Native trees of Britain
There are 60 or more trees in Britain that are native, meaning tree species, subspecies or hybrids that have established themselves without the hand of man. Yet only 35 are widespread meaning that the palette is actually quite limited, particularly when the full range of benefits from woodlands are considered, together with threats from environmental change.
Sixty may appear a large number of tree species but only about 35 are widespread and of these only three are conifers: juniper, scots pine and yew. The following list of native British trees is taken from my book The New Sylva (Bloomsbury Publishing 2014).
Common name
Latin name
Field maple
Acer campestre
Common alder
Alnus glutinosa
Strawberry-tree
Arbutus unedo
Silver birch
Betula pendula
Downy birch
Betula pubescens
Box
Buxus sempervirens
Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus
Dogwood
Cornus sanguinea
Hazel
Corylus avellana
Midland hawthorn
Crataegus laevigata
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
Spindle
Euonymus europaeus
Beech
Fagus sylvatica
Alder buckthorn
Frangula alnus
Common ash
Fraxinus excelsior
Sea buckthorn
Elaeagnus rhamnoides
Holly
Ilex aquifolium
Juniper
Juniperus communis
Crab apple
Malus sylvestris
Scots pine
Pinus sylvestris
Black poplar
Populus nigra subsp. Betulifolia
Aspen
Populus tremula
Wild cherry
Prunus avium
Bird cherry
Prunus padus
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
Plymouth pear
Pryrus cordata
Sessile oak
Quercus petraea
Pedunculate oak
Quercus robur
Purging buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
White willow
Salix alba
Goat willow
Salix caprea
Grey willow
Salix cinerea
Crack willow
Salix fragilis
Bay willow
Salix petandra
Purple osier
Salix purpurea
Almond willow
Salix triandra
Common osier
Salix viminalis
Elder
Sambucus nigra
English whitebeam
Sorbus anglica
Common whitebeam
Sorbus aria
Arran whitebeam
Sorbus arranensis
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
Bristol whitebeam
Sorbus bristoliensis
Devon whitebeam
Sorbus devoniensis
Service-tree
Sorbus domestica
Round-leaved whitebeam
Sorbus eminens
Irish whitebeam
Sorbus hibernica
Lancastrian whitebeam
Sorbus lancastriensis
Grey-leaved whitebeam
Sorbus porrigentiformis
Arran service-tree
Sorbus pseudofennica
Rock whitebeam
Sorbus rupicola
Somerset whitebeam
Sorbus subcuneata
Wild service-tree
Sorbus torminalis
Bloody whitebeam
Sorbus vexans
Wilmott’s whitebeam
Sorbus wilmottiana
Yew
Taxus baccata
Small-leaved lime
Tilia cordata
Large-leaved lime
Tilia platyphyllos
Wych elm
Ulmus glabra
Field elm
Ulmus minor
The timeline used to define ‘native’ is about 8,000 years ago (6,100BC), when Doggerland—the land-bridge linking Britain to mainland Europe—disappeared when a catastrophic tsunami is thought to have swept a wave up to 10m tall as far as 25 miles inland (see Smith et al. 2014 below).
The list of what is considered a native species, or indeed a separate species or not, is under constant review by botanists. For example, while 17 trees from the Sorbus genus are listed in the table above, these are only the most widespread, as there are thought to be about 17 more present in tiny populations (e.g. a single Welsh valley). Tim Rich is one of the most active botanists working to disentangle the genus (See Rich et al. 2014 below).
Our cousins in North America find the British definition of ‘native’ intriguing, the time boundary generally adopted by them being when European settlers first arrived in the sixteenth century, just 400 years ago.
Just across the English Channel in France and there are dozens more tree species considered native including silver fir (Abies alba), European larch (Larix decidua), cornelian cherry (Cornus masiiii), and Norway maple (Acer platanoides), to name a few.
Some trees introduced a long time ago to Britain are now considered ‘naturalised’. There is a specific term for species present since 1500; an ‘archaeophyte’. Such species include beech (native only to south-eastern Britain), horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, sycamore and walnut.
References
T. C. G. Rich, D. Green, L. Houston, M. Lepší, S. Ludwig, and J. Pellicer (2014). British Sorbus (Rosaceae): six new species, two hybrids and a new subgenus.
New Journal Of Botany Vol. 4 , Iss. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/2042349714Y.0000000036
D.E. Smith, S. Shi, R.A. Cullingford, A.G. Dawson, S. Dawson, C.R. Firth, I.D.L. Foster, P.T. Fretwell, B.A. Haggart, L.K. Holloway, D. Long, (2004). The Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami in the United Kingdom, Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 23, Issues 23–24, December 2004, Pages 2291-2321, ISSN 0277-3791, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.04.001.
Tagged: Britain, native, trees








Gabriel Hemery
I’m a silvologist—or forest scientist—and a published author. I’m also a keen amateur photographer with a passion for tr Welcome to my silvological blog featuring the study of trees, forests and woods.
I’m a silvologist—or forest scientist—and a published author. I’m also a keen amateur photographer with a passion for trees. ...more
- Gabriel Hemery's profile
- 14 followers
