All trees on the page are members of the Asterids group of flowering plants.
Birch / Alder Family
Silver Birch
![Silver Birch Tree](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/E2B29A4F-8099-496E-8227-F8DBC0F4837B-768x1024.jpeg)
Betula pendula.
Silver birch trees have slender trunks with white bark that peels off in thin layers, revealing the smooth, silvery-grey bark underneath. It has deeply lobed, silvery-green leaves and pairs of winged seeds called samaras.
Erman’s Birch
![Erman's Birch](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_2743-768x1024.jpeg)
Betula ermanii.
The bark of Erman’s birch is a distinctive chalk-white colour and peels off in papery layers as the tree matures. The leaves are triangular in shape, with pointed tips and serrated edges, and turn a bright yellow colour in the autumn before dropping.
Downy Birch
![Downy Birch](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_3379-768x1024.jpeg)
Betula pubescens.
Downy birch or European white birch is a deciduous tree native to northern Europe and northern Asia. It is a slender tree with a light canopy and drooping branches. It has diamond-shaped leaves that turn golden in autumn. You can tell this species apart from Silver Birch by the leaf shape, and the bark is less flaky, with clear horizontal lines.
Common Alder
![Alder](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_3490-768x1024.jpeg)
Alnus glutinosa.
Deciduous tree with a conical crown, greyish-brown bark, and rounded leaves with toothed margins. Produces small cones that disintegrate to release small winged seeds.
Turkish Hazel
![Turkish Hazel](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_2673-768x1024.jpeg)
Corylus corurna.
The leaves of the Turkish Hazel are oval in shape, with serrated edges, and turn a beautiful yellow or orange in the autumn. The tree produces small, yellowish-brown catkins in the late winter or early spring, which are followed by edible nuts that are enclosed in a husk.
Common Hazel
![Common Hazel](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_6086-1024x768.jpeg)
Corylus avellana.
A hazel tree is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 15 meters tall. It has a slender trunk and spreading branches. The leaves are oval-shaped and have serrated edges. The flowers are small and yellow, and they bloom in the spring. The fruit is a hazelnut, which is a brown, oval-shaped nut.
Ash Family
Common Ash
Fraxinus excelsior.
Deciduous tree with a tall, straight trunk and a spreading crown. The leaves are compound, with 5-11 leaflets, and turn yellow in the autumn. The tree produces winged seeds called keys.
Raywood Ash
![Raywood Ash](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_2698.jpeg)
Fraxinus augustifolia ssp. oxycarpa ‘Raywood’.
Similar to the Common Ash, but with leaves that turn a deep burgundy colour in the autumn.
Single Leaf Ash
![Single Leaf Ash](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_2784.jpeg)
Fraxinus anomala.
As the name suggests, single-leaf ash has only one leaflet per leaf, which is oval or elliptical in shape with a serrated margin. The leaves are dark green and can grow up to 6 inches long.
Other
Holly
![Pyramid Holly](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3840-1024x768.jpeg)
![Golden Holly](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3836-1024x768.jpeg)
![Golden Holly](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_3832-768x1024.jpeg)
Ilex aquifolium.
The leaves of holly trees are evergreen, typically sharp and spiny, with a dark green colour that persists throughout the year. They have red berries.
The varieties shown are in the Formal Garden, towards the lake. On the left is the spineless Pyramid Holly (‘Pyramidalis’). The other two are Golden Hollys (Ilex aquifolium f. aureomarginata), probably the varieties “Watereriana” and “Golden Queen”.
Dove Tree
![Dove Tree](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_2747.jpeg)
Davidia involucrata.
Also known as the Handkerchief Tree.
It has toothed, alternate, ovate-cordate leaves.
Fossil records of Dove trees extend back to the age of the dinosaurs.
Indian Bean Tree
![Golden Indian Bean](https://friendsofwollatonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/8AB111A4-696D-4DDE-A632-5200C2123503-1024x768.jpeg)
Catalpa bignonioides.
Also known as the Golden Bean Tree.
The leaves of the Indian Bean Tree are yellow in colour. The tree also produces large clusters of showy white flowers with purple and yellow markings that bloom in late spring or early summer. The fruit of the tree is a long, narrow bean pod that can reach up to 2 feet in length.
Photographs used in the Tree Galleries were taken in Wollaton Park and are reproduced with the original artist’s permission.
Copyright © for each picture remains with the original artist, who is duly acknowledged for their contribution.
Contributors include Colin Robbins, Wendy Martin, and Chris Golightly.
Tree descriptions were generated with the assistance of Google Bard.