Felled Sycamore Gap tree has new shoots...

Oh, that's great news, wasleys! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for the update.

I was thinking about you Mardee when I posted this!

I suspect they are sprouts growing from the roots—-aka “suckers”. This is not too unusual for sycamore trees. The eight new sprouts could form a ring around the stump, and end up appearing as a multi-trunked shrub for a time.

The National Trust is also raising new “offspring” from the felled tree from seeds and cuttings. The cuttings, if they take root and grow, will be clones of the original tree. The seedlings will be genetically different, as children are from their parents.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/09/seedlings-from-felled-sycamore-gap-tree-have-sprouted-says-national-trust.

It’s ALIVE!!! (In a melodramatic, Frankenstein film sort of way….)

Good news. Maybe in around 200 years it will more resemble the tree that was so cruelly felled. A bit of long term thinking. Hopefully Hadrians Wall and associated stuff is in it for the long game anyway.

These new shoots will never resemble the original tree. It would be better to kill off the old stump and plant a new sycamore a few metres south of the original.

There is a small tree to the North of the stump. It's also visible in the Kevin Costner film.

I made my daughter hike up there on the evening of a full moon last month. The wall is stunning in the moonlight.

Hi James -

I totally agree that it’s unlikely any new growth would ultimately resemble the original. I suspect that even a new planting wouldn’t be guaranteed to resemble the original either. I think the important aspect of the new shoots is that it represents some sort of continuity with the past. Quite appropriate for a site on Hadrian’s Wall really!

Ian

To mark the one year anniversary the National Trust is now making 49 of the 6 foot high saplings (1 for each foot of growth the felled tree had) available for Community Garden schemes- named 'Trees of Hope'- https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/hadrians-wall-and-housesteads-fort/trees-of-hope

This is a trifle off topic, but can anyone define the difference between a sycamore and a plain tree? They look identical to me, but I understand they're different somehow.

Just a type of tree; sycamore, elm, oak, maple, aspen, birch, cedar, etc. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re asking. A better question might be, what constitutes a “plain tree.”

I think that what may be being asked is about a Plane Tree, specifically a London Plane which has a neat trick of absorbing pollution into the bark and then shedding the bark.

That makes sense Nigel. Spell check strikes again.

Nigel is correct as regards spelling; it is correctly "plane tree," a member of genus Platanus. My confusion, I guess, comes from the vagueness of the term "sycamore." In the US, Platanus are called sycamores rather than plane trees. I believe the famous English "sycamore" is a different genus; apparently several different gerera can go by the name "sycamore." American sycamore trees don't live particularly long, so far as I know.

This is the English sycamore tree which we are talking about- https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/sycamore/

It is also a matter of opinion whether a lifespan of 200 to 400 years is a not particularly long one.

From the same website this is the London Plane Tree- https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/london-plane/

It has a shorter mean life of around 200 years.

One of the main differences being the serrated edges of the leaves.

Yes, the historic "sycamore" you are all discussing is what Americans call a maple tree, genus Acer. They live much longer in the US, generally, than Platanus, though I have seen one Platanus in northern Ohio with a trunk of over 30 feet circumference.

Interesting! I never realized it is genus Acer. According to Wikipedia, Acer pseudo plata us is called “sycamore maple” in North America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_pseudoplatanus#:~:text=Acer%20pseudoplatanus%2C%20known%20as%20the,of%20wind%20and%20coastal%20exposure.

I am in Italy right now, so my first google search brought up results in Italian. Here they call that species “maple of the mountains”.

Regardless the name, it iwas a beautiful tree, and it is good to know it will live on.