Rhododendron ponticum

  This dense shrub/ small tree, native to Southern Europe and Western Asia, is an evergreen specimen, growing up to around 5m and can in some circumstances reach a height of around 8m. Its evergreen leaves range from 6-18cm long and 2-5cm wide. Its flowers are purple, 3-5cm in diameter and often have small greenish-yellow spots or streaks. Its fruit is a long dry capsule 1.5-2.5cm long, containing numerous small seeds.

  Rhododendron ponticum is cultivated extensively across Western Europe, used as an ornamental plant in its own right and also as a root plant for other rhododendron sub-species. In some areas of Western Europe and other countries like New Zealand, the plant is considered an invasive species and has to be managed vigorously to conserve nature in those areas. The specimen I have photographed is clearly competing well with other shrubs and trees. It has been planted in a park in an ornamental arrangement and appears to be thriving within a dense arrangement of other species including buddlea davidii.  

Ulex europaeus – Gorse

  Native to a wide area of Europe, from the British Isles to the south of Portugal across to Poland and Ukraine. It is an evergreen shrub that grows around 2-3 metres tall. Its young stems are green, producing shoots and leaves that develop into spines, 1-3cm long. It produces small bright yellow flowers, around 2cm long which are produced throughout the year but mainly in the spring. It produces fruit in pods, legumes, which are 2cm long, dark purplish brown containing 2-3 small hard seeds which are ejected when the pod splits in warm weather.

  It is considered an invasive species in many countries, like Chile and New Zealand where it often causes serious problems as none of its natural predators were present as the plant was introduced to these countries from the British Isles. The plant is also known to easily catch fire and can be a fire hazard, fire may appear to destroy the plant but it can grow back from the roots.

  The specimen I have photographed is in a park cark-park. Its attractive bright colours are a nice feature however its spiny appearance, I think, makes it slightly less attractive than other evergreen shrubs.

Buddlea davidii

  Buddlea davidii is a shrub native to China and Japan, it is widely used as an ornamental plant and was first thought to have been brought to the West in the late 1800’s. It is a vigorous shrub with an arching habit, growing up to around 5m. It has pale brown bark that becomes rather fissured with age. It has lanceolate leaves that are 7-13cm long. It has hermaphrodite flowers (containing both male and female parts).

  Its flowering time is normally limited to around six weeks unless the removal of spent flowers has taken place, which can encourage further growth. Buddlea are of a high value to many butterfly species due to the nectar their flowers produce. In many countries, including the UK, it has been declared as an invasive species. This is because the plant self-seeds very successfully and can been seen growing ruderally almost anywhere in the UK, it may be seen growing in cracks in the walls of railway viaducts or abandoned plots of land, almost anywhere as its seed can germinate in a tiny amount of soil.

Carpinus betulus – Hornbeam

  Hornbeam is a fine tree growing up to around 30m. It has a noticeably bold outline in winter, its bole is often gnarled and twisted and its bark is silvery grey with deep fissures lower down and occasionally has dark bands. In one of the specimens I have photographed, the bark is silvery grey with a green tinge due to moss growth. The younger specimen I have photographed in a hedgerow, displays typically silvery grey bark. It has also maintained its leaves through the winter which is typical of hornbeams throughout the, when planted in hedgerows. Its leaves are green through the summer colourful in autumn turning orange to russet-brown. They are oval and pointed with a rounded base, short petiole and double toothed margin. They have 15 pairs of veins on the underside.

  It is native to Britain, occurring in pure stands and in some woodlands and hedgerows. It is widely planted as a specimen tree in parks and gardens. It is tolerant of heavy clay soils. Hornbeam was also regularly coppiced to provide timber as its tough wood is prized for its durable qualities. Its tough seeds are a favourite food of the Hawfinch, the only British bird able to crack them open.

 Its male catkins are 5cm long, yellowish green with red outer scales. Its fruit form in clusters of winged nutlets, usually consisting of about 8 pairs of small hard-cased nuts up to 14cm long.

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.