Winter twig

The leaves are 7-12 cm long and 5-7 cm broad with 4 to 7 oval lobes on each side, borne alternately on the twigs. The undersides are covered in dense grey-white hairs. The leaves are deeply lobed with the deepest lobes 1/3 of the way to the midrib.

ID check

Swedish whitebeam is a medium sized deciduous tree 10-20 m tall. It has a stout trunk usually about 60 cm diameter, but sometimes up to 2-3 m broad.

It produces white flowers in late spring and red to orange-red fruits 15 mm long and 10 mm diameter in autumn. The fruits are enjoyed by thrushes and waxwings which thereby disperse the seeds.

The bark is grey-black and almost smooth.

Facts

• The strong smelling flowers attract many insect pollinators (flies, butterflies, beetles as well as bees).

• It is widely planted as an ornamental tree and tolerates urban streets, parks and avenues well. However, it is native only to the Baltic coast of Sweden and possibly to Poland.

• The 'beam' of whitebeam comes from the German 'baum' - a tree - and a white tree it is.