It was a fine, still morning as 7 of us met in the Brook Street car park to start another of the Ilkley Tree Trails. These trails are accompanied by a wonderfully illustrated and informative leaflet produced by Sue and Neil Stevens with funding given by the Ilkley BID for the printing. We were also delighted to have Janet joining us for a short while as she is now living nearby. Our first tree of interest was the broad-leaved cockspur thorn whose fearsome thorns provide an excellent defence. In the same area the Norway maple looked magnificent having room to spread and show off what will, in a few short weeks, be spectacular autumn colour. Alice drew our attention to the horizontal coloured bands on the bark of a Japanese flowering cherry, these being sometimes referred to as 'tiger stripes'. A common lime nearby was full of fruit but it was noted that the flowers produce nectar and pollen for insects and aphids are particularly attracted to limes producing honeydew that may drip from the tree and is consumed by bees.
As we moved along to the Grove we were able to admire a beautiful walnut tree. With its twisted branches, shiny leaves and valuable fruits it was a sight to behold. A Portugal laurel nearby was bearing its fruits of tiny purple/black cherries which are toxic. In this area we could also see an Irish and common yew and compare the difference between their leaves. Maples were much in evidence on our walk including silver, Japanese and purple Norway maples and also a red snake bark maple whose leaves are totally unmaple like being long with two little side lobes. My personal favourite out of the 30 of so trees we viewed had to be the Indian bean tree with its gigantic leaves and long bean-like pods. These pods contain winged seeds and remain on the tree throughout winter before splitting and releasing their seeds in spring.
This was a fascinating morning with an amazing diversity of species in such a small area. There was so much to see and, aided by Alice's thorough research, it made our time spent here even more enjoyable. A heartfelt thanks to her for all the hard work she put in to this visit.
Sally Tetlow