Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

Amphibians  Bufonidae - Toads

31 May 2015





27 February 2022 across from frog pond
4 August 2020 Old car park. 3 Young
31 May 2015    Old car park. 1 Adult


27 February 2022 across from frog pond


4 August 2020

4 August 2020

Common toads are amphibians, breeding in ponds during the spring and spending much of the rest of the year feeding in woodland, gardens, hedgerows and tussocky grassland. They are famous for their mass migrations back to their breeding ponds on the first warm, damp evenings of the year, often around St. Valentine's Day.
Common toads tend to breed in larger, deeper ponds than common frogs, but still frequent gardens. They hibernate over winter, often under log piles, stones or even in old flower pots!


31 May 2015

31 May 2015



White poplar (Populus alba)


Tree




Hardy, pale, magical. White poplar might not be native, but it is naturalised in the UK. It supports early pollinators and is an excellent coastal windbreaker, tolerating salty winds and exposure.

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)


Tree







These broadleaf trees can grow to 35m and live for 400 years. The bark is dark pink-grey, and smooth when young, but becomes cracked and develops small plates with age. Twigs are pink-brown and hairless.

Look out for: leaf veins which are hairy on the underside.

Identified in winter by: twigs which are pink-brown and have no hairs.

Whitebeam (Sorbus subg. Aria)


May 20 2019

Whitebeam is a broadleaf deciduous tree native to southern England, though widely planted in the north of the UK.

What does whitebeam look like?
Overview: compact and domed, mature trees can grow to a height of 15m. The bark and twigs are smooth and grey, and the shoots are brick red in sunlight, but greyish green in shade.

Leaves: leaf buds are green and pointed and leaf stalks are short. Leaves are thick, oval and irregularly toothed, with the underneath covered in white, felt-like hair. When the leaves first unfold they look like magnolia flowers. They fade to a rich russet colour before falling in autumn.

Flowers: whitebeam is hermaphrodite, meaning each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts. The five-petalled flowers appear in clusters in May, and are pollinated by insects.

Fruits: flowers develop into scarlet berries, which ripen in late summer or autumn.

Look out for: the oval serrated edged leaves are softly hairy underneath and dark green and shiny on top.

Could be confused with: not easily confused with anything.

Identified in winter by: the young twigs start hairy and become smooth later. Only the edges of the buds are hairy.

Where to find whitebeam

It is commonly grown in parks and gardens, though is quite rare in the wild.

Value to wildlife
The flowers are pollinated by insects and the berries favoured by birds. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of a number of moths, including Parornix scoticella, Phyllonorycter corylifoliella and Phyllonorycter sorbi.

Mythology and symbolism
There is very little folklore and symbolism associated with whitebeam, perhaps because it is so rare in the wild.

How we use whitebeam
Whitebeam timber is fine-grained, hard and white. Traditional uses included wood-turning and fine joinery, including chairs, beams, cogs and wheels in machinery.

Threats
Whitebeam may be susceptible to aphids and blister mites.

(LINK)

May

May



April

Wall Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis)

Tree



Cotoneaster horizontalis is native to mountains of Nepal, China, and Taiwan; in China it occurs from Tibet and Yunnan in the west to Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east and is absent from the north and the very south.It has naturalised in parts of the United Kingdom, and may be becoming invasive.


White Mulberry (Morus)

Tree

Tree

Kirk Lane park

Known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry,

Morus alba, known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to 10–20 m tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although there are some specimens known to be more than 250 years old.



Leaves

Start of fruit

Trunk


Fruit

Yew (Taxus baccata)


Tree 




October 2015


Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. The name is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Taxus: European yew or common yew (Taxus baccata) Pacific yew or western yew (Taxus brevifolia)



October 2018

At the approximate centre of Scotland, at the eastern end of one of its longest glens, grows what is Scotland's, and possibly Europe's, oldest tree. The Fortingall yew in Glen Lyon has been estimated to be anything from over two thousand to nine thousand years old. A popular legend associated with this yew relates how Pontius Pilate was variously born under this tree or played as a child in its branches, suggesting that the tree was already a landmark over two thousand years ago. Though the Romans did not invade Britain until 43 AD, several expeditions had visited from 55 BC onwards. Various interpretations suggest that Pontius Pilate's father was on a diplomatic mission to a Pictish King when news reached him at Fortingall of the birth of his son, or that his wife had been travelling with him and gave birth at Fortingall......read more







Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)




Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage.

Japanese yellow rose bush (Kerria japonica)

Tree



Japanese rose shrubs bear yellow flowers in spring and can provide additional blooming later in the summer. Mine bloomed for 6 weeks one spring, were without flowers for the following 6 weeks, then offered a second blooming that lasted the rest of the growing season (although sparser than the spring flowering). I grow a double flowering type that produces a pompom-style blossom, but single flowering Kerrias are preferred by some.

Japanese rose's bark and branches are also of interest. The main branches on the double flowering type arch gracefully to a height of 8-10 feet (the width can be restricted to similar dimensions through general pruning and, specifically, the removal of suckers). Smaller branches radiate off the main ones in all directions. The branching pattern thus affords interest both vertically and horizontally; it is also relatively airy. The bark is a pleasing kelly green to greenish-yellow, to boot -- a color retained throughout the winter.

Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica Crotonifolia)



Tree



Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica Crotonifolia) is an evergreen hedge plant and border shrub popular for its glossy green leaves with golden-yellow speckles.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos)

Tree


December 2014


Snowberry

This deciduous shrub has small pink flowers in summer but it's usually grown for the elegant white berries that it produces in the autumn. The berries are round, fleshy and last long after the shrub has shed its leaves for the year. It grows reasonably quickly and is a good choice for gardeners looking for a shrub to liven up an autumn border. It's happiest in a sunny spot in fertile soil, but it's also adaptable enough to cope with a partially shaded area. The berries can cause a mild skin irritation when handled, so do wear gloves if handling the plant.


December







Snakebark Maple (Acer Sp)

Tree



The various species of snakebark maples are most easily distinguished from other maples by their distinctive bark, smooth (at least on young trees), and usually patterned with vertical dark green to greenish-brown stripes alternating with stripes of light green, pinkish or white, sometimes with a bluish tone. Other characters include stalked buds with just one pair of scales, and flowers on arching to pendulous racemes. The samaras are small, and often numerous. They are small deciduous trees, typically 5–15 m tall, rarely to 20 m tall, fast-growing when young but soon slowing down with age, and often short-lived; they typically occur as understorey trees in mountain forests, often along streamsides

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)


Tree



Early to blossom, blackthorn trees have clouds of snow-white flowers in early spring. They’re best known for their rich, inky, dark fruits used to make a favourite wintry tipple – sloe gin.

Spiny and densely branched, mature trees can grow to a height of around 6–7m and live for up to 100 years. The dark brown bark is smooth, and twigs form straight side shoots which develop into thorns.

Sawara Cypress tree (Chamaecyparis pisifera)


  

Tree October 2014




Sawara Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera)

This tree was planted many years ago and has come all the way from  southern Japan, slow growing with soft foliage and smell's wonderful..

Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)

Tree

Rhododendron (Ericaceae)

Tree June 2014




Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)

November




Red Oak (Quercus rubra)


May



Poplar Black (Populus nigra)





Poplar (Populus sp.)



Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur)




A large, deciduous tree growing up to 20–40m tall. Also known as common oak, this species grows and matures to form a broad and spreading crown with sturdy branches beneath.

Look out for: its distinctive round-lobed leaves with short leaf stalks (petioles).

Identified in winter by: rounded buds in clusters. Each bud has more than three scales.

Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)


May





Introduced in the 17th century, the handsome Norway maple is known for its hardy timber. Its leaves are a favourite with caterpillars and its seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals.






Mock-orange (Philadelphus)



(mock-orange) is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall.

This one might be Lewis' mock-orange
Kirk lane



Lilac (Syringa)



Syringa is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere.

Lawson Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)


April



Tall ornamental with feathery foliage. One of the UK’s most popular garden conifers, Lawson cypress has rot-resistant wood which is popular in Japan for coffins and shrines.
(Woodland Trust)


19 March 2022



Flowers
Minute flowers, which look like buds, open at the twig tips in spring. Male flowers are crimson, becoming yellow with pollen, and females are blue.

Laburnum tree

Tree

29 May 2015

Laburnum, sometimes called golden chain or golden rain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are Laburnum anagyroides—common laburnum and Laburnum alpinum—alpine laburnum. They are native to the mountains of southern Europe from France to the Balkans.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, although mortality is very rare.[4] Symptoms of laburnum poisoning may include intense sleepiness, vomiting, convulsive movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. In some cases, diarrhea is very severe, and at times the convulsions are markedly tetanic. The main toxin in the plant is cytisine, a nicotinic receptor agonist.

It is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the Palearctic moth, the buff-tip.


12 June 2021 




Italian Alder (Alnus cordata)





Alnus cordata, the Italian alder, is a tree or shrub species belonging to the family Betulaceae, and native to the southern Apennine Mountains and the north-eastern mountains of Corsica.