely planted and naturalised elsewhere, including Britain and Ireland. It does well on heavy soils and tolerates coastal conditions as well as uplands. It can dominate woodlands and can be quite invasive if unmanaged.