Native Trees in the British Isles

‘Native Trees’ are defined as those trees that colonised the British Isles after the end of last ice age and before the British Isles were cut off from the rest of Europe, by the rising sea levels.

The British Isles, for this purpose, include both the island of Ireland as well as Britain. Ice covered most of the British Isles (as seen below) and the remainder of the land was frozen and devoid of tree life with the one possible exception of the Strawberry Tree in south west Ireland.

As the ice retreated, some 10,000 years ago, the land was colonised initially by Birch, some of the Willows and Scots Pine, then by Hazel, Holly and Ash with the last arrivals being Beech, Field Maple and Hornbeam.

 

 

 

 

There are generally accepted to be 33 native trees and of these, 5 are evergreen including 3 conifers. They are, in alphabetical order:


         Alder                                   Downy Birch                            Scots Pine
         Ash                                      Field Maple                              Sessile Oak
         Aspen                                  Goat Willow                             Silver Birch
         Bay Willow                           Hawthorn                                Small Leaved Lime
         Beech                                  Hazel                                       Strawberry Tree
         Bird Cherry                          Holly                                        Whitebeam
         Black Poplar                         Hornbeam                                White Willow 
         Box                                      Juniper                                    Wild Cherry
         Common Oak                        Large Leaved Lime                  Wild Service Tree
         Crab Apple                           Midland Thorn                         Wych Elm
         Crack Willow                        Rowan                                     Yew