Friends of Saughton Park Tree Trail
Introduction
With so many beautiful varieties of trees in the park some of which are very old dating to when Saughton Hall Mansion was standing. We have selected 10 of the ones we love most for our tree trail all with interesting stories, some of them are native and others ornamental. There are lots more trees to find and enjoy.
Background
We were lucky enough to get funding from CEC and a very generous private donation which enabled us to commission the plaques from a local blacksmiths – P Johnson & Co We spoke to lots of park users re their favourite trees and whittled it down to a list of ten. Some of the plaques were designed by the blacksmith team but most were designed by our very own botanical artist Rona McDowall. The lovely map to guide you round our trail was designed by our resident artist and great friend of the Park Andy Archer of Inky Edinburgh
The plaques are designed so they can also be used by adults and children alike to do a brass rubbing - all you need is a piece of paper and a crayon.
What trees made it into our top ten…….
Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica)
· This conifer is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria. It’s known for its blue grey green needles
Common Lime (Tilia x europea)
· These trees are magnets for aphids and insects so best not to park your car underneath a lime as the honey dew raining down will eat into the paintwork. Did you know the buds of these trees look like boxing gloves with one big and one small scale. Another amazing fact is that these trees self-regulate their height and all grow to the same height – just look at the park’s avenue of Limes. How do they do this?
Common Walnut (Juglans regia)
· This tree’s leaves are feather like with one leaflet at the end and pairs of leaflets down the leaf stem. Valued by humans and wildlife alike the walnuts are ripe in September. Interestingly the Latin name means the royal nut of Jupiter.
Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea)
· Twigs are slender and zig zag and the buds are torpedo shape. The beech nuts, also known as masts, are edible and in France they are sometimes used as a coffee substitute.
Golden Elm (Ulmus x hollandica “wredei”)
· This beautiful specimen almost glows. It has a conical shape and crinkly leaves.
Himalayan Birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii)
· Celebrated for having the whitest bark of any Birch this tree shines through any season. The papery bark was used for writing Sanskrit manuscripts.
Magnolia (Magnolia spp)
· When in flower this stunning glorious tree is one of the spring highlights of the park. Did you know Magnolias are pollinated by beetles.
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) also known as the shoe tree.
· Maybe introduced by the Romans. Many of us will have played with the helicopter like fruit of the sycamore. Did you know the fruit are called keys.
Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
· Did you know that Saugh is the Scots word for willow hence the name of the park and the Willow tea room on Saughiehall Street in Glasgow. These trees like their roots in damp soil so you will see them along the beloved Water of Leith and other rivers.
Yew (Taxus baccata)
· This is the oldest tree in the park and we suspect it once lined the original entrance to Saughton Hall which stood on these grounds for many years. Due to the strength and flexibility of its wood medieval longbows were made from this wood. It is considered a sacred tree and is often associated with churchyards. Watch out this tree is poisonous.
Why not tell us what is your favourite tree and why and post on our Facebook group page or drop us a line at friendsofsaughtonpark@gmail.com
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