Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

MANY people who love walking the nature trails around Thanet Lee Woods in Towneley Park, are wondering why the rhododendrons are being cut back.

The project is part of the Forest of Burnley's planting programme and in this context is it right to cut down so many rhododenrons?

My answer is yes it is and I'm glad that the tree officers have had the courage to do it. Rhododendrons are not native to Britain and they create an acidic environment.

This means that the streams which run through the area and which feed the River Calder becomes so acid that crustaceans and insects cannot build up their skeletons properly. The whole habitat suffers when there are too many rhododendrons even though they look beautiful.

Gardeners compensate for this acidity by adding extra lime and potash to their soil.

There is no doubt that the thinning of the Towneley rhododendrons, however, will have a beneficial effect on all other forms of wildlife. The name of the plant derives from two Greek words - Rhodon which means a rose and dendron which means a tree.

It was the first wild species to be brought into Britain in 1656 and was called the Alpine rose. This originated from Central Europe and in 1753 the biologist Linnacus named it Rhododendron hirsutum.

He gave each species of animal two names derived from Greek or Latin and no two species could have the same combination of names.

These names and the system are still in operation today throughout the world. Even China, Japan and Russia, with different alphabets, accept the language of Linnaeus.

In the 19th century, a botanist named George Don recognised the rhododendrons and azaleas were closely related but had one essential difference - most rhododendrons are evergreens whilst most azaleas are deciduous.

All this family have a variety of colours, sizes, blooming periods and flower shapes which make them ideal plants for small and large gardens.

They do, however, need to be managed if they are not to dominate the natural fauna and flora of Britain. This sensible management is precisely what is happening in Towneley's Thanet Lee Woodland.

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