Wild service tree

[den]

I spotted a wild service tree in the woods this summer, which I returned to today to find it loaded with berries. Bigger berries than I expected. The hard ones are quite bitter but the ones which are going soft are just heaven.

So has anyone got any recipes for the berries? I’ve got some hanging on a stick waiting to blet as mentioned by Richard Mabey but wouldn’t mind using some in a recipe.
Cheers

 

[den]

Is that a no then?

Ok does anyone know anything else i can do apart from just plucking and sticking berries in my mouth

 

[MrFlay]

Can I ask where you saw one, was it in a public wood? I've wanted to see one for a while now, but I haven't managed to (knowingly anyway!).

No exciting recipies I'm afraid apart from the one you're probably already making - I can't find my Food for Free book but it was some interesting sounding Kentish beer ISTR?

Matt

 

[Stew]

Is that a no then?

Ok does anyone know anything else i can do apart from just plucking and sticking berries in my mouth

Den,

I just checked HFW's Cook on the Wild Side and he doesn't mention them at all. Sorry.

Can I ask where you saw one, was it in a public wood? I've wanted to see one for a while now, but I haven't managed to (knowingly anyway!).

No exciting recipies I'm afraid apart from the one you're probably already making - I can't find my Food for Free book but it was some interesting sounding Kentish beer ISTR?

Matt

Matt,

I know that there's a Service Tree of Fontainebleau in a cemetery in Grimsby if that's any use. I can give you exact directions to the tree if you're ever there.

 

[Tantalus]

would you save me some seeds?

me dad is keen on trees and i am trying to wean him off sitka spruce

seriously it would be nice to try and grow one up here

pm me for an adress and i will refund the post

cheers
Tant

 

[match]

Unfortunately you probably won't be able to get seeds from Wild Service Trees growing in the UK - the fruits are sterile unless given enough warm weather to become fertile (fruits collected in central France are OK though, as it now has the weather we were having 3-400 years ago, when Wild Service Trees seeded across the UK). Most Wild Service Trees in the UK do put out root shoots though, and it is fine to dig up one of these side-trees and transplant it, provided you take great care not to harm the original tree!

As for recipes, I don't know of any real use for the fruits other than to make 'Chequers' - a kind of fruit beer (named after the trees chequered bark, and also the name of many old pubs that used to sell this beverage). Otherwise, I would suggest that since the tree is a member of the rowan family, that any recipes involving rowan or hawthorn (jams, jellies, wines etc) would work equally well for these fruit.

Good luck - let us know what you make in the end!

 

[Tantalus]

heck i can barely get seeds from beech trees up here

but i was hoping bristol being that much more temperate, i might have a chance

Tant

 

[karen]

According to Food For Free they used to be picked when they were hard and strung up in clusters around a stick and as they ripened they were picked and eaten like sweets.

The berries used to make alcoholic drinks either steeping the berries in a spirit or to make wine. Because of the flavour of the berries i would suggest useing them dried in curries or to make a chutney.

Heres a recipe for Chequerberry Beer
Pick off in bunches in October. Hang on a string like onions. Hang till ripe. Cut off close to berries. Put them in stone or glass jars. Put sugar in - 1 lb - 5 lb of berries. Shake up well. Keep airtight until juice comes to the top. The longer kept the better. Can add brandy. Drink. Then eat berries.

Hope this helps. Enjoy.

Kar

 

[den]

Cheers all

I was thinking maybe as they are so sweet when bletted I might be able to extract some sugar from them. The berries are lovely and sweet when soft but the skins get in the way a bit.

I’ve got some on a stick above the cooker as previously mentioned. I’ll sort a pic out.

Mrflay Yes it is in a public wood (Leigh woods) it’s on the edge of the wood I don’t think I would be able to explain how to get there but I could sort out a grid reference.
I would wait to next spring now as most of the leaves are gone.

What do you think I should do?
One of the three trees’ at this site, the biggest one (20ft) is covered with ivy to the extent, where the crown of the tree is mostly ivy. Should I just leave it or do something about it?


Cheers
Den

 

[match]

Hmm - difficult to know what to do when a tree is covered in ivy like that.

If its growing in a forest completely covered by ivy, and the ivy is spreading quite rapidly, then it is probably a good idea to remove it. The best way to do this is just to sever the stems at ground level, and then leave the ivy to rot and fall away (pulling it off can damage the tree's bark, but dead ivy up the stem will do no harm.

However, in many cases, ivy is opportunistic, and will tend to only get a good hold on trees that are already dying, since normally their own size and leaf cover makes it difficult for ivy to get established.

The best thing to check is whether the tree (and inparticular) the crown is healthy. If it looks in good condition, then cutting away the ivy is fine (if you don't want to completely kill the ivy, then cutting it back at least to the base of the crown is all that is needed to allow the tree enough space to continue putting out new shoots and tender branches). If it isn't looking in good condition, then it might be better to just let nature take its course. At the end of the day, ivy is just as useful to the ecology of a forest as a fruit tree, even if it is less useful to us!

 

[Tantalus]

my thoughts exactly match

i was gonna post something but my browser crashed half way through posting and i forgot about it

2 schools of thought about ivy

one says it will cripple a tree

the other says it will only prosper on a tree that is already sick

with a relatively rare tree like this i would give it the benefit of the doubt though, and go for cutting all the ivy around the trunk at ground level

its' survival may allow cross pollination with other service trees

Tant

 

[Jack]

I am with Tant on this one.

As the Service tree is rare, I wouldn’t think twice about cutting the ivy.

Contrary to belief, ivy doesn’t kill the tree by sucking the life out of it, what in fact happens is that the ivy will smother the crown of the tree which in turn cuts the light out from the host tree leaves, no light, no photosynthesise………no tree!

Ivy by its very nature is extremely shade resistant, if it weren’t then it would not survive the journey across the woodland floor until it found it’s next host, after all it is a climber.

Personally, I am a great fan of ivy and you will see many ivy clad trees in the woodlands that I work as I will leave them. We tend not use ‘woodland’ oak in the country any more so I like to see an oak in full leave of ivy, if it kills the tree, so what?! Remember, by destroying one habitat in the woodlands you are creating another, a dead standing tree is worth more than a live one……………and it is something that is pretty rare in the woods today.

Also remember, ivy is a wonderful habitat for moths butterflies and other creatures that hibernate and is a great food source for winter wildlife as it is a strange one as it fruits in the winter. It is also a great insulated of trees and keeps the tree warm………..this is important to thin barked trees like the Beech and the Holly.

But dead ivy makes great fire board!

 

[den]

Thanks

I think I will take my axe up next time I visit her.

Aye jack you cant knock ivy for a hearth. It’s been my favourite for ages.

I have got my hands on a small bit of western red cedar for a hearth.

Can anyone suggest a good wood for the drill?

I’m just about to try some hazel

 

[tomtom]

Aye jack you cant knock ivy for a hearth. It’s been my favourite for ages.

Im with you there :biggthump

Can anyone suggest a good wood for the drill?

I’m just about to try some hazel

I use Hazel at the moment... goooood combo IMHO

 

[den]

I didn’t get any luck with the hazel/cedar. The cedar is harder than I expected I used the hazel drill off my hazel/ivy set but it munched away at the hazel and didn’t touch the cedar. Maybe I need a harder bit of hazel?

Just had a good result from another new set I made from poplar..

 

[qweeg500]

Hmmm. Chequerberry beer eh? Me and the missus make some Slow and Damson Gin and Vodka every year. I know some Wild Service Trees....

I think I'll check them out in the week and may give it a go.

Anyone tried them in gin?

Matt

 

[5.10leader]

I came across the True Service tree on a Southern water site three weeks ago. For the last year or so we thought it was a Rowan tree but, having seen the fruit, had to rethink and carry out some research.

The internet gives a lot of info, of course, the following link is useful for general backgound:-

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/home/bio-leaflets-factsheet-service.pdf

 

[Tantalus]

seeds arrived today

cheers Den , will keep you posted on any progress

:You_Rock_

Tant

 

[den]

No Problem. Glad i could help.

 

[match]

Do let us know if these germinate at all - the information I have on Wild Service Trees is that the UK's climate is now too cold to allow the seeds to become viable during growth on the tree, and they may be sterile - if they germinate then this is a good sign, as it means that Wild Service Trees may be beginning to be able ot make a return to UK woodlands!