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Autumnal Twisted Beech Tree (Fagus sylvatica) (4727/3637) With Sun Star, Saddle Ride, Savernake Forest, Marlborough, Wiltshire
This huge twisted beech tree can be found on one of the tracks on the way to the Great Hawthorn Tree on the southern edge of the forest. The low sun gave a dappled glow to the whole glade. Beautiful. Here is an image shooting towards the sun and includes a good sun star. The girth of this spreading beech tree is 4.66m.
Mature trees grow to a height of more than 40m and develop a huge domed crown. The bark is smooth, thin and grey, often with slight horizontal etchings. The reddish brown, torpedo-shaped leaf buds form on short stalks and have a distinctive criss-cross pattern.
The edges of the leaves are hairy and their triangular beech nuts form in prickly four-lobed seed cases. They can be identified in winter by leaf buds which are distinctively sharply pointed and not pressed against the twigs. They often hold on to their leaves throughout winter, a trait known as marcescence.
In the UK, common beech is only considered truly native to south-east England and south-east Wales. It grows in woods or as single trees, usually on drier, free-draining soils, such as chalk, limestone and light loams. Beech woodland is shady and characterised by a dense carpet of fallen leaves and mast husks which prevent most woodland plants from growing. Only specialist shade-tolerant plants can survive beneath a beech canopy along with various species of fungi.
Beech is associated with femininity and is often considered the queen of British trees, where oak is the king. In Celtic mythology, Fagus was the god of beech trees. The tree was thought to have medicinal properties and its leaves were boiled to make a poultice which was used to relieve swellings. Forked beech twigs are also traditionally used for divining.
Autumnal Twisted Beech Tree (Fagus sylvatica) (4727/3637) With Sun Star, Saddle Ride, Savernake Forest, Marlborough, Wiltshire
This huge twisted beech tree can be found on one of the tracks on the way to the Great Hawthorn Tree on the southern edge of the forest. The low sun gave a dappled glow to the whole glade. Beautiful. Here is an image shooting towards the sun and includes a good sun star. The girth of this spreading beech tree is 4.66m.
Mature trees grow to a height of more than 40m and develop a huge domed crown. The bark is smooth, thin and grey, often with slight horizontal etchings. The reddish brown, torpedo-shaped leaf buds form on short stalks and have a distinctive criss-cross pattern.
The edges of the leaves are hairy and their triangular beech nuts form in prickly four-lobed seed cases. They can be identified in winter by leaf buds which are distinctively sharply pointed and not pressed against the twigs. They often hold on to their leaves throughout winter, a trait known as marcescence.
In the UK, common beech is only considered truly native to south-east England and south-east Wales. It grows in woods or as single trees, usually on drier, free-draining soils, such as chalk, limestone and light loams. Beech woodland is shady and characterised by a dense carpet of fallen leaves and mast husks which prevent most woodland plants from growing. Only specialist shade-tolerant plants can survive beneath a beech canopy along with various species of fungi.
Beech is associated with femininity and is often considered the queen of British trees, where oak is the king. In Celtic mythology, Fagus was the god of beech trees. The tree was thought to have medicinal properties and its leaves were boiled to make a poultice which was used to relieve swellings. Forked beech twigs are also traditionally used for divining.