Lucombe Oak, Quercus x hispanica, Cobham Hall

A very nice tree with great foliage, but I am confused about the overall shape of the tree - it is tall, spired, and leaning. I genuinely don't think it is an original "Lucombeana".

This is the normal glossy leaf upperside, a fairly typical shape on this tree.

Here is a close-up of one of the leaves showing the glossy upper epidermis, and the spine-tipped (mucronate) even lobes - the Turkey Oak parent also has mucronate lobes, but these lobes are far more dominant in the overall shape of the leaf. You can also see what appears to be a dark leaf spot fungus and what may be leafhopper feeding marks over this leaf surface.

This close-up shows the mucronate tips, and the remaining white felting on the underside of the leaves.

There is a reference in the 1835 book by Loudon of a Lucombe Oak at Cobham Hall being 36 feet tall, 13 years after planting, and this tree might date to about that time. Or it might go back to Humphrey Repton's plantings, or according to the College website, "just before the Repton period"??

Possible Almond-leaved Willow, Salix triandra, Leybourne Lakes

There is one unidentified bush on the south side of The Ocean where the path joins from Leybourne Way, and this could be an Almond-leaved Willow, Salix triandra.

This is a photo of a bud on the relatively shiny current year twig. The shininess of the twig is an ID factor in most texts. The lenticels appear to be relatively few, forming clear gaps or holes in the shiny developing bark, and cluster below and around the nodes with the leaf scars and buds. It is possible that the two upper "lenticels" at each node are actually the scars of the stipules - they do appear quite consistently in the correct position! The other "lenticels" are much more variable. The dorso-ventral flattening of the buds is clear in the second photograph.

In this photo, you can see some hairs on the bud to the left, and the channelling of the petioles

The Genus Alnus

Alnus seem to have originated as a monophyletic genus, and a sister genus to Betula, within the family Betulaceae. It may have originated at or before the Late Cretaceous and developed further in the Tertiary Paleocene and Eocene. The major biodiversity focus is (now at least) in Eastern Asia. The American species, including those in Central and South America, appear to have crossed from Asia mainly via the Beringian Land Bridge. Currently there are 18 - 23 species in Asia, 4 - 5 in Europe and 9 in America. The only one that strays into Africa is the Holearctic Alnus glutinosa.

As well as the Frankia actinomycete nodules, seedlings may have AM mycorrhizae, and ECM mycorrhizae are often found throughout the life cycle. 

Red Alder, Alnus rubra, Sutton-at-Hone Burial Ground

While visiting Sutton-at-Hone Burial Ground and looking at the yews, I accidentally came across a Red Alder, Alnus rubra (Bong.), growing away in a cluttered section of the churchyard, What on earth was it doing there? There seemed to be no other Alders around, other trees had clearly been planted, had it arrived accidentally or was it deliberately placed I wonder? It was a bit tight for space, or will be in a very few years.

It is supposed to grow 25 - 40 m high and the crown is generally thought to be slender and pyramidal in shape. On the other hand the branches tend to droop a little - described as pendulous. The shoots and young twigs are angled or even triangular in section when examined closely, and as far as I know this is the only Alnus species that shows this characteristic.

This is the trunk, lovely and smooth, with relatively small ovals of pale lichen:

The poor landscaper is apparently having trouble controlling the side-shooting, with repeated tidying being necessary. Here is some of the foliage, showing the currently green catkins, neatly toothed oval leaves, and long pointed buds.

and here is a single leaf from below, and I think I can just convince myself that I can see the minutely turned-down leaf margin.

The leaf veins are deeply impressed and the catkins are shiny and green at present: