How

to find Derby A

rboretumW

eeping Ash

Fraxinus excelsior ‘Pendula’

This pendulous tree is a graft on to com

mon ash and w

as widely

planted by the Victorians. The graft is carried out at approxim

ately 2 m

etres and any growth from

below

the union will be of the norm

al type and m

ust be removed to prevent

‘reversion’.

Tree of Heaven

Ailanthus altissim

aThis strongly grow

ing, vigorous tree is from

North C

hina and has been known since

1750. It produces suckers from the roots as

a way of propagating itself as it is too cold in

Britain to grow

from seed. The m

ost attractive feature of this tree is the red seeds w

hich are prom

inent in Septem

ber. The foliage is com

pound, composed of 12-18 pairs of

leaflets which sm

ell very unpleasant when

crushed.London PlanePlatanus x hispanica

This tree is a comm

on sight in streets all over the U

K. The tree is a hybrid betw

een the A

merican plane and the O

riental plane from

Crete and the B

alkans and displays hybrid vigour (it grow

s very quickly). None of the

planes in the Arboretum

are older than 130 years old and w

ere planted to replace trees w

hich died between 1840 and 1880. London

plane can survive in heavily polluted air due to its w

axy leaves which do not colour in

autumn. D

ue to its large size and vigour it can soon cast dense shade and crow

d other trees. Its m

ain feature is its attractive bark.

A list of all the trees found in the Arboretum

can be obtained from

the rangers or by visiting w

ww

.derby.gov.uk/arboretum

The

Cuc

umbe

r Tre

eM

agno

lia a

cum

inat

a *

The

com

mon

nam

e re

fers

to th

e fru

its w

hich

ar

e gh

erki

n lik

e. It

was

intro

duce

d in

to th

e U

K

in 1

736

and

grow

s to

be

one

of th

e la

rges

t m

agno

lias.

The

flow

ers

are

gree

n in

col

our

and

inco

nspi

cuou

s w

hen

they

unf

old

amon

gst

the

leav

es in

ear

ly s

umm

er.

Red

Map

le

Ace

r rub

rum

The

mai

n fe

atur

es o

f thi

s A

mer

ican

tree

are

th

e re

d flo

wer

s w

hich

em

erge

in th

e w

inte

r m

onth

s an

d th

e au

tum

n co

lour

s of

crim

son

and

gold

. The

red

map

le is

unc

omm

on in

the

mid

land

s an

d no

rth a

s it

real

ly re

quire

s ac

idic

so

il co

nditi

ons.

In it

s na

tive

envi

ronm

ent o

f no

rth a

nd e

aste

rn A

mer

ica

it is

one

of t

he

mai

n tre

es w

hich

pro

vide

the

glor

ious

col

ours

of

‘fal

l’.

1 2

3C

auca

sian

Lim

e Ti

lia x

euc

hlor

aTh

is is

a h

ybrid

tree

whi

ch h

as b

een

exte

nsiv

ely

plan

ted

in c

ities

as

a st

reet

tree

bec

ause

aph

ids

do n

ot fe

ed o

n th

e le

aves

. It i

s th

e se

cret

ion

from

ap

hids

, kno

wn

as h

oney

dew

, whi

ch c

ause

s st

icky

de

posi

ts in

the

sum

mer

. How

ever

, it h

as a

wee

ping

gr

owth

hab

it w

hich

mak

es it

uns

uita

ble

for s

treet

si

tuat

ions

as

it re

quire

s re

gula

r pru

ning

. The

sp

ecim

ens

in th

e A

rbor

etum

are

som

e of

the

talle

st

in th

e U

K. Fals

e A

caci

a or

Bla

ck L

ocus

t R

obin

ia p

seud

oaca

cia

*Th

is tr

ee is

nat

ive

to th

e ea

ster

n U

SA

and

was

in

trodu

ced

in a

bout

163

0. It

suc

kers

pro

fuse

ly a

nd

the

new

sho

ots

are

dens

ely

thor

ny. I

t is

a m

embe

r of

the

pea

fam

ily a

nd it

s w

hite

flow

ers

prod

uced

in

early

sum

mer

are

follo

wed

by

pods

. Its

tim

ber h

as

rem

arka

ble

prop

ertie

s –

mor

e du

rabl

e th

an o

ak

and

will

not

shr

ink

and

so w

as u

sed

for ‘

tree

nails

’ –

woo

den

pins

in ti

mbe

r shi

ps.

Wyc

h El

m

Ulm

us g

labr

a *

The

elm

use

d to

be

a co

mm

on tr

ee o

ver m

uch

of th

e U

K. H

owev

er, t

he fu

ngus

kno

wn

as D

utch

E

lm D

isea

se w

iped

out

pra

ctic

ally

eve

ry s

ingl

e m

atur

e tre

e du

ring

the

1960

s an

d 70

s. T

he o

ne

at th

e A

rbor

etum

is th

eref

ore

rare

and

is a

lso

a pa

rticu

larly

impr

essi

ve s

peci

men

. Elm

s ca

n be

id

entifi

ed b

y th

e le

aves

whi

ch a

re a

sym

met

rical

.

Cop

per B

eech

Fa

gus

sylv

atic

a ‘P

urpu

rea’

The

purp

le le

aves

of t

his

larg

e st

atel

y tre

e ar

e a

com

mon

site

in g

arde

ns a

nd p

arks

thro

ugho

ut

Brit

ain.

The

tree

is u

sual

ly g

rafte

d an

d th

e un

ion

betw

een

root

stoc

k an

d sc

ion

can

ofte

n be

see

n ev

en in

mat

urity

. Thi

s pa

rticu

lar t

rees

can

be

accu

rate

ly d

ated

as

it ha

s a

ston

e m

arke

r at i

ts

base

with

the

insc

riptio

n ‘p

lant

ed in

188

9’.

4 5 6

2425

Derby A

rboretumTree Trail

Intr

oduc

tion

In 1

840

the

loca

l mill

ow

ner a

nd p

hila

nthr

opis

tJo

seph

Stru

tt, g

ave

the

Arb

oret

um to

the

peop

le o

f Der

by, m

akin

g D

erby

Arb

oret

um

Brit

ain’

s fir

st p

ublic

par

k. T

o de

sign

the

Arb

oret

um S

trutt

empl

oyed

the

fam

ous

gard

en d

esig

ner a

nd h

ortic

ultu

ral a

utho

r Joh

n C

laud

ius

Loud

on. H

e cr

eate

d th

e A

rbor

etum

as

a s

erie

s of

mou

nds

and

serp

entin

e pa

ths

and

plan

ted

over

800

diff

eren

t spe

cies

of

trees

and

shr

ubs

from

all

over

the

know

n w

orld

, arr

ange

d in

thei

r fam

ily g

roup

s.

A ca

talo

gue

was

pro

duce

d w

hich

gav

e in

form

atio

n on

all

the

diffe

rent

pla

nts

and

aim

ed to

edu

cate

the

publ

ic. E

xcer

pts

from

Lo

udon

’s c

atal

ogue

and

boo

k ar

e av

aila

ble

on d

ispl

ay in

the

Lodg

e an

d Lo

cal S

tudi

es

Libr

ary.

The

illu

stra

tions

thro

ugho

ut th

is le

aflet

ar

e al

so ta

ken

from

Lou

don’

s bo

oks.

Som

e of

the

orig

inal

184

0 pl

antin

gs h

ave

surv

ived

and

are

des

crib

ed in

this

leafl

et

(den

oted

by

*). U

nfor

tuna

tely,

a lo

t of t

he

orig

inal

tree

s di

ed d

ue to

dis

ease

, age

or

air p

ollu

tion.

Dur

ing

the

1880

’s -

90’s

a

mix

ture

of L

ondo

n pl

ane,

lim

e an

d ot

her

com

mon

spe

cies

of t

rees

wer

e pl

ante

d, th

ese

trees

hav

e th

rived

but

now

thre

aten

the

all

impo

rtant

var

iety

that

Lou

don

envi

sage

d.W

ith th

e ai

d of

a L

otte

ry G

rant

the

Arb

oret

umw

as re

stor

ed in

200

3. S

ome

trees

wer

e

Der

by A

rbor

etum

in th

e 19

00’s

.

DERBY

ARBOR

ET

U MFurther inform

ation

Wheelchair and pushchair accessible. D

ogs on leads w

elcome. C

ar parking is available at G

rove Street (pay and display). For bus

services ring the Traveline on 0871 2002233.D

uring office hours please telephone the Tree Line on 01332 641559 or em

ail trees@derby.gov.uk.

For urgent tree problems out of office hours

please contact 01332 256060.M

inicom 01332 256666.

We can supply this inform

ation in any other w

ay style or language to help you access it.P

olish

Punjabi

Urdu

Printed on paper made from 75% recycled material.

ww

w.derby.gov.uk

rem

oved

, new

tree

s pl

ante

d, th

e lo

dges

re

stor

ed, a

nd th

e H

eart

of th

e P

ark

build

ing

cons

truct

ed. T

he im

prov

emen

ts c

ontin

ue

toda

y, w

ith th

e re

plac

emen

t of t

he F

lore

ntin

e B

oar d

estro

yed

durin

g W

WII,

new

pla

ntin

g an

d la

belli

ng o

f the

spe

cim

ens.

The

Trai

l sta

rts a

nd fi

nish

es a

t Gro

ve L

odge

an

d ru

ns in

an

anti-

cloc

kwis

e di

rect

ion,

taki

ng

abou

t an

hour

. Mos

t of t

he tr

ees

can

be

view

ed fr

om w

ell-s

urfa

ced

path

s an

d so

is

suita

ble

for w

heel

chai

rs a

nd p

ushc

hairs

.

23

P

Arboretum Park

A514 Osmaston Road

Harrington Street

Rose Hill Street

Normanton Road

Harriet Street

Grove Street

Morleston Street

Reginald Street

Royal CrownDerby

Loudon Street

Madeley Street

London Road

Community Hospital

Derby Arboretum Tree Trail Leaflet 2014.indd 1 23/04/2014 10:33

7

8

9

21

22

19

20

Wild Pear Pyrus communis *

This tree has been grown in Britain for thousands of years but is probably not native. It is particularly attractive in the spring when the flowers appear before the leaves. The small, hard fruit are not really edible until after they have rotted. The bark cracks into small squares like a chessboard. Some of the twigs bear small thorns.

Red Oak Quercus rubra

The large, pointed leaves which display red and russet autumn colours distinguish this American tree from the native oaks. The timber of red oak is of no commercial value and the tree is much shorter lived than our native oak - ‘only’ 180 years or so compared to up to 1000 for the common and sessile oaks.

Highclere Holly Ilex x altaclarensis

A spineless form of holly which arose at Highclere in Berkshire as a cross between the common holly and the Canary holly. This specimen is probably ‘Hodginsii’ as it is a male form and bears no fruit.

Holm Oak Quercus ilex

This tree originates from the Western Mediterranean but has been growing in Britain for over 400 years. It has very dark bark - almost black in colour, and is one of the most common evergreen oaks in Britain. It is hardy in most winters and thrives in coastal regions where the salt in the air does not seem to trouble it.

Silver Pendent Lime Tilia ‘Petiolaris’

The origin of this tree is unknown and it has to be propagated by grafting. The graft union at about 1metre is usually obvious. It was extensively planted in the Arboretum during the 1880’s and there are some particularly fine specimens here. It has a pendulous habit and the leaves are silver on the underside. The leaves are free of aphids and turn attractive yellow and gold in the autumn.

Narrow Leaved Ash Fraxinus angustifolia *

This is a particularly fine specimen well over 20metres tall. It displays the typical graft union of the species – sometimes the rootstock is less vigorous then the stem (scion) causing an unusual bulge. The leaves are much more delicate than the native ash and the keys smaller. The buds are brown rather than black like the common ash.

Black MulberryMorus nigra *

This small tree is often considered a ‘bush’ - hence the famous children’s song. However, it is definitely a tree - having a single stem at ground level - the stem of this tree is hollow and gives it the appearance of being very old. The fruits are delicious when found in the early autumn, but beware as they can stain clothes and skin!

Black WalnutJuglans nigra *

The most handsome tree in the Arboretum? This tree has been grown in Britain for more than 350 years but is only found in a few parks and gardens across the UK. The deeply fissured bark looks almost black from a distance. The leaves are compound with more than ten leaflets and often the terminal (end) leaflet is absent. Squirrels often eat the walnuts before they fully ripen.

American LimeTilia americana

This lime tree has much larger leaves than the other types in the Arboretum. It is the tallest example of its species in the UK (25m) and so is particularly noteworthy.

Turkish HazelCorylus colurna *

Native to south-east Europe and west Asia but grown in this country for nearly 500 years. It is the only hazel which can properly be referred to as a ‘tree’ because it grows a single stem. The nuts are edible and often occur in clumps with whiskered cups. The tree in Derby Arboretum is a very large, impressive example.

PinetumWhen walking around the Arboretum it becomes clear that there are very few conifers. When Loudon designed the Arboretum he put an area close to Grove Lodge aside for creating a pinetum (conifer collection). In this area was planted most of the conifers that were known at that time - various species of pine, spruce, fir, larch and cedar. All died many years ago and only a few have been replaced.

Grand FirAbies grandis

This very vigorous tree has the potential to grow to well over 50 metres tall and is prized for its timber. The crushed foliage has the scent of oranges and the cones are not obvious as they are found at the tops of trees and break up in the wind or are eaten by birds.

Monterey pinePinus radiata

It is unusual to find this Californian native in Derbyshire. It is commonly found in Devon and Cornwall planted as a windbreak. It differs from our native Scot’s pine in that it has three needles in a bundle rather than two. The foliage is an attractive bright green and the tree grows very fast in sheltered areas.

Sweet ChestnutCastanea sativa*

Many people would think this tree is a native to Britain, but the Romans probably brought it here. It is well known for its spiny cased, edible fruit that only ripen after a hot summer. They can grow very large with beautiful spiralling bark and trunks over 4metres wide. They very often have cracks and fissures which are excellent habitats for wildlife.

Tulip TreeLiriodendron tulipifera

This tree originates from North America over a large area from New England to Arkansas. It is a fast growing tree, and produces good quality timber known as ‘whitewood’. The Native American Indians used this tree to make dugout canoes. It is highly regarded for its large tulip like flowers borne in June/July and the handsome leaves that turn butter yellow in the autumn.

P

T

101112

4

3

2

125 24

22

2321

1816

17

13

1514

20

19

98 7

65

C

Caucasian Wingnut Pterocarya fraxinifolia *

This tree has ash like leaves and long dangling seed pods. The roots will often push up suckers which if left unmown will form a dense thicket. Autumn colour is gold.

Bean TreeCatalpa speciosa

Although this is a large, old specimen it is not an original tree. This species of Catalpa was not available to Loudon in 1840 and in any case is in the wrong location according to the catalogue. However, it is a particularly fine specimen and differs from the more common Indian Bean Tree by having narrower, more pointed leaves and it flowers in July – a month earlier than the Indian Bean Tree.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Parkland

Mounds

Footpath

Broad leaves

Conifers

Pond

Fountain

Florentine Boar

Community Garden

Nature Reserve

Toilets

Car Parking

Cafe

T

P

C

Grove Lodge

Heart ofthe Park

18

Arboretum Square

N

Derby ArboretumTree Trail

Derby Arboretum Tree Trail Leaflet 2014.indd 2 23/04/2014 10:33