It is a much-branched tree or shrub with green 4-sided twigs.

The flowers are pollinated by insects seeking the nectar around the base of the style.

In the autumn the fleshy 4-lobed red capsules can be seen splitting open.

Many old people in our area call this tree the Pegwood tree. They say it was used to make pegs.

It is only found along one road near our school. We do not know if it is very common or very rare.

Holly

• Holly is one of our few wild ever-green broad-leafed trees.
• It can grow to a 20 metres high tree, but is more usually a bush.
• The leaves are alternate, hard, leathery, glossy and dark green.
• Low down on the tree they are waved with strong prickly teeth.

Bramble

• Blackberries grow on the bramble.
• Blackberries ripen in August and September.
• The Blackberry has stems which either climb by prickles over hedges and bushes or trail along the ground.
• They often send out roots where the tips touch the ground.
• The fruit changes colour from green, then red, then black.
• Blackberry is common in woods and hedges throughout Ireland.

Beetle

• The beetle comes in a few colours such as black, red and black and yellow and black.
• Some beetles do damage to crops and some help people with their gardens by eating green-fly.
• Beetles lay eggs that hatch into grubs that eat green-fly.
• Ladybirds are beetles that are red and black and yellow and black.
• Ladybirds are the beetles that eat green-fly.
• All beetles can fly.

Blackthorn

• The blackthorn is a native shrub and it has almost black and very thorny branches.
• The shrub’s flowers come suddenly with lovely white blossoms and the leaves come later.
• Near the end of summer the sloes appear.
• Birds eat loads of sloes.
• Sloes are used to make sloe-wine, an alcoholic drink.
• The blackthorn is a perfect plant to create a windbreak barrier or hedge.

 

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Snowberry

• The fruit of the snowberry provide a lot of pleasure in the late summer.
• Children pick them and throw them to the ground to make them explode.
• They are also good for blowing through a tube.
• These plants can withstand considerable shade and so are suitable for planting under trees.
• It is easy to plant the snowberry in hardy,damp soil.