Crape Myrtle bark in Huntingdon Road

Dear Readers, in mid winter, when there is precious little in bloom (though see here) and the leaves are largely gone, there’s nothing to distract me from the beauty of the bark  on the street trees around East Finchley. Bark has two main roles – keeping nasty stuff (insects, pollution, fungi etc) out of the tree, and keeping good stuff inside (moisture, heat) when the conditions outside are less than ideal. But the different ways that trees have chosen to do this is a subtle pleasure and a great delight.

The Crape Myrtle is famed for its subtle, smooth bark, as you can see in the photo above.

Silver Birch by Gustav Klimt

The white bark of Silver Birch is rightly celebrated, as in the picture above by Gustav Klimt. Many different willows are being planted as street trees now, and it’s not just the traditional willow species that have interesting bark – have a look at the lattice pattern on this Goat Willow from St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, a sign of a mature tree (Goat Willows can live to be 300 years old).

Goat Willow (Salix capra)

Another startling street tree is the Paperbark Maple – this one was spotted close to East Finchley Cemetery, and  a very fine example it is too. No one knows exactly why the bark peels, but as this tree originates in the mountains of China, one explanation is that the bark is lost because in its native habitat it’s often damaged by UV light exposure at high altitude. It could also be so that the plant can rid itself of parasites, both insect and fungal. But who knows?

Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum)

And while we’re on the subject of maples, how about these Snakebark Maples, from the Cleary Gardens close to St Pauls in the City of London? I found them on one of Paul Wood’s Street Tree Walks which I really love – they make me stop and pay attention, which is always a good thing.

Snakebark Maple in the Cleary Gardens

The shiny polished bark of the Tibetan Cherry is another favourite – this one is in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, but these are popular street trees, so keep an eye open.

Tibetan Cherry (Prunus serrula)

And maples aren’t the only ‘paperbark’ trees – here are some Chinese Red Birches (Betula albosinensis) – these are becoming quite popular as street trees in London. Paul Wood mentions that young trees have the ‘red’ trunk but that the tree becomes increasingly white with age.

Chinese Red Birch (Betula albosinensis)

Of course, the one tree that every Londoner is familiar with is the London Plane, and with the idea that it sheds its bark to rid itself of pollution, but during periods of high temperature and drought it will  shed in bucketloads. You can see this most clearly in the photo of the London Plane in Toronto (below) – it was so white that I failed to identify it as a London Plane until I wandered over for a closer look.

London Plane in Toronto, practically white after losing most of its outer bark

London Plane tree during the drought of 2018

Sometimes it isn’t the patterning of the bark, but something else that attracts the attention and helps to identify the tree. For example, Whitebeam trees are known for their habit of ‘spiralling’, as in this tree seen on Paul Wood’s street tree walk around Archway in North London.

Whitebeam in the Whitehall Estate, Archway

And when trees have been coppiced you can get a kind of ‘slow ballet’ effect, as with the muscular hornbeams of Coldfall and Cherry Tree  Wood, though here it looks a bit as if the two central trees are tangoing.

Coppiced Hornbeam in Coldfall Wood

Coldfall Wood during the ‘golden hour’ of late afternoon.

So, although Christmas is over, and the New Year has started, it’s always worth taking a slow meander, especially on a cold, sunny day, to see what you can see. Bark is something of a wonder, and an overlooked one at that. So see what you can see, and report back if you spot anything interesting!