Wych tree

This is the Greater Spotted Woodpecker Wood.

I returned. Sat under a tree and listened to birds. After a while, I wondered at all the seed pods around me. So many of them. Seeds encased in papery circles.

A little bit of investigation - Wych Elms! Check out the mythology section:

Elms used to be linked with melancholy and death, perhaps because the trees can drop dead branches without warning. Elm wood was also used for coffins.

In folk tales, elm holds the power to give you prophetic dreams.

Sounds like my kind of tree. They were held sacred by peoples of Northern Europe.

The wood was full of them.

The oldest were about forty years old, I'd guess. What do I know? Well, I will know a lot more as, synchronistically, I am attending a training course on Elms in July.

Reserve Officer Ian had told us that the asymmetical nature of Elm leaves is a giveaway.

I brought home a load of seeds and put them in my home-made compost. My Dad said, 'Good luck with that.'

This shows some very young trees - so clearly they are regularly seeding.

There were so many birds in this wood - for the first time, the Merlin app recorded a Bullfinch. I didn't see a Bullfinch, but I have quite a lot of trust in the app now.

The Poplar Path has taken me to Wych Elm.