There's quite a bit of controversy about which are "native" British trees and which aren't. The purest brigade have shouted the loudest and bullied most people into accepting a cut off point at the formation of the English channel. Anything growing in Britain before the channel formed is considered native and anything appearing after is not. Which is fine up to a point, but it seems that when the channel was born most of Britain was covered in Tundra or melting glaciers which makes the growth and spread of most trees virtually impossible.

Firstly tree seeds need raw earth or competition free soil/humus to grow in, and secondly the seeds need to travel if the species is to spread. Birch seeds are airborne seeds as are Alder, Poplar, Willow, Aspen and Elm, all trees that flourish in wet soils which composed much of early Britain, so it's no surprise that they would establish themselves amongst the soil spills, mud flats and sand banks besides the many waterways in early Britain. Scots Pine was also restablishing itself along with Juniper on the higher rocky grounds and they seem to be the only true native species as they were self establishing or pioneer species.

There are exceptions to this, some of the big seeds that are produced by trees ie. oak have the reserves of energy to compete with grass and heather by been capable of driving their roots below the level of soil competition and tall enough to escape the shading before their energy reserves are exhausted,but the size of oak acorns prevent them from spreading too quickly, it has been established that some species of birds (Jays) will collect acorns for food and on occasion lose them whereby the acorn will colonise new territories. As oak seedlings can only survive and grow in good light in the 'wild', this means that they only colonise open spaces.

However, pollen counts taken from peat bogs laid down in these early days (9000 bc) indicate that other species of tree dominated and I believe that all other species were deliberately introduced by advancing humanity. Just like the nomadic hunter gatherers of the rain-forest plant beneficial trees near their temporary camps, the early inhabitants of Britain after the last ice age also introduced their favourite trees as they moved about.

Mainland Britain had Hazel widely introduced alongside Lime trees, both very useful trees as they both provide food, tools, timber and in the case of Lime trees rope made from the inner bark. These trees although broadleaf and consequently called hard woods are nevertheless soft enough to be cut with stone axes. The pioneer trees also had their uses,but were supplemented with more beneficial trees. Different tribes of nomads would bring their own favourite tree species to Britain. There is coincidental evidence of the Beaker people bringing the Strawberry tree (arbutus unedo) and the Yew to Britain and Ireland from their homelands in Iberia. Oak was introduced along with Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Pear and Apple all around the time that farming appeared. The English Oak was introduced/expanded approx. 4000 BC along with the Holly and Spindle. The Beech tree was initially introduced by some Belgian tribes, they were also reintroduced by some tribes from Germany, (Oak acorns were used as part of the diet, and the trees were widely spread replacing the lime tree as the main sacred tree.) Celts introduced the Sycamore tree from Gaul where they used the ground down seeds to make a flour or gruel from.

The next influx of foreign trees was in the 16th Century when trees from the far flung corners of the British empire were introduced.

During the following centuries the relentless demands of a growing population, agriculture, shipbuilding, the Industrial Revolution and wars had decimated our forests and much of its indigenous wildlife. By 1918 deforestation had consumed 71% of our forests leaving only a remnant (4%) of our natural forests, since then a further 1% has been destroyed.

Today woodland covers 11% of the UK and this is generally seen as an improvement. However, as much as 8% is commercial conifer forests felled every 30 to 40 years. This type of habitat and rotation supports little in the way of biodiversity. This is a big problem as some of the richest and most valuable ecosystems are found in ancient native woodland, most of the UK’s indigenous wildlife originated in a forest environment and is dependant on mixed broadleaf woodland.

Taldrum Wood, 12 acres of rich fertile alluvial soil in a sheltered valley, is warmed by the Gulf Stream 15 miles away on the Gower Coast. This has a beneficial effect on the climate, creating the ideal conditions for the 12 thousand trees, wildlife and flora; on average the trees are growing almost 1 metre per year.

Taldrum Wood will never be felled; the trees will be allowed to mature naturally. Old trees are particularly valuable for wildlife and when a tree dies insects and fungi depend on it for food and shelter, breaking the tree down slowly and enriching the soil and completing the cycle of life in the wood.

An organic approach without the use of chemicals and a total ban on all blood sports creates a sustainable natural resource that will become an ancient wood. The following

species can already be found in Taldrum Wood;

Trees; 23 Varieties of Trees; Ash, Apple, Alder, Beech, Birch, Broom, Cherry, Chestnut, Douglas Fir, Elderberry, Hawthorn, Hazel, Holy, Larch,Oak, Plum, Pear, Rowan, Silver Birch, Sitka Spruce, Walnut, Wild Service, and Willow.

Wildlife, A vast array of wildlife including; Badgers, Red kites, Tawny Owls, Voles and Dragonflies.

Woodland Biodiversity
The Value of Different Tree Species for Invertebrates and Lichens. The table below shows the number of insects and epiphytic (growing on plants) lichens, which have been recorded in association with common trees and shrubs in Britain. The figures in brackets include Arthropod (mite) species as well as insects.