Tree Story
This lovely tree I discovered when I stopped for a sit in a park on a bench underneath it. It was a beautiful summer's afternoon, and such a peaceful spot.
I was really struck by the bark on this one (I mean, I often am!) but this one had such regular, and prominent scale-like plates (unlike the English oak's usual deep ridges and furrows) which came through really clearly on the rubbing, creating this wonderful pattern.
An evergreen tree native to the Eastern Mediterranean, the holm oak was introduced to Britain in the 1500s. Apparently in ancient Greece the leaves were used to tell the future, and the acorns were a symbol of fertility.
Find out more at The Woodland Trust, a UK-based conservation charity working to protect native woodland.
