Some interesting Arley residents.

All trees are special in some way, but at Arley Arboretum there are some particularly interesting residents.

The Crimean Pines (Pinus nigra caramanica).

The Arboretum boasts a number of magnificent Crimean Pines, one of which is the tallest in the British Isles, being in excess of 140ft. in height. (Catalogue No. 166)

In 1903 it was recorded as 108ft. tall and with a girth of 9ft.8 inches. It was remeasured in 1961 and 1991 by Mr Alan Mitchell. In 1961 it was 124ft tall and had a girth of 11ft.8 inches, and had grown to 142ft in height and a girth of 12ft.7 inches by 1991.

A special feature of these trees is that their huge branches grow almost vertically and are, therefore, parallel with the trunk. The trees are able to support these branches weighing tens of tons and soaring high into the air.

The Layered Beech (Fagus sylvatica).

One of the most unusual and interesting trees in the Arboretum is a layered beech, which covers nearly one quarter of an acre. It is impossibe to find the original stool. A happy accident, healthy young offshoots of the original are spreading slowly outward from where the original beech must have stood.

A strange tangle!

Reg. Charity No. 263556

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