Wooden Wonders part four: lemon and lime?
Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, is full of magnificent trees.
As part of our half term Wooden Wonders event taking place from 14 – 16 February, Kate Cashmore from Westonbirt’s learning team has created a trail which will help you find out about our hidden wonders.
Here, she highlights some of the Wooden Wonders that you can discover when you follow the trail.
No, the British lime is not related to the fruit tree. But it is still a very useful tree.
Although it is a hardwood, the timber is relatively soft, and is sought after for carving as it can be worked into very smooth, fine detail, for example leaves and flowers on friezes.
Lime trees have been coppiced for thousands of years, and if you walk into Silk Wood, you can see a lime thicket which is from one tree, 2000 years old. The inner bark is strong and fibrous and can be twisted into rope or even woven into cloth for clothes.
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