Top trees so far
David Alderman, 26/07/2018
Since the new website went live in June more than 1,000 special trees have been added to the Ancient Tree Inventory. It's been a tricky choice, but we've picked our top three out of these new discoveries.
An unusual coppard
This remarkable tree was recorded by Doug Lloyd of the Gwent Wildlife Trust, who own land immediately adjacent to the ancient woodland boundary where the tree grows. This ancient small leaved lime pollard may originally have been a stem arising from the base, or stump, of a much older tree, along with two other trees next to it.
The surviving trees could be described together as being a "coppard", or pollarded stems arising from a coppiced stump. This part of the Wye Valley has a number of ancient lime, many pollarded whilst others that have naturally collapsed and layered along boundaries, have created a "hedge" of ancient trees.
Despite being close to public footpaths, it's easy to miss these incredible trees!
These lime trees may be one huge coppard. (Photo: Doug Lloyd)
A county champion
When William Musson reported the ash tree in his field to the Tree Register, a partner organisation working with the Woodland Trust on the Ancient Tree Inventory, he said “Family folk lore professes it as the largest ash tree in the county”.
The Tree Register was able to confirm it as the 4th largest girthed ash ever recorded in Leicestershire and, as believed, the current county champion. Only two trees, mentioned by JC Louden in the 1830’s, and the collapsed hulk of a tree recorded by Alan Mitchell in the 1980’s, all now long gone, have historically been known to be bigger.
William recorded it here on the ATI and a most fitting champion tree it looks too! He added “I do hope that it has resistance to ash die back - that is something that has been worrying me.”
This huge ash tree is the champion for Leicestershire. (Photo: William Musson)
An inconspicuous ancient
Not all ancient trees are huge, gnarly and visually impressive! This box tree, with its hollow trunk, has all the signs of being ancient for its species. There are records of box surviving from Tudor gardens, with the oldest believed to be original trees from a 1541 priory garden in Hertfordshire.
If maintained as a hedge, like clipped yew, these old box could have been in a bonsai state for many years. Look for and record box that are over 50cm in girth. Many will be from Victorian plantings but even of this size, if hollow, they could be much older than they look!
Some old twisted box on the hillside above Llanthony Priory, Brecon, have over 150 annual rings that can be counted on some quite small diameter branches.
It may not be huge but this box tree is ancient. (Photo: Jill Butler)
