The route of this walk, on the map, sticks to the footpath but by the time it goes round the triangle you really ought to wander off the footpath and walk among the trees on the main field. The line on the map had to be drawn somewhere but it really is just a guide to the area where these particular trees are.
I’ve started off not far from the rockery, on one apex of the triangle, where there is an unusual tree, which I think is a Manna ash. It has flowers with long white ribbon-like petals that bloom in early May. The only reason that I’m still uncertain about this is that it has not produced keys, as expected, but has produced an unusual knobbly ‘fruit’. At one time I thought this tree could be a Fringe tree but the flowers were not white enough and the fruit would be a drupe a bit like a black olive. So, this walk is off to an uncertain start!
I have now found out that the knobbly ‘fruit’ is more likely a crown gall caused by a bacterial infection by Rhizobium radiobacter.
The next tree along is a Hornbeam and to the right of it, against the car park fence, is a large Lawson cypress. There’s a small Atlas cedar and a small Ginkgo on the right. Back on the left of the path the next tree is a Whitebeam. It is probably a Tibetan whitebeam as it has light green leaves with a whitish underside. After the Whitebeam there is a Honey Locust tree. The tree on the corner of the path is a favourite with many small (and not so small) children who love climbing in its many low branches. It’s a cut-leaf beech. Its leaves are not simple oval shaped as in regular beech but is notched or cut into, giving it a more ragged appearance. Round the corner of the path, on the other side of the beech is a Black River Birch. The leaves look much the same as any other birch but the bark is very rough and flaky.
Kings Heath Park Trees 