When you're out hiking, it's easy to pass a tree without thinking twice. You might appreciate the shade it offers, or the way it clings to the mountainside, but you’re probably too focussed on the trail and the views to pay much notice. Yet knowing the names and stories of trees can add a whole new layer to your walks.
The mountains (such as the highest peaks in Scotland) are a tough place to live, exposed to sudden downpours, scouring wind, and blazing sunshine, but some trees specialise in these conditions.
Some, like the Scots pine, have become iconic; others, like the willows, are less noticeable. All are a vital part of hillside habitats. Here are eight that you might spot on mountainsides and moorlands.
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Find it: Across the UK but particularly in the Scottish Highlands, where it's characteristic of the ancient Caledonian Forest. The largest remnants are found in the Cairngorms, Glen Affric, and Torridon.
ID: Tall, stately trees with spreading, winding branches when mature; flaky grey-brown bark, often with an underlying deep salmon tinge; and blue-green needles.
Here’s a fact: In the UK, the maximum altitude that Caledonian woodland grows is generally capped at about 500-550m, but individuals have grown at up to 1,160m in the Cairngorms.
Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Find it: In moorland, old native-pine woodland, and rocky areas of the open hill, especially in Scotland.
ID: An evergreen shrub or small tree with densely growing, stubby blue-green needles producing dark, blue-purple berries throughout the year. Squishing them between your fingers will produce the very recognisable scent of gin.
Here’s a fact: With its low stature and dense prickly spines, juniper provides important nesting cover for birds like the goldcrest, firecrest and black grouse.
Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Find it: Growing in isolation on exposed and rocky mountainsides or in woodland, especially oak and beech.
ID: Unmistakable, with glossy evergreen leaves and bright red berries. Undisturbed, the leaves are oval-shaped with a pointed tip, but if pruned or eaten, they will grow back with spiky edges.
Here’s a fact: Traditionally, holly trees were planted outside houses to protect them from lightning, and it has since been discovered that the leaf spines can act as miniature lightning conductors, protecting the tree.
Least willow (Salix herbacea)
Find it: Creeping across the ground among the rocks and lichen on Britain’s highest summits.
ID: Very small, growing in mats just a few centimetres above the ground. Leaves are oval-shaped, with a distinctive ‘fold’ down the middle, and tend to grow in pairs with 3-6 red or yellow-coloured catkins sprouting in the middle.
Here’s a fact: This is one of the smallest woody plants in the world and is specially adapted to harsh, Arctic climates.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Find it: Growing from the tops of boulders and from within inaccessible crags, or along ravines and riversides.
ID: A medium-sized deciduous tree, with each leaf composed of 5-8 pairs of serrated leaflets, greyish-brown bark, and clusters of bright red berries in late summer.
Here’s a fact: Rowan is a fast-growing pioneer tree, quickly taking root in places other plants can’t. Its presence across the hills, though, is limited by grazing from deer, sheep and hares.
Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
Find it: Across the UK, but particularly along the west coast where it characterises the Atlantic oakwoods.
ID: A deciduous tree with grey fissured bark and recognisably lobed leaves. You can tell it from the pedunculate or English oak by the leaf stalk, which on a sessile oak is up to 2cm long.
Here’s a fact: Around 721 hectares of protected Atlantic oakwood grow across the fells around Borrowdale and Derwent Water, one of England's largest remaining areas of temperate rainforest.
Downy birch (Betula pubescens)
Find it: Growing in stands on high, wet hillsides across the UK, but more commonly in the west.
ID: A relatively small deciduous tree with small, round leaves and reddish-brown bark when young, maturing to silver-grey. In contrast to the silver birch, whose twigs tend to droop, the downy birch’s reach upward.
Here’s a fact: This is an important pioneer species, improving the soil where it grows by drawing up nutrients through its roots and enriching it when it drops its leaves.
Eared willow (Salix aurita)
Find it: On wet, peaty moorland and woods across the hills, sometimes at elevations up to 800m.
ID: A deciduous shrub with a bushy shape and small ragged-looking leaves. Distinguished by its pink leaf stalks and the ‘ears’ – small leafy bits on either side of the leaf stem but not part of the leaf itself.
Here’s a fact: Because of its preference for wet ground and its ability to coppice when cut, eared willow does well in the company of beavers who feed on it in winter.
Looking for some route inspiration so you can see some of these incredible trees? Take a look at our list of the best hikes in the UK.