Identifying medicinal trees and shrubs from winter buds

The winter woodland landscape may seem bare, but there is life stirring in the buds! One of the nicest things about seeing Holt Wood through the seasons is that we have begun to recognise trees during winter as a result of being able to closely observe the buds and bare twigs.  Perhaps we are fortunate to have trees that are relatively young (planted in 2005 or since then) and so their twigs are still low down so that we can readily see the winter buds. Some medicinal trees will stay smaller and shrublike (such as Cramp Bark, Elder and Witchhazel), others readily grow adventitious shoots on the main stem or trunk (such as Lime). Size, shape, colour and arrangement of buds are all useful to note. Buds can be terminal, on the end of the twig, or lateral, arranged in an opposite or alternate manner along the sides of twigs. Buds often have protective scales, if not they are considered 'naked'. Other identification features on the twigs include the scars from previous leaves and the lenticels through which air travels in and out. Here are some examples of buds seen at Holt Wood in early January 2013.

Cramp Bark (Viburnum opulus) has opposite plump and pointy coppery-brown buds in January in Devon. Each bud has two pairs of bud scales although only one pair is visible in winter giving a smooth appearance. The bark of this tree can be readily lifted in spring for use as an antispasmodic in powder or tincture form.

Elder (Sambucus nigra) buds are purple and almost bursting open in January in Devon, little patches of green shoots already peeping out at the base of opposite twigs. Twigs are greyish with raised lenticels.  The leaves are no longer used in herbal medicine (they are fairly noxious so can be made into an insect repellent), but the flowers and fruit are valuable in colds and flu.

Horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) buds are huge with large and richly coloured brown scales. Apart from the tip, the other buds grow in pairs. The medicinal use of this tree is based on the preparations made from the fruit such as an ointment for varicose veins.

Lime (Tilia x europaea) has plump and rounded reddish-brown buds alternating on short shiny twigs which can pop out almost anywhere on the smooth trunk. Each bud has 2 scales, one larger than the other. The flowers will make a superb relaxing tea.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) still has tiny yellow flower clusters in January hanging on from the previous autumn, these are accompanied by furry loose hand-like buds. A North American tree or large shrub and not a native to the UK, this shrub will provide leafy twigs for distillation in late spring.

Some useful online tree identification sources for the UK:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/british-natural-history/urban-tree-survey/identify-trees/tree-key/index.html#tree-s1-2 This site provides a 28 page downloadable tree identification key which has interactive steps and includes ornamental trees as well as native trees. Includes leaves, flowers, fruit as well as buds.

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2011/bark-buds-common-european-deciduous-trees-winter-identification/ This site has a 'Bark and Buds' page with superb photos of 12 native trees to help winter id.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/wildbritain/field_guides/tree_id.shtml A BBC page on 'Trees in Winter' which has some useful examples of buds.

http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/3Winter%20twigs.htm Very useful page with common winter twig photos.

http://cabinetofcuriosities-greenfingers.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/tree-spotters-guide-to-buds-part-1.html A naturalist site based on North-east England with glorious colour close up photos of buds. 

Since some of our medicinal trees are North American natives, some useful ID photos for North America include:

http://www.ccfpd.org/NaturalResources/WinterTreeIDpocketguide.pdf A US site with superb winter photos of key North American trees.

http://www.florabymax.net/FLORAbyMAX/WinterBuds.pdf Another US site with a wide range of bud photos.

Latest at Holt Wood

Rain measure at Holt Wood

Wet Cramp Bark berries (Viburnum opulus)

Still raining and, despite some pleasant days in recent weeks, the ground at Holt Wood is saturated. Growth is lush, ideal conditions for sedges and mosses.  Just five apples harvested today, very tasty but a reminder of the difficulties for bees in pollination during the spring rain. Crops have been poor or  unreliable. Our St John's Wort has grown well but a lack of summer sunshine led to slower production of flowers. Fastgrowing plants do not seem to concentrate the key constituents needed for medicinal use. On top of this, the wet has made it problematic to strim down weeds and to maintain paths for access. All rather drippy and depressing!

Given the damp conditions, we are looking at possible plants which may be more successful. Some, such as Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) are well-established and can be harvested for medicinal use. Some additional plants to consider might include Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and Yellow Flag (Acorus calamus).

Meanwhile, perhaps unsurprisingly, we have been busy doing other stuff with family (looking after grandchildren) and acquiring a new puppy. Lucy is 13 weeks old, she is an Irish terrier, and a welcome addition to the family. She will be a working wood companion, and has already enjoyed several trips to Holt Wood.

Lucy inspects the moss

Looking ahead we have a Wood Working Day planned for 10-4 on Saturday 27th October 2012. Weather permitting this will be an opportunity to welcome interested visitors to the project, walk and talk, attempt some clearing of branches left from previous pollarding activity. Email to to let us know if you plan to come/ need directions.

Finally, we were glad to see a feature article 'More bark to the bite: woodland can provide a sustainable source of bark' by Anne Stobart, published in Smallwoods magazine (Summer 2012 issue 47) - the Small Woods Association are at http://smallwoods.org.uk/.

New Medicinal Forest Garden Trust

The Medicinal Forest Garden Trust, was launched on 11th July 2012. This new voluntary organisation has charitable aims of promoting and supporting education and research relating to the sustainable cultivation and harvesting of medicinal trees and shrubs. The constitution allows for activities of courses, demonstrations, research projects, alongside promoting suitable accreditation and linking projects together.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) at Holt Wood

This is a great development as, when searching for information ourselves, we have found a lack of organisations with specific expertise in medicinal trees and shrubs. This new organisation will be a focus for developing links and sharing information. Contributions are most welcome, if interested then do get in touch with Anne at herbaid@herbaid.co.uk.

To harvest or not to harvest

Bugle, Ajuga reptans

We have had lots of bluebells, making a sea of blue. Another spectacular plant is Bugle (Ajuga reptans), a member of the mint family (and quite easily confused with Selfheal, Prunella vulgaris, another purplish mint family member). Bugle seems to like a dampish location with some drainage, and grows plentifully  in several large patches on a sloping ride, gradually spreading by runners. It is traditionally reputed as a wound herb, the leaf good to stem bleeding whether made into a decoction or as fresh poultice. John Quincy (1730 edition) in Pharmacopoea Officinalis & Extemporanea mentions Bugle in passing when listing 'agglutinents' like Cranesbill, Hound's Tongue, Plantain, Shepherd's Purse and others. Culpeper recommends making a syrup. But we have not harvested this plant – it is far to attractive to bees and seems to be an important plant flowering for them earlier in the year. 

Pollarded Violet Willow, Salix daphnoides

Stumps after pollarding

On the other hand, we have had to be decisive and begin to harvest some of the faster-growing trees, otherwise they will become impossibly big and crowded. However, we keep having second thoughts about cutting down trees. The original intention was to coppice our willow and others on a cycle of years long enough to allow a good return of tree bark. In the effort to get the whole project established many of these trees have been left undisturbed for as much as six years. By trial and error I have found that Violet Willow can be pollarded at 4 to 5 feet height and will then produce a number of good size branches in subsequent years. So I have started to pollard more White Willow, Violet Willow and Cramp Bark trees to try to better understand this process. There are a number of questions that need answering – should the first 'pollarding' be carried out before a certain age, can pollarding be done when bark is easy to harvest, how is pollarding different to coppicing at the base of the tree, does pollarding height matter etc etc? So I will be trying to figure out some answers by monitoring the progress of these trees over the coming years. The stumps do look rather forlorn and bare right now, but the ground has been opened up to allow other plants to grow, and hopefully the trees will recover to provide an ongoing pollardable source of bark.

Wood bursts into flower

February and March have been a busy time at Holt Wood. Our aim has been to clear away brambles and undergrowth before the end of March, by strimmer and by hand; this seems to suit many of the smaller wild flowers and now we are seeing lots of Dog Violets popping up in the rides. Meanwhile, the new herb beds created last year included a spare one that was rotavated, mulched with grass cuttings and covered with black plastic over the winter. This bed will be home for trying some crops of Agrimony, Marigold, Yarrow and more - seed saved from walks and harvests last year. Working in the medicinal wood at this time of year is a delight as we get to see everything bursting into flower and leaf, fine examples are Goat Willow (Salix caprea) and Oregon Grape Root (Mahonia aquifolium) flowering ahead of everything else.

Exploring and Harvesting Bark

Holt Wood Working Day on Exploring and Harvesting Bark

Holt Wood is a project where we are finding ways to cultivate and harvest medicinal and other trees and shrubs. The site has been developed with permaculture design principles, and was planted up in 2005 following clearfelling of a sitka spruce plantation. Co-founded by Kay Piercy and Anne Stobart, the project is now increasingly well-established with a range of native and introduced trees and shrubs, some providing herbal medicines for use by Anne, a consultant medical herbalist. We hold regular working wood days, when visitors can join us to see progress and contribute to ongoing management. Our next planned day on Sat 31st March 2012 will focus on bark and medicine. We aim to be harvesting cramp bark, willow bark and witch hazel and completing initial processing for its journey to becoming herbal medicine. There will also be opportunities to photograph bark, draw bark, investigate bark creatures, make things with bark and more. You are welcome to join us – bring sturdy boots and outdoor weather clothes. Email info@holtwoodherbs.org.uk to let us know you are coming and receive directions.

Joining the Permaculture LAND Network

This month we are so pleased to hear that Holt Wood has been accepted as part of the Permaculture LAND Network of Learning Centres. This is a network of projects which can show volunteers and visitors how permaculture works.

Permaculture is really all about integrated working with the land to provide for a range of needs in ways that are healthy and efficient. When we were planning Holt Wood as a project to develop sustainable production of medicinal and other supplies our sketch plans incorporated permaculture design principles. These included taking into account our purpose, zoning the area for different activities, using resources available well, maximising the woodland edges, conserving nutrients and water, as well as improving the soil and wildlife.

The Permaculture Learning And Network Demonstration (LAND) Project is a four year, England-wide project to create a permaculture learning and demonstration network supported by online services and information. Building on twenty-five years of work by local practitioners, the demonstration projects include permaculture designed home gardens, community gardens, public spaces, allotments, smallholdings and farms. The Project is supported by Big Lottery funds. As well as Holt Wood the other projects in this network are listed at
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/land

We will be running some more Working Days and other events in 2012 to help develop awareness of our particular project, and there will be added emphasis on permaculture design ideas to reflect our membership of the Network. Our picture this month shows a new stone-built dam along a ditch which will help to store water for use in drier times as well as provide an environment conducive to water-loving medicinal herbs.