«O look at the trees!»

Press, 30 August 1980, Page 16

«O look at the trees!»

...Robert Bridges «L on don Snow”

26. RICCARTON HOUSE

Riccarton Bush, Christchurch’s remnant of Canterbury flood-plain forest, the only plant community of its kind in the world, has a justifiably high reputation as a success story of conservation. Its towering kahikatea trees, previously figured in a drawing in this series, are probably , the best-known, and oldest, living things in the city. The very excellence of the bush has diverted attention from the high merits of the many fine exotic trees growing in the adjoining grounds of Riccarton House, where they were planted by members of the Deans family during the last 130 years. This drawing singles out one of the noteworthy groups. The huge tree in the left foreground is a Tasmanian blue gum, Eucalyptus globuls, planted in the late 1850 s and one of the best known specimens of its kind in Christchurch. It is a lordly tree, possibly the biggest in the Riccarton House plantings—4o metres high, with a girth of nearly six metres. Next to it are two specimens, nicely matured (though their planting date is unknown), of one of the most handsome British trees, the Scottish “wych elm,” Ulmus glabra. They are fine specimens, with characteristics typical of the species: short, massive trunks, heavy branching, and branchlets tending to be pendulous at the tips. This elm is a tree that is not seen as often as it might be, perhaps because for many years the English elm was more fashion-

Pencil drawing by OWEN R. LEE Text by DERRICK ROONEY able and the wych elm, which does not sucker, was used mainly as an understock. It is not a common tree in the wild in England, though it is a native British tree; it does occur frequently in Scotland, and is also to be found in Ireland and throughout Northern Europe. The name, Ulmus glabra, is confusing, because the tree has quite hairy leaves, whereas “glabra” means smooth; the adjective applies to the bark, which remains smooth and hard for. many years. The tree has several common names, and one variety is known as the Camperdown elm. But the name most often used is “wych elm.” There is no satisfactory explanation for this. Some authorities say it is because rods cut from the tree were used in witchcraft rituals; more likely, however, “wych” is a descriptive name given to the tree because of its branches, which tend to trail. “Wych” is a corruption of an ancient word meaning “whippy.” The fourth tree, on the far left, is an English oak, one of the many fine oaks to be found at Riccarton House. A very old Spanish chestnut (middle background) completes the picture. This, Castanea sativa, the true chestnut which produces edible nuts, is not a large tree but is a dominating one, with its twisted bark, fiat branching, and nigged trunks forking out at ground level. It is like a bonsai tree magnified many times; it would not be misplaced in the garden of a Kyoto teahouse.