UK native trees
We recognise 34 British native species of trees. Those are the trees that colonised Britain during the retreat of the last Ice Age. 10,000 years ago the Ice Age led to Britain being largely scraped clear of its native vegetation. As the ice retreated plant species began to return. At that time Britain was an island but was linked to the continent by a land bridge and plants made their way from there. However, 7,000 years ago the English Channel formed and closed off the link to Europe. By that time, some 1500 plant species had taken root and these formed the basis of Britain’s native flora and 34 of those make up our British native trees.
In 'wild', species-sensitive locations such as woodlands or natural areas of open spaces we plant only native species and if required use only local provenance stock. In some situations we may introduce locally native or naturalised species that are not defined as a British native tree but have established themselves and proved to be suited to the location and are good for wildlife eg Sweet chestnut.
In more urban open spaces such as local parks we will broaden the species pool that we select from to include species chosen for their amenity and cultural value as well as wildlife value so we may include Japanese cherries or Magnolias.
In street locations, the Right Tree, Right Place principle is the primary concern and so we will select a tree that has the form and tolerance needed for that location. We will always aim to include native species where we can such as Small-leafed and Broad leafed limes but there is not always a native that is suitable so we may plant species like Ornamental pear for their fastigiate form or London plane for their pollution tolerance.
For more information on native trees, visit www.britishtrees.org.uk.
