Extreme crab apples and badgers in Savernake Forest

摘要

The crab apple tree (Mains sylvestris) is 'much over-recorded for M. domes tica... intermediates are frequent and may be hybrids' (Stace, 1997). Whilst I was looking at some ancient crab apple trees in Savernake Forest, two separate members of the public made observations like 'you'll only find cherry-sized apples from trees around here'. The oldest trees (Colour Section, Plate2, (1)) had girths (at 5ft) of 170, 250 and 280cm (the last, 360cm at 3ft). For some, standardised trunk measurements were almost impossible, on account of intense thorniness (always), or forking (sometimes). Photos 1-3 (Colour Section, Plate2) were from different trees. The ancient bole of the tree in photo 1 had lost most of its thorns below 3ft. but nos. 2 and 3 were armedthroughout. These and others of varying ages were always thorny, some impenetrably so, with small, glabrous and often rounded leaves. The thorniness was of two types, albeit with intermediates. Some fast-growing cauline shoots had hard, straight, simple0.5-5cm spines, which penetrate clothing and skin (photo 3). More common were brittle compound twigs with branched spines, sometimes dead, or the twigs sometimes carrying a few leaves, forming a defensive zareba around the branches (photo 2). Detached fragments could also hurt when lodged inside one's collar.