Most people think of Holly as being a bush, when if allowed to grow as we do, is actually a tree A European Holly (Ilex aquifolium) in the hamlet of Campoerbolo in Morbegno, Lombardy, Italy Photo: Fontanaelia on Monumental Trees

Apart from food & shelter a thick layer of undergrowth provides protection for shade tolerant saplings The evidence of a healthy ecosystem is called an understory, a layer of young trees growing in woodland beneath the main tree canopy & above the forest floor

An English Bluebell a day until I run out of photos #118

Ilex aquifolium, the common holly Found in shady areas of forests of oak, & one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees in Britain, & a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests We leave ours to grow into trees, & this is where the magic starts 1/2

It’s a woodland substitute bench full of trees waiting for their chance to reach the sky. Natural regeneration

Apart from food & shelter a thick layer of undergrowth provides protection for shade tolerant saplings The evidence of a healthy ecosystem is called an understory, a layer of young trees growing in woodland beneath the main tree canopy & above the forest floor

🙂

An English Bluebell a day until I run out of photos #118

If you can focus in on the dark holly leaves in this photo you will see the leaves getting progressively smoother. The ones at the top are completely smooth

Five holly leaves from the same tree 🌳 If holly is allowed to grow into a tree it is highly likely to do the same Holly evolved to fight back against the large herbivores that used to roam the Earth. The higher the tree grows the smoother the leaves get Photo: Emmanuel Lattes

Ilex aquifolium, the common holly Found in shady areas of forests of oak, & one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees in Britain, & a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests We leave ours to grow into trees, & this is where the magic starts 1/2

😬😬😬😬😬😬

And getting hit on the head is no better 🌳 🙄 What happened then?

That’s part of a natural process. The Romans deliberately bringing them isn’t

Sweet Chestnuts 🙂

Correct 🙂

Grew naturally as opposed to humans bringing them basically 🙂🌳

They are sweet chestnut, and no they are not strictly native, but ancient woodland is the location where there have always been trees as opposed to a) how old they are and b) what they are 🙂🌳🌳🌳

Ancient Woodland scene

They are 🤗🌳