{"id":234,"date":"2021-12-26T07:36:39","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T06:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=106499"},"modified":"2021-12-26T07:51:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-26T06:51:15","slug":"8-winter-woodland-mysteries","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries\/","title":{"rendered":"8 winter woodland mysteries"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Samantha Stocks\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 26 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Venture into the British woodland in January, and although what at first may seem bleak and bare, you\u2019ll soon discover a beauty and a clarity intrinsic to a winter woodland that is obscured in the vibrant displays of other seasons. The structure of the trees and their arrangement become clear, and small constructions such as bird\u2019s nests, witch\u2019s brooms and wasp nests are revealed.<\/p>\n

Next time you walk through a winter woodland, take time to pause and examine the nearest rotting log, the branches above you, the leaf-litter at your feet, and you\u2019ll be rewarded with a hidden beauty visible only to those of us who stop long enough to see it.<\/p>\n

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Jaunty scarlet elf cups stand out against a moss-covered dead log. Cups are around 4cm across with a short stem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\""Scarlet\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Scarlet elf cups\/Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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Brilliant green moss contrasts with the blackened hue of rotting wood. Created by rot fungus, this dark layer is catchily termed the \u2018pseudosclerotial plate\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\""Green\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Green moss on rotting wood. \/Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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A response to damage, the burrs on this tree appear to form a face with an overhanging brow and pursed lips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\""Burrs\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Burrs on an old tree. \/Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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Discolouration caused by fungi creates artistic patterns running through wood, known as spalting, seen here in these chopped silver birch logs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\""Spalting\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Spalting effect in silver birch logs showing zone lines. \/Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Frequently found in birch trees, witch\u2019s broom is a deformity in which multiple shoots grow from a single branch, creating a bird\u2019s nest structure.<\/div>\n
\""Betula\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Betula pubescens with Taphrina betulina witch\u2019s broom. Beacon Hill, Northumberland, UK.\/Credit: Wikipedia, CC-SA 3.0<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An ancient pollarded beech tree in Savernake Forest. Practised in Europe since medieval times, pollarding involves pruning upper branches to limit a tree\u2019s height and promote dense growth of foliage and branches.<\/div>\n
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\""An\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
An ancient pollarded beech tree in Savernake Forest. \/Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Moss tends to grow towards the south-west, in order to benefit from the most sunlight and rain, which can be useful information when navigating a woodland.<\/div>\n
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\""Moss\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Moss on the bark of a tree in winter. \/Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Also known as \u2018ice wool\u2019 or \u2018frost beard\u2019, hair ice forms on dead wood, taking the shape of fine, silky hair.<\/div>\n
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\""Ice\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Ice wool, or frost beard, on dead wood. \/Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Samantha Stocks Published: Sunday, 26 December 2021 at 12:00 am Venture into the British woodland in January, and although what at first may seem bleak and bare, you\u2019ll soon discover a beauty and a clarity intrinsic to a winter woodland that is obscured in the vibrant displays of other seasons. The structure of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":235,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries.jpg",2121,1414,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/12\/8-winter-woodland-mysteries-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Samantha Stocks Published: Sunday, 26 December 2021 at 12:00 am Venture into the British woodland in January, and although what at first may seem bleak and bare, you\u2019ll soon discover a beauty and a clarity intrinsic to a winter woodland that is obscured in the vibrant displays of other seasons. The structure of the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}