Second Tree to spot - Horse Chestnut

Hi Everyone, today’s tree to look out for is the Horse Chestnut!

You can see the beautiful, sticky buds in the video and photos below. They’re quite easy to spot as they’re so big!

The bark of the Horse Chestnut changes over time. A young tree has smooth bark, but as it ages it gets rougher and appears layered (just like humans!).

The tree in the video is mature (quite old), they can live up to 300 years! The Horse Chestnut will produce a candelabra or tiered flower in May after the leaves appear soon. The leaves look like big hands with 5 (sometimes 7) leaflets.

In autumn the Horse Chestnut produces seeds that you may know as ‘conkers’ It’s very satisfying to crack open the spiky shell to find the shiny brown seed or conker inside.

Conkers are used to play a game where you drill a hole in the seed, put a string in it and try to hit your opponents conker by swinging it. The person who breaks the conker is the winner.

Good luck with your search, see you next week.

WILD

First tree to spot! Willow...

Good Morning,

Your first tree to spot is the Willow tree!

You'll need to look for the buds on branches and the bark of the trunk as there are no leaves at the moment. The Willow is one of the first trees to wake in spring. 🙃🤞👀

The large silver furry catkins buds in the photo belong to the Goat Willow, sometimes known as a Pussy Willow. Goat Willow pollen is loved by bees.

The bark is beautiful, very rough and made up of lots of diamond shapes fitted together.

The catkin in the video is a male catkin and has yellow pollen on it. You may also find female ones which are plainer.

Willow is significant in lots cultures across the world, from Ancient Greece to Japanese Anime, people have both feared and worshiped the tree.

The phrase 'Knock on wood' comes from folklore about the Willow tree. If you knock on the tree trunk then whisper a secret, the Willow will hold on to it forever...💚🧚‍♀️

Enjoy your walk!

WILD 💜🐝🌷

Spring is Sprung - can you spot it?

Hello Everyone👋

We thought we'd give you a little challenge to do when you're out for your "daily excercise" walk.🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Each week we'll post a video of a different tree bud, a picture of it's bark and some facts about it. You can have a look for them on your walk.👀

We'd love to see any photos of what you find or answer any questions you have about the chosen tree or any other.