Trees A Crowd

Our 31st tree, Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides). Often derided for its rapacious spread in areas where it might not be entirely wanted, the Sea Buckthorn is a species that helped provide a roothold for almost everyother tree species on the British Isles. Add into the mix a bit about Genghis Khan, Flying Horses and perhaps one of the greatest sorbets our host has ever eaten, and you're looking at a wonder of a tree. (Special thanks to Gavin Drea and Dara McAnulty for all adding their voices to this episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-ninth tree, Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), and our thirtieth tree, Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus) - The BUCKTHORNS of the Rhamnaceae. Their unripe berries made paint pigment that was stored in a pig’s bladder, their charcoal made gunpowder that has defined a society and their toxic seeds have made humans purge their bowels making countless regretful foragers! Our Buckthorns are an easily ignorable shrub that have left an indelible mark upon humankind. (Special thanks to Ian Bartholomew, Darren Moorcroft of the Woodland Trust, and James Robinson of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust for all adding their voices to this episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-eigth tree, the Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia). One of the most elegant and tasteful (not to mention tasty - to birds) trees that you can find throughout the British Isles. It has been worshipped by Pagans and Christians alike for its spiritual power and symbolism. It repels witches, frustrates adders, arouses dairymaids, seduces birds and stops Norse Thunder-gods from drowning in piss. This is the “bird-catcher”, "tank-destroyer" and “human-fascinator”; a tree revered for centuries; a tree that has accompanied man on a number of its destructive escapades. And did we mention that it shares one of its MANY names with our host - Rowan David Oakes? (Special thanks to Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Al Petrie for adding their voices to this episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-seventh tree, the Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis). Colourful, mysterious and increasingly rare, the Wild Service represents a midway point - not only between the Rowan and the Whitebeam, but between what our forests look like, and what our forests looked like. They’re associated with Olde English Taverns and with ancient Roman drinking sessions, with medieval French jousting, and so abundantly slathered in folk names that it’s a travesty their current common name is so unbelievably dull! Adored by Rackham and Mabey (and Oakes!), this elegant arbor is one magical tree, worshipped by the dendrologically-devout. (Special thanks to Xavier Gens and Rob Heaps for adding their voices to this episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-sixth tree, the Whitebeam (Sorbus aria). What the stately and elegant Whitebeam lacks in folklore, it makes up for with its proclivity to cross-pollinate and hybridise. David heads out into the wild, to Cheddar Gorge - the location of a very rare, and only recently discovered sub-species of the Whitebeam - to discuss the way in which species evolve from one to another, and to dig a little deeper into the confusingly murky waters of taxonomical nomenclature. The German forester, Peter Wohlleben, refers to trees as “Plant Elephants”; so what better reason to delve into the many sub-species of the Whitebeam tha by discussing Elephants first...?! Tenuous, yes; useful, hopefully! So - get your science goggles, petri-dishes and Bunsen burners at the ready, this episode is going to get a little geeky. (Special thanks to Peter Basham for adding his voice to this episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth trees are the Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) & the Midland Thorn (Crataegus laevigata). Once David stops blathering about the ‘Holy Thorn’ - a fascinating twice-flowering genetic variant of the Hawthorn that has inspired pilgrimages and postal stamps - he’ll tell you why one Hawthorn is far more prevalent than the other (despite the opposite originally being true), how superstitious the Irish are about their bushes, and why Shakespeare May or May not know what he’s talking about. (Many thanks to Tom Bateman for his contribution to this week's episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-third tree is the Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) - the ‘Forest apple’. The apple is perhaps our most important fruit from a cultural perspective, but it would be NOTHING without its little crab parent. They made Shakespeare sexy, they made the Norse Gods immortal, and without the Crabs our nation’s biodiversity would be missing a massively integral player. This week David talks Auroch poop, Celtic party games and the origins of the apple’s “Englishness”. (Many thanks to Adam Sopp for his contribution to this week's episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twenty-second tree, the Wild Pear (Pyrus pyraster)… or to be more precise, this is an episode exploring the three Wild Pears that you my find growing wild on the British Isles: the aforementioned Wild Pear, the European Pear (Pyrus communis) and the Plymouth Pear (Pyrus cordata). Currently, the thinking is that none of these three trees are strictly native, but doing an episode on pears gives me an excuse to discuss Grecian infanticide and matricide, Shakespearean euphemisms for ‘a syphilitic vagina’, dismemberment leading to orchiectomy, and a war to end all wars that will be held on the site where Julie Andrews once sang: “The hills are alive, with the sound of…” (Many thanks to Adam Sopp for his contribution to this week's episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our twentieth and twenty-first trees, the Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) and the Bird Cherry (Prunus padus). Yes, you knew cherries are tasty, but did you know they’re so delectable that they have their own bodyguards? Yes, you know about the Japanese cherry blossom front, but did you also know that cherry blossom adorned the fuselage of kamikaze pilots? And, yes, you obviously knew that Henry the VIII loved his food, but did you know he loved his cherries so much that he put a bounty on the heads of Bullfinches?! That, more besides, all of that illustrated by "Man Men"'s Michael Gladis, AND a brand new original performance of the Cherry Tree carol by absolute folk LEGEND, Martin Simpson. It’s a bumper harvest! More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our nineteenth tree, Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). As one of the first trees of our Rose family (the Rosaceae), this tree - when it blossoms in early February - is unsurprisingly beautiful to behold! But beneath the blossom lies black magic, butchery, even beastiality, and lots and lots of sloe-based boooooze! Brimming with folklore and mystery, and a home to birds that unfortunately have a second home upon the IUCN Red List, this hardy tree is a vital member of the British landscape and imagination. More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.