Raul Conde Vila, tree expert at Wisley, standing next to a Giant Redwood. This shows the scale of the tree, which measures over 5 metres around the base, indicating an age of approximately 100 years. The lower photo is a Metasequoia glyptostroboides or Dawn redwood. A prehistoric tree thought extinct, but discovered growing in China in 1943. Currently classified as endangered.
Castanea sativa or sweet chestnut – from Old Men of the Woods portfolio at Wisley. Around 100 to 150 years old, these could live up to 700 years. So, like the Giant Redwoods, mere teenagers. Both of these trees are in the area threatened by the A3 widening scheme. Although the fruit has become part of winter or Christmas tradition, the chestnut is not a native species and is thought to have been introduced to the British Isles by the Romans. The Greeks dedicated the sweet chestnut to the god Zeus and its botanical name castanea comes from Castonis, a […]
Giant Redwood – Sequoiadendron giganteum. The girth of the trunk at its base is 5 metres, indicating an age of about 100 years. So in tree terms, just a teenager!
