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UK Trees Directory

Browse our growing information source of native UK trees here. Click on the more info button to read about many different and interesting aspects of native tree species to the UK and Ireland.

	Alder Alnus glutinosa Recognisable for its purple sheen in spring, alder trees are one of our smaller native tree species. They have a light, delicate appearance, with grey bark, flecked with white. The leaves are round an...			Ash Fraxinus excelsior Ash is our tallest native deciduous trees when fully mature. Like sycamore, it drops winged seed pods called ‘ash keys’ in autumn, which contain the seeds. Ash keys hang in great bunches from autumn o...
	Aspen Populus tremulus The bark is grey, or sometimes greenish-grey, and is either smooth or in some cases is pitted with diamond-shaped indentations. Aspen has a distinctive branching pattern, which is most visible in wint...			Beech Fagus sylvatica In late winter Beech is clearly identifiable with its alternate slender bronze buds ready to develop on zig - zagging twigs. The emergence of the stunning green foliage of beech in April is one of th...
	Blackthorn Prunus spinosa The first tree of the year to come into bloom. In February or March depending on the winter, creamy white flowers appear on hedgerows long before any other, and before the leaves. They offset the dark...			Common Oak Quercus robur There are 2 native British oak tree species; Common, or Pedunculate oak (Q. robur) and Sessile Oak (Q.petraea). Sessile oak was the first to arrive in the British isles, and grows naturally in upland ...
	Elder Sambucus nigra Growing more like a shrub than a tree, elder produces a multi stemmed trunk, and is usually found growing as an understorey tree in mature woods. The heavily scented, white flowers appear in June and ...			Field Maple Acer campestre A small British native, field maple is most often found in hedgerows and on the edge of woods. Its native distribution is on limestone chalk or other calcareous soils, but is widely planted as an amen...
	Grey Willow Salix cinerea Known as Grey Willow because of the grey hairs on shoots, it is often called Pussy Willow after the large fat silver buds (actually male flowers) which develop into the bright yellow catkins which fes...			Hawthorn Craetagus monogyna The common hawthorn C. monogyna is one of 2 native hawthorns; the other being C. oxycantha. The difference is that monogyna has one seed inside its red fruit, oxycantha two. The sweet smelling creamy...
	Hazel Corylus avellana One of the smallest native tree species, hazel grows more like a shrub than a tree, only growing to approximately 20 feet when mature. The bark of hazel trees is dark brown and smooth in young trees ...			Holly Ilex aquifolium Famously spiky leaves! Often the lower leaves are very spiny, while upper leaves are more ovate and have fewer spikes. This development is related to protecting leaves within reach of browsing animals...
	Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum Famous for its seeds known as ‘conkers’, Horse Chestnuts are not native to the UK. In the winter even young specimens display the fat brown sticky buds which develop into large ‘fingered’ leaves which...			Rowan (Or Mountain Ash) Sorbus aucuparia Rowans are comparatively small trees and grow in a compact upright shape. Rowan is sometimes called the mountain ash because of the similarity of its leaves to ash trees, both having many opposing fin...
	Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris Our only native Conifer tree, ancient woods of Scots Pine are now very rare, but the species is widely planted throughout the UK. It can develop either as a tall single trunked tree with a high crown ...			Silver Birch Betula pendula Fast growing, attractive tree with narrow trunk white with black notches and diamonds making deep fissures on the bark. Birch is a pioneer species, which is one of the first to colonise a site. It is...
	Small Leaved Lime Tilia Cordata There are 3 native lime trees. Tilia Cordata is the small leaved lime. There is the Large leaved Lime, Tilia Platyphyllos, but the one we regularly see in the British landscape, Common Lime, Tilia vul...			Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut is a very distinctive tree, hard to mistake! Its leaves are large like a spear blade with saw tooth edges. The outer twigs are angular and five sided with noticeable breathing pores. No...
	Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus There is an ongoing dispute as to whether Sycamore is a native British tree, but is now by far our commonest species of maple. The seed is extremely fertile and not restricted in where it will germina...			Wild Cherry Prunus avium Wild Cherry is one of the smaller native British trees and as it is tolerant of light shade, single trees are often found growing in broadleaved lowland woods In the spring wood one of the first sign...
	Yew Taxus baccata Yew, like Beech, and Rowan, is one of the few British native trees that can grow in the shade of other trees. Yew, which is an evergreen tree, possesses needle like leaves (dark green above, light gre...