This walk and booklet were prepared withthe help, advice and encouragement ofRay Cobb, Ian Cooke, Chris Sanders andClaire Wells.

For further information on the trees, oneof the best modern books is the Collins‘Tree Guide’, by Owen Johnson and David More.

The University of Nottingham welcomesmembers of the local community to enjoy University Park. For events andpublications based on University Park,check out our website atwww.nottingham.ac.uk/estate/friends

Conifers on CampusA winter tree walk in University Park

For further information:

The Estates DepartmentThe University of NottinghamUniversity Park NottinghamNG7 2RDTel: (0115) 951 3649

March 2010Design: Aspire Design

GUIDES IN THIS SERIES:

Rock around the Campus – A geological walk through University ParkThe Historic Houses of University ParkConifers on Campus – A Winter Tree Walk in University ParkUniversity Park Gardens Guide and Tree WalkWelcome to University Park – mini guide

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Winter is the season when conifers are especially prominent in the landscape and so it is a good time to consider theirmanifold virtues. For a start, they provide most of ourconstruction timbers, as well as pulpwood for making paperand cardboard. Such commercially important species are alsooften planted in parks and gardens, along with many othersintroduced purely for their amenity and ornamental values.

The conifers, literally cone-bearers, evolved long beforeflowering plants and once covered the world’s land-masses.At present they are particularly well represented in temperateregions of the northern hemisphere. Many of those that growbest in Britain originate from the forests of western NorthAmerica and were brought to us by some of the great planthunters of the 19th century.

This walk offers an opportunity to appreciate just a smallselection of the tree treasures to be found around UniversityPark. Much credit is due to the foresight of our tree-plantingpredecessors for the rich diversity we can enjoy here today.

Compiled by Graham Piearce

A winter tree walk in University Park

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The walk starts at the Main Visitor CarPark. Immediately notable in this area are twoof the commonest conifers in suburban Britain.An impressive row of the vigorous hybridknown as Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparisleylandii) fringes the car park. Our first FalseCypress (Chamaecyparis spp.) is a variety ofLawson Cypress (C. lawsoniana), a multi-stemmed plant to the right of the steps as we go up to Hugh Stewart Hall.

In the quad to the right is the distinctiveMonkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana), the only conifer we shall see from the southernhemisphere. Next to it is a Blue or WesternHimalayan Pine (Pinus wallichiana). To the leftwe proceed between paired columns of anotherLawson Cypress (C. lawsoniana ‘Stewartii’), oneof the more frequent golden cultivars, whichfades to a uniform green in winter.

Out into the Hugh Stewart Hall garden, in asteep dip to the left is a Coast Redwood (Sequoiasempervirens). One of these trees in its nativeCalifornia currently holds the record for the world’stallest living tree, measuring 115 metres (378feet). An additional point of winter interest is theleafless tree behind, with weirdly twisted branches,aptly named the Corkscrew Willow (Salix babylonicavar. pekinensis ‘Tortuosa’). And to its right is aHolm Oak (Quercus ilex), an evergreen tree fromsouthern Europe, perhaps first introduced toBritain not far from here, when Wollaton Hall was built in the 16th century.

The bank ahead contains much of interest,but first we notice two trees on the right, a cedarand a larch. These are the only types of coniferthat have their needle-like leaves arranged inrosettes on older shoots. The Blue Atlas Cedar(Cedrus atlantica Glauca Group), from the AtlasMountains of North Africa, is common in largegardens. The Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi) ismore often seen in timber plantations. Although it is deciduous, it is easily identified by itspersistent cones.

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Araucaria araucana (above) and Pinus wallichiana with Nathaniel WulffWallich (below)

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Sequoia sempervirens (below), Sequoyah [GeorgeGist] (inset below) and Engelbert Kaempfer (above)4 5

Just behind the Atlas Cedar is a SerbianSpruce (Picea omorika), a variable ornamental. A Blue Pine can be seen at close quarters tothe right of the pathway, with its pendent,needles in bundles of five. Behind that, on theboundary, is a Western Hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla), a forestry species recognisedpartly by its mixture of short and long leaves.Further along, to the left there is a SawaraCypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera), from Japan,which has peasized cones. The three tallesttrees here are all Colorado Spruce (Piceapungens). Throughout this area there areexamples of our native Common Yew (Taxusbaccata), both the redberried female andpollen-bearing male plants, as well as someGolden Yew, T. baccata Aurea Group.

Leaving Hugh Stewart Hall we proceednorthwards along Library Road. To the west wecan glimpse a fine assortment of ornamentalconifers planted between the Hallward Library andthe Staff Club. The largest trees there are DeodarCedar (Cedrus deodara), with drooping branchends. Two smaller ones in the foreground areHinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). At thecorner with Lenton Hall Drive, on our right is aWestern Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), well known forits durable timber, used to make garden sheds andgreenhouses. Across the road ahead, borderingthe Downs is a mixed shelterbelt of trees, startingwith several Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) to theleft, then many true cedars, including immatureDeodars.

Just after Cripps Hall Annex, towards thejunction with Beeston Lane, we come to asplendid grove of young redwood trees. They aredominated by four Giant Sequoia or Wellingtonia(Sequoiadendron giganteum). One of these treesin California is the world’s largest living organism,with a basal diameter of over 9 metres (30 feet)and reckoned to weigh at least 2,000 tons.Amongst them here are five Dawn Redwood(Metasequoia glyptostroboides), a remarkableliving fossil of a tree, rediscovered in China only in the 1940s. It is deciduous, as is the SwampCypress (Taxodium distichum), a very similarAmerican species, represented by a single treethat is a challenge to spot in this group.

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Chamaecyparis pisifera (above), Tsuga heterophylla (below)�

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The rich winter greens of conifers near the Hallward Library�

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Crossing the road we move next to a smallisland of trees and shrubs at the back of CrippsHall. The main understorey evergreens are ournative Common Holly (Ilex aquifolium) as wellas a variegated form, Golden Holly (I. aquifolium‘Aurea Marginata’).

The conifers here are all major commercialspecies. Partly hidden in the middle is a SitkaSpruce (Picea sitchensis), the most abundantlygrown plantation species in British forestry. At the Hall end are two towering specimens of another North American tree that growsexceptionally well in this country, the Grand Fir(Abies grandis). On the eastern edge is a lineof four young pines with needles in pairs.

This is the important forestry tree calledCorsican Pine (Pinus nigra ssp. laricio), whichmay be compared with a Scots Pine a littlefurther back and to the right.

Over on the north side of Cripps Hill, justabove the rock garden, the screen of conifersincludes four Leyland Cypress and a LawsonCypress at each end. The plentiful cones of thetwo European Larch (Larix decidua) are moreoval and the scales less reflexed than those of the Japanese Larch we saw earlier.Venturing behind these trees we can discovertwo, as yet only modest, examples of DouglasFir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), a renownedtimber tree. This is the species that holds therecord for the tallest tree in Britain, reaching64 metres (210 feet) so far, in Scotland. Theforked conifer here, near the corner of theEnergy Learning Unit, is a Serbian Spruce.

Several large pines occur beside the road to the School of the Built Environment andbecome common alongside Beeston Lane andat the Derby Road boundary. These are theBlack Pine (Pinus nigra). The Corsican Pine isclosely related but those chosen for landscapepurposes are more often the easterly subspecies,Austrian Pine (P. nigra ssp. nigra). The smallevergreen, near the corner with Beeston Lane,is a Holm Oak.

Larix kaempferi

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Picea sitchensis with spruce galls (left) and DavidDouglas (above)

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8 � Sequoiadendron, Metasequoia & Taxodium

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Larix decidua�

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Christopher John Leyland (left) and Archibald Menzies (right)

Making a beeline for Lenton and WortleyHall, we enter the Amphitheatre Dry Garden.The nine Gum trees (Eucalyptus spp.) are allfrom temperate parts of southern Australia.This large and important genus includes theworld’s tallest and fastestgrowing broadleavedtrees. Amongst them here can be found at theeastern end a Ponderosa or Western YellowPine (Pinus ponderosa), with long, stiffneedles in bundles of three, and on eitherflank some more Corsican Pines.

Continuing westwards we turn right intoLenton Hurst. Taking care on the steps intoand out of the Jekyll Garden, we may pause tonote that the perennial beds in the centre areedged with clipped, dwarf varieties of Box(Buxus sempervirens), an evergreen tree nativeto south-eastern England. Several differentcoloured leaved versions are used in thishistoric garden. As we approach the building,there is on our left a young cedar withunusually short needles, possibly a rare Cedrusbrevifolia.

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A group of Pinus nigra trees dominating the winter skyline� Mixed conifers, including Picea breweriana with the weeping foliage and William Henry Brewer (inset)

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Out into the Lenton Hurst lawn area wehave a chance to see again some good BlueAtlas and Deodar Cedars and Commo andGolden Yews. A selected form of the BlueColorado Spruce (Picea pungens Glauca Group)makes an isolated feature.

Along the northern side is another evergreenoak from the Mediterranean, a sapling CorkOak (Quercus suber). The western edgeplanting includes a trio of Scots Pine and a single, young Douglas Fir.

Just over the driveway, opposite DerbyHall, is an admirable collection of conifers.Once more we can compare adjacent Leyland(pic to right) and Lawson Cypresses. Thehandsome tree at the front is a Brewer’sWeeping Spruce (Picea breweriana), a slow-growing species well designed to minimisesnow damage in its native North Americanmountain habitat. To its right is a NorwaySpruce (Picea abies), familiar as a Christma tree but with a wide range of other specialuses too, from classic violins to spruce beer.

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Behind and to the right of the NorwaySpruce, passing around a Deodar Cedar, wereach a group of three Japanese Red Cedar(Cryptomeria japonica), with globular cones atthe branch ends. This valuable forestry tree isthe oriental counterpart of North America’sGiant Sequoia, on a somewhat smaller scale.Behind them and further right, under moreBlack Pines at the perimeter, we can find oneof its most popular cultivars, though lookingvery different as it has only juvenile leaves.This is the bushy C. japonica ‘Elegans’, whichturns purplish in winter. Next to that is anothergarden favourite also with juvenile foliage, the Moss Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera‘Squarrosa’), again quite unlike its parentspecies, though this plant has some branchesthat have reverted and bear the typical SawaraCypress scale leaves and cones.

Whatever route you take back to the car park,you will be sure to see even more conifers andother fascinating trees!

Cupressocyparis leylandii cones

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Millennium Garden

Main VisitorCar Park

Cripps

Portland Building

Trent Building

Lincoln

Derby

Lenton & Wortley

The Downs

Beeston LaneCripps Hill

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Library Road

Lenton H

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A52 Derby Road

Hugh Stewart

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WC

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Map key

Bus stops

Disabled parking

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Cafe

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The Tree Walk

University Park