Hornbeam: Our Magical Friend
By woodlandstv
Slow connection? Watch in lower quality
“What is the hornbeam?” says Nick Lear, who has been managing a large hornbeam wood in Sussex for more than 20 years. Often confused with the beech, very few people really know the tree and its many qualities. This film takes us on a journey from Sussex to Walthamstow in London to explore its history, its many uses, its beauty and sheer resilience. Largely forgotten by many foresters, we learn from a woodsman, an outdoor chef, an artist and a community activist what the tree really represents. Enjoy the journey from “the very best of firewood” to a Bach remedy that “revives the soul”.
A film for WoodlandsTV, produced by One Planet Media a small company who really love trees, with two woodland owners amongst its Associates.
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Discussion
I have one at the bottom of my garden, clearly it was once part of the hedgerow, but has been let to grow. it's a massive tree with seven intertwined trunks. Every year it drops thousands of seeds, many of which germinate and have been given to friends as the beginning of new Hornbeam hedges. It is a magical tree.
In the mountains of western maine, usa we have a Hornbeam tree that is hard as iron. It grows very straight and grows slow. Hard to find one bigger than 10 inches at the base.
Why don't you just focus on keeping Muslims from taking over the whole of Great Britain? That would be "magical".
Take the music away and this video becomes even more hilarious.
This tree grows like a weed. The only redeeming thing about it is that it is a salvageable hardwood. But why would you farm these when you could have healthy oaks with less knots and mill-able lengths.
While we're at it, Why would you plant these as street trees when the trimming is horrible around power lines and grows and looks like hot garbage when have to drop crotch them into the shape of a coat rack in the end.
These people have made a career out of convincing naive locals.
And by the way, I suspect the romans used them for coppicing purposes, which was never even mentioned once in this 8min video.
So everyone loves hornbeam… cut down and burned
@Melvin Dunn not all Americans, but you certainly sound like quite the buffoon.
I expect I have a few hornbeams lying around, well I did plant some, but to be honest they look much the same as the beech I planted at the same time.
There is nothing wrong with cutting down a tree, or trees, this has been going on for thousands of years. Also see the ancient art of coppicing, it is cut and come again. How many native trees have you planted recently ?
@Bob Russell thousands you assumptive halfwit
That must have been a very large hop hornbeam. I've rarely seen them big enough to yield an 8" beam. We have a forest near us that has ( or had ) many hornbeam. White ash may have shaded them out by now. I haven't been up there in a while.
timothy longmore
November 28, 2019