At more than 5000 feet altitude in the Reserva Nacional de Montes Universales near Frias you can see a wonderful mosiac landscape. Dotted across the barren, lichen rich hillsides are vera-esque regeneration circles of juniper, cypress and berberis and in nearly every one there is a young emerging scots pine. It appears to be able to regenerate because of the protection from the prickly scrub. How fast do these circles grow? Why do they seem never to coalesce? How do they start?
A fantastic scarred black pine (Pinus nigra) which is shown on maps locally as ‘un arbol monumental’ – a monumental tree
What a treat to come across an intriguing brown tourist sign that tells us there is an interesting tree nearby worth stopping to see. The ‘H-Pine’ – what does this mean? Well we go on the hunt for this tree following a local tourist trail up one of the canyons that are so spectacular in this area.
What a treat to come across an intriguing brown tourist sign that tells us there is an interesting tree nearby worth stopping to see. The ‘H-Pine’ – what does this mean? Well we go on the hunt for this tree following a local tourist trail up one of the canyons that are so spectacular in this area.
We find the ‘tree’ but it isn’t a big old pine. Watch the video to see why the ‘tree’ gets its ‘H’ name
We find the ‘tree’ but it isn’t a big old pine. Watch the video to see why the ‘tree’ gets its ‘H’ name
Another elm! This time the centrepiece of a church square in a small town 50 miles south of Madrid. This tree is spectacularly hollow – only the rim of the 9 foot girth stem remains. You can see daylight looking through the hollow trunk and yet this tree is still very much alive. It proves that it’s the living wood that matters not how much the centre has decayed away provided you manage the upper branches.
In the heart of a small town 100 miles south west of Madrid we find some wonderful old elm pollards. It’s such a joy to see them as we have not too many in the UK but also to know that they are appreciated in Spain too.
