I pass this tree every day. Any aboriculturists out there: is it a beech?
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Hello again! It’s difficult to tell from the photo but I think it is either a horse chestnut or a sweet chestnut, which are two completely different trees despite the similar sounding names. I would go for the sweet chestnut because when these trees grow up, so to speak, the trunks develop a lovely twisted or spiralled effect which I think I can see in this tree and also the one behind. If the tree has those beautiful white candle-like flowers in spring and conkers on the ground underneath it now, it is a horse chestnut. If it doesn’t have the flowers and has conkers covered in what look like hundreds of bristles, it s a sweet chestnut, which is the one I’m opting for. It definitely isn’t a beech. Hope this helps.
Thanks Geraldine, I’ll take a better picture of it later on: this one was my ‘arty telephot lens.’
I don’t think it has conkers but I never actually walk in to see becuase I don’t let Dylan off there because there are
1. squirrels
2. rabbits
3. roads nearby
Try and take a photo of a non dead leaf- that should help us.. The sweet chestnut (edible) also has leaves coming off at random parts of the branch, but the horse chestnut (conkers) has a sort of hand combination- at the end of the branch it will produce the 5 leaves from the same point
okay, those instructions are clear – will see what i can do…
Hello, I’m sorry but I’ve absolutely no idea what type of tree that is but just wanted to say I love the books! made me laugh…much struck a cord with me from my own ‘adventures’ with my Collie Guinness! dog are buggers but we love them! Love to Ollie and Dylan x
p.s it is a lovely tree!
The smooth grey bark and that lower limb would suggest a beech tree but it is difficult to tell from this distance, 5000 miles.
As Jenny said, a picture of one of the leaves from this tree will provide the answer.
Thanks Sarah, I’m so glad you enjoyed them; tell Guinness what a good boy he is for us. Lovely tree is about the extent of my knowledge on this other matter too, obv :–)
I’m on a mission to get to the bottom of it Calvin & a pic of a leaf will be appearing in a blog near* you soon.
* there are no distances in siberspace.
I’ve just found your blog after reading first Ollie and then Dylan. The tree is a horse chestnut with a disease – if you google ‘horse chestnut disease’ you will find info about it. I’ve seen similar brown leaves on the trees in the local rec in Cambridge where I live.
There are lots of things I could say about oatcakes, Arsenal and lurchers but I’ll just say how sorry I am about Ollie. I read all through Dylan worried you were going to lose him because of his Salukiist running off and then discovered that it was Ollie who had gone.
Goodbye, beautiful Ollie.
Thanks Judy, that’s very kind.
You can by all means say stuff about Arsenal. They are Stoke City’s opponents on the final the glorious Premiership Year. I was rather hoping we wouldn’t need a point to stay up or anything, having annoyed Mr Wenger so much in the home game, but now I think it will be academic as we’ll be down anyway.
all best, S