13.
platanoides near the car park, and some fairly large
field maples Acer campestre which usually are found in
hedges elsewhere. The elms Ulmus species were often
suffering from dutch elm disease. One or two common
walnut trees Juglans regia are found here, but the best
tree in the park is a lovely, large specimen of a
black walnut Juglans nigra with its very large pinnate
leaves. This grows next to Hylands House and is rather
mysteriously labelled as a tree of heaven. The bark
and the leaves of these two trees are quite different
however and we checked the inside of a twig for the
chambered pith which is characteristic of walnuts. We
also found silver birch Betula pendula, a species of
apple Malus species, hazel Coryllus avellana, alder
Alnus glutinosa on an island in the lake, aspen 'Populus
tremula, crack willow Salix Fragilis, and a wild
service tree Sorbus Torminalis. This has leaves
rather like a maple but they are arranged alternately
instead of in opposite pairs. Another unusual tree
growing here is the yellow buck-eye Aesculus flava.
We did not see it in flower but the leaflets are
stalked unlike the common horse chestnut Aesculus
hippocastanum which was also found. The yellow buck-
eye had been grafted onto a stock of the common horse
chestnut.
Some gymnosperms were noted as well. The scots
pine Pinus sylvestris was commonest, but we also found
the Corsican pine Pinus nigra var. maritima. A Douglas
fir Pseudotsuga menziesii with its fruity smelling
foliage also grows near the house, as does a Welling-
tonia Sequoiadendron giganteum. This is quite a small
specimen compared to "General Sherman" which is the
largest, but not the tallest, tree in the world.
Nearby is a cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani with its
level branches. Plenty of common yew trees Taxus
baccata are found here as well as a number of cypresses.
These include a Western red cedar Thuja plicata with
fruity smelling foliage and the rather similar Lawson
cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana which can be distin-
guished by holding the leaves up to the light when