Photo © Carl Farmer |
Not native to Skye but often planted (some fine old plantations exist) and seedlings sometimes establish themselves in the wild. Tree up to c 40 m tall. Leaves c 4-9 cm on stalks c 1-1.5 cm. Buds c 1.5-2 cm. Skye ID: Long narrow buds with rich brown scales make this tree easy to recognise at any time of year. Other features: Catkins open in May, the male roundish, hanging down on long stalks, and the female upright on shorter stalks. Nuts ripen in Sept-Oct. In most years there are few nuts, but in some years there is a glut of them. Dead leaves remain on the lower branches of young trees all winter.
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