Moving on from the sometimes rather gloomy blog of yesterday, I was delighted to be able to point out to the youngsters that spring was really just around the corner. It was a beautiful sunny day at Wattlebury and the catkins were already dancing on the hazel tree.
We could see buds everywhere once we started looking for them although I explained that if we had a hard winter (perish the thought) - they would wait until the weather warms up before starting to sprout their new leaves.
Little Dixie and Dougie spotted a rather intimidating sticky bud as it pointed it's shiny finger down at them.
"What tree is that, Uncle Gordon?" Dougie asked.
I explained that it was a Horse Chestnut Tree and of course, being inquisitive, they wanted to know why it was called that.
Little Dixie and Dougie spotted a rather intimidating sticky bud as it pointed it's shiny finger down at them.
"What tree is that, Uncle Gordon?" Dougie asked.
I explained that it was a Horse Chestnut Tree and of course, being inquisitive, they wanted to know why it was called that.
I told them that the leaf stalks leave a scar on the twig when they fall, which resembles an inverted horse shoe with nail holes. This association with horses could explain why conkers used to be ground up and fed to horses to relieve them of coughs, and could be the origin of the tree's name.
Their curiosity now unleashed, they wanted to know more. So I continued and told them that the Horse chestnut is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to the Balkan peninsula. It was first introduced from Turkey in the late 16th century and widely planted in the UK. A mature tree can grow to a height of around 40m, and can live for up to 300 years. The bark is smooth and pinky grey when young, which darkens and develops scaly plates with age. Twigs are hairless and stout, buds are oval, dark red, shiny and sticky (like the one pointing at you) and the palmate leaves comprise 5-7 pointed, toothed leaflets spreading from a central stem.
"Which are great fun to root in!" added Dixie as her friends joined in the fun.
Their curiosity now unleashed, they wanted to know more. So I continued and told them that the Horse chestnut is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to the Balkan peninsula. It was first introduced from Turkey in the late 16th century and widely planted in the UK. A mature tree can grow to a height of around 40m, and can live for up to 300 years. The bark is smooth and pinky grey when young, which darkens and develops scaly plates with age. Twigs are hairless and stout, buds are oval, dark red, shiny and sticky (like the one pointing at you) and the palmate leaves comprise 5-7 pointed, toothed leaflets spreading from a central stem.
"Which are great fun to root in!" added Dixie as her friends joined in the fun.
The flowers appear in May - individual flowers have 4-5 fringed petals, which are white with a pink flush at the base and once pollinated by insects, each flower develops into a glossy red-brown conker inside a spiky green husk, which falls in autumn.
"Yes! We loved playing with those" Digby enthused.
I reminded him of his Great Uncle William the Conkerer who was a dab claw at the game, the first record of which was from the Isle of Wight in 1848. Other uses of the conkers besides horse medicines, are as additives in shampoos and as a starch substitute. Chemicals extracted from conkers can be used to treat strains and bruises. And deer and other mammals like eating conkers.
"Why are there so many bees and birds buzzing around the flowers in the spring?" asked little Dolly.
I went on to explain that the flowers provide a rich source of nectar and pollen to insects, particularly the bees. Caterpillars of the triangle moth feed on its leaves, as well as the horse chestnut leaf miner moth, whose caterpillars provide food for blue tits.
As an afterthought, I added that the horse chestnut leaf miner can occur on trees in huge numbers, causing the foliage to turn brown and fall early. We have often seen this happen to the trees on Wattlebury Hill - but there is no evidence to suggest this harms the trees, as most of the damage occurs later in the season.
"Yes! We loved playing with those" Digby enthused.
I reminded him of his Great Uncle William the Conkerer who was a dab claw at the game, the first record of which was from the Isle of Wight in 1848. Other uses of the conkers besides horse medicines, are as additives in shampoos and as a starch substitute. Chemicals extracted from conkers can be used to treat strains and bruises. And deer and other mammals like eating conkers.
"Why are there so many bees and birds buzzing around the flowers in the spring?" asked little Dolly.
I went on to explain that the flowers provide a rich source of nectar and pollen to insects, particularly the bees. Caterpillars of the triangle moth feed on its leaves, as well as the horse chestnut leaf miner moth, whose caterpillars provide food for blue tits.
As an afterthought, I added that the horse chestnut leaf miner can occur on trees in huge numbers, causing the foliage to turn brown and fall early. We have often seen this happen to the trees on Wattlebury Hill - but there is no evidence to suggest this harms the trees, as most of the damage occurs later in the season.
The magnificent Sticky Bud! Gordon xxx