Oaks

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus, of which about 600 species exist.  The genus is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in Asia and the Americas.

Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobed margins in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with smooth margins. Many deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead leaves until spring. The flowers are catkins, produced in spring. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on species.

In Ireland the most common oaks are:

Sessile - Quercus Petraea

Peduncular Oak (Irish) - Quercus robus

The oaks are one of the most valuable biodiversity plants. They can support over 300 species of wild life (insects and birds mainly).

Pines can also support a handful.

Ash - Fraxinus

Latin plant name Fraxinus Common plant name Ash (fresno) Plant type Tree Size (meters) <10-45 m Distinguishing features Both names, Latin and English, have the same meaning, spear. The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as keys or helicopter seeds, are a type of fruit known as a samara. Ash is a hardwood. Extensively used for making bows, tool handles, baseball bats, hurleys and other uses demanding high strength and resilience. There is a severe pest attacking the ashes all over Europe. Chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called Chalara fraxinea (C. fraxinea). The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and usually leads to tree death.

Beech

		Autumn	Spring
	Copper/Purple beech	Rusty brown leaves	Purple leaves
	Common/Green beech	Rusty brown leaves. They can keep the leaves better during winter	Green leaves

The beech as the oak can make a nice bush. (haya)

The beech as a bush needs shelter from:

• Wind
• Animals (rabbits and goats)

Salix - Willow

Latin plant name Salix Common plant name Willow Plant type Tree Size (meters) <5-15 m Distinguishing features Found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They came to Ireland right after the melting of the ice age thanks to their light seeds that can be blown by the wind, along with the grasses and the beerchs. Willows all have abundant watery bark sap, which is heavily charged with salicylic acid, soft usually pliant tough wood, slender branches and large fibrous often stoloniferous roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to life, and roots readily grow from aerial parts of the plant. The leaves are typically elongated, but may also be round to oval, frequently with a serrated margin. Most species are deciduous; semievergreen willows. Willows are dioecious, with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves, or as the new leaves open. Basic crafts, such as baskets, fish traps, wattle fences and wattle and daub, house walls, were often woven from osiers. Willow wood is also used in the manufacture of boxes, brooms, cricket bats (grown from certain strains of white willow), cradle boards, chairs and other furniture, dolls, flutes, poles, sweat lodges, toys, turnery, tool handles, veneer, wands and whistles.

Alnus - Alder

Latin plant name Alnus Common plant name Alder (alisos) Plant type Tree Size (meters) <20-40 m Distinguishing features With a few exceptions, alders are deciduous, and the leaves are alternate, simple, and serrated. The flowers are catkins with elongate male catkins on the same plant as shorter female catkins, These trees differ from the birches (Betula, the other genus in the family) in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity, opening to release the seeds in a similar manner to many conifer cones. Alder leaves and sometimes catkins are used as food by numerous butterflies and moths. Alder bark contains the anti-inflammatory salicin, which is metabolized into salicylic acid in the body. As a hardwood, alder is used in making furniture and cabinets and other woodworking products.

Acer - Maple

Latin plant name Acer Common plant name Maple Plant type Tree Size (meters) <10-45 m Distinguishing features The word Acer derives from a Latin word meaning "sharp" (compare "acerbic"), referring to the characteristic points on maple leaves. Most species are deciduous, but a few in southern Asia and the Mediterranean region are evergreen. Most are shade-tolerant Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. The leaves in most species are palmate veined and lobed. A maple leaf is on the coat of arms of Canada, and is on the Canadian flag. The maple is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of many countries including Canada. Maples are planted as ornamental trees Some of the larger maple species have valuable timber. Maple is considered a tonewood, or a wood that carries sound waves well, and is used in numerous musical instruments

Ginkgo biloba

Latin plant name Ginkgo biloba Common plant name Ginkgo Plant type Tree Size (meters) <20- 30 m Distinguishing features The ginkgo is a living fossil, as a unique species recognisably similar to fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and introduced early in human history, and has various uses as a food and in traditional medicine. The tree has an angular crown and long, somewhat erratic branches, and is usually deep rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. During autumn, the leaves turn a bright yellow, then fall, sometimes within a short space of time (one to 15 days). A combination of resistance to disease, insect-resistant wood and the ability to form aerial roots and sprouts makes ginkgos long-lived, with some specimens claimed to be more than 2,500 years old. Ginkgo is a relatively shade-intolerant species that (at least in cultivation) grows best in environments that are well-watered and well-drained. The leaves are unique among seed plants, being fan-shaped with veins radiating out into the leaf blade. Ginkgos are dioecious, with separate sexes, some trees being female and others being male. Male plants produce small pollen cones with sporophylls, each bearing two microsporangia spirally arranged around a central axis. Female plants do not produce cones. Two ovules are formed at the end of a stalk, and after pollination, one or both develop into seeds.

Sequoia - Redwood

Latin plant name Sequoioideae Common plant name Redwood Plant type Conifer tree Size (meters) They are the tallest trees in the world. Distinguishing features The entire subfamily is endangered. They are also used in educational projects recreating the look of the megaflora of the Pleistocene landscape.

Laburnum - Golden chain

Latin plant name Laburnum Common plant name Golden chain Plant type Decidious tree Size (meters) < 2 m Distinguishing features All parts of the plant are poisonous, and can be lethal if consumed in excess. 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. They have yellow pea-flowers in pendulous racemes 10–30 cm (4–12 in) long in spring, which makes them very popular garden trees.

Photinia fraseri - Red robbin

Latin plant name Photinia fraseri Common plant name Red robbin Plant type Evergreen shrub Size (meters) < 2 m Distinguishing features Photinias typically grow from 3–15 m tall, with a usually irregular crown of angular branches; the branches are often (not always) thorny. The leaves are alternate, entire or finely toothed. The majority of species are evergreen but several are deciduous. The flowers are produced in early summer in dense terminal corymbs; each flower is 5–10 mm diameter, with five rounded white petals; they have a mild, hawthorn-like scent. The fruit is a small pome, 4–12 mm across, bright red and berry-like.

Tilia cordata - Lime tree

Latin plant name Tila cordata Common plant name Lime tree Plant type Tree Size (meters) 20- 38 m Distinguishing features It is a deciduous tree growing to 20-38 m tall, with a trunk up to 1-2 m diameter. The leaves are alternately arranged, rounded to triangular-ovate, 3-8 cm long and broad, mostly hairless. The small yellow-green hermaphrodite flowers are produced in clusters of five to eleven in early summer and have a rich, heavy scent; the trees are much visited by bees. The fruit is a dry nut-like drupe 6–7 mm long and 4 mm broad, downy at first becoming smooth at maturity. It has a single seed. Buds are alternating boxing globes. A valuable monofloral honey is produced by bees using the trees. The young leaves can be eaten as a salad vegetable. The white, finely-grained wood is a classic choice for refined woodcarvings. It is native to France. They can be shapped.

Lonicera peryclymenum - Honeysuckle

Latin plant name Lonicera periclymenum Common plant name Honeysuckle Plant type Low growing grand cover shrub Size (meters) < 10 m Distinguishing features Honeysuckle is valued in the garden, for its ability to twine around other plants, or to cover unsightly walls or outbuildings; and the intense fragrance of its profuse flowers in summer. It needs to be planted with its roots in the shade, and its flowering top in sun or light shade. They have green and light cream leaves.

Ribes rubrum - Black, white and red currant

Latin plant name Ribes (nigra, glandulosum and rubrum) Common plant name Black, white and red currant Plant type Fruiting deciduos woody shrub Size (meters) < 1,5 m Distinguishing features Thornless stems. The flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green, in pendulous 4–8 cm racemes, maturing into bright red translucent edible berries about 8–12 mm diameter, with 3-10 berries on each raceme. With maturity, the tart flavour of redcurrant fruit is slightly greater than its blackcurrant relative, but with the same approximate sweetness. The albino variant of redcurrant, often referred to as white currant, has the same tart flavour but with greater sweetness. Although frequently cultivated for jams and cooked preparations, much like the white currant, it is often served raw or as a simple accompaniment in salads, garnishes, or drinks when in season. Deciduous plant.

Potentilla fruticosa

Latin plant name Potentilla (dasiphora) fruticosa Common plant name Plant type Woody semievergreen shrub Size (meters) < 2,5 m Distinguishing features Yellow flowers and small leaves. The flowers are always small, flat, and round, but there are many dozens on each bush. It is very often used by cities and businesses for landscaping because of its hardiness and low maintenance. It gets leggy when it is old.

Ribes uva-crispa - Gooseberry invicta

Latin plant name Ribes uva-crispa Common plant name Gooseberry invicta Plant type Fruiting woody shrub Size (meters) < 1,5 m Distinguishing features Thorny stems. Delicious edible green berries. Gooseberries are often used as an ingredient in desserts, such as pies, fools and crumbles. They are also used to flavour beverages such as sodas, flavoured waters, or milk, and can be made into fruit wines and teas. Gooseberries can be preserved in the form of jams, dried fruit, or as the primary or a secondary ingredient in pickling, or stored in sugar syrup. Deciduous plant.

Crocosmia - Montbretia

Latin plant name Crocosmia Common plant name Montbretia Plant type Perennial herbaceous bulbous Size (meters) < 0,5 m Distinguishing features Orange flowers, long green leaves. These flower from early summer well into fall. The fertile flowers are hermaphroditic. They are pollinated by insects, birds (hummingbirds) or by the wind. When the plant does not give flowers, it means that the bulbs have gotten to tight and need to be split.

Malus domestica - Apple tree

Latin plant name Malus domestica Common plant name Apple tree Plant type Deciduous fruit tree  Size (meters) <3-12 m Distinguishing -features The leaves are alternately arranged simple ovals, petiole with an acute tip, serrated margin and a slightly downy underside. Blossoms are produced in spring simultaneously with the budding of the leaves. The flowers are white with a pink tinge that gradually fades, five petaled. The fruit matures in autumn. The center of the fruit contains five carpels arranged in a five-point star, each carpel containing one to three seeds, called pips.

Corylus avellana - Hazel tree

Latin plant name Corylus avellana Common plant name Hazel tree Plant type Deciduous tree Size (meters) < 4m Distinguishing features They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins. The flowers are produced very early in spring before the leaves, and are monoecious, with single-sex catkins. The nuts of all hazels are edible. The Celts believed hazelnuts gave one wisdom and inspiration. There are numerous variations on an ancient tale that nine hazel trees grew around a sacred pool, dropping into the water nuts that were eaten by salmon (a fish sacred to Druids) which absorbed the wisdom. The number of spots on the salmon were said to indicate how many nuts they had eaten. A Druid teacher, in his bid to become omniscient, caught one of these special salmon and asked a student to cook the fish, but not to eat it. While he was cooking it, hot liquid from the cooking fish splashed onto the pupil's thumb, which he naturally sucked to cool, thereby absorbing the fish's wisdom. This boy was called Fionn Mac Cumhail (Fin McCool) and went on to become one of the most heroic leaders in Gaelic mythology. Hazel wood was used by the dowsers to identify sources of fresh water underground.

Popular - Cottonwood

Latin plant name Populus Common plant name Poplar or Cottonwood (chopo) Plant type Decidious tree Size (meters) < 15-50 m Distinguishing features The bark on young trees is smooth, white to greenish or dark grey, often with conspicuous lenticels; on old trees it remains smooth in some species, but becomes rough and deeply fissured in others. The flowers are mostly dioecious and appear in early spring before the leaves. They are borne in long, drooping, sessile or pedunculate catkins produced from buds formed in the axils of the leaves of the previous year. Cottonwood are ofter in wetlands. They have the advantage of growing very big, very fast. Almost all poplars take root readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground. Trees with fastigiate (erect, columnar) branching are particularly popular, and are widely grown across Europe and southwest Asia. However, like willows, poplars have very vigorous and invasive root systems stretching up to 40 m from the trees; planting close to houses or ceramic water pipes may result in damaged foundations and cracked walls and pipes due to their search for moisture.

Betula - Birch

Latin plant name Betula Common plant name Birch (abedul) Plant type Decidious tree Size (meters) <10m Distinguishing features They are typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere particularly in northern temperate and boreal climates. Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of temperate climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders in that the female catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody, cone-like female alder catkins. Birches often form even-aged stands on light, well-drained, particularly acidic soils. They are regarded as pioneer species, rapidly colonising open ground.