Berried treasures - from woodlands and hedgerows

Even on the bleakest winter days, British hedgerows and woodlands gleam with the jewel-like fruits of wild roses, hawthorns and hollies. Fruits like these, which persist on the trees until spring, are a vital source of food for birds and other wildlife and may even be harvested by local people. Various berried plants have long featured prominently in the Christmas festivities, their brilliant colours providing a promise of light to come at the darkest time of year.

In many parts of Britain, hedgerows and woodlands are vanishing or are being changed dramatically as management practices alter. The Royal Botanic Gardens, both at Kew and at Wakehurst Place in Sussex, hold areas of woodland and are committed to managing them so that their species diversity is maintained. Seeds from woodland and hedgerow species have been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank as part of the initiative to hold as complete a collection of the UK flora as possible.

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