Be a Tree Detective.

 At this time of year one of the most reliable ways of identifying a tree is by looking at its bark and winter buds. The first one is the Lime. When the tree is young the bark is quite smooth but as it gets older it develops cracks or 'fissures'.

.The buds are blunt and rounded and positioned alternately on the stem. They are usually red or purple in colour.

The next tree is the Field Maple. The bark is grey or dark brown and there are fine, shallow fissures on the bark which get more obvious with age. The older bark is often flaky.

The buds are reddish brown with white hairy edges and they are found in opposite pairs on the stalks.

Next is the Horse Chestnut. The bark is grey-brown and often covered in powdery lichen and algae. As it gets older it becomes flaky and the edges start to lift off the tree.

The buds are sticky with large visible scales. They are usually found on short stalks.

 Next is the Ash. The bark is smooth when young but on an older tree it is pale grey and heavily lined with vertical fissures.

The buds are velvet matt black in opposite pairs with the terminal bud being the largest.

Now the Wild Cherry. The bark is an orangey brown colour with horizontal lines called lenticels or 'breathing pores'.

You will find two types of buds, the first are those that will become leaves and secondly those in groups which will be the flowers later on.

And now the Hornbeam.The bark is grey and smooth when young but it develops 'angles' as it gets older. Some old trees have furrows.

The buds are pale brown in colour with long scales. They sometimes curve inward slightly.