You can find all the native British trees listed here - we grow and sell most of them. This list includes all the trees & big shrubs that are considered native.
The definition of native trees:
"True natives trees" are often defined as:
Trees that colonised Britain during the time between the end of the ice age about 10,000 years ago and the formation of the Channel by the gradual expansion of ancient rivers, some thousands of years later.
Trees that came after the Channel had formed are generally called Naturalised.
List of Native British Trees
& Shrubs
| Plant Group |
Native Trees in the Group |
"True" Native Tree? |
| Alder |
Alnus glutinosa |
Yes |
| Ash |
Fraxinus excelsior |
Yes |
| Aspen |
Populus tremula |
Yes |
| Beech |
Fagus sylvatica |
No (Probably brought by stone age humans) |
| Birch |
Downy Birch, Betula pubescens & Silver Birch, Betula pendula |
Yes |
| Blackthorn |
Prunus spinosa |
Yes |
| Box |
Buxus sempervirens |
Yes, South GB only |
| Buckthorn |
Alder Buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula - Purging Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica & Sea-buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides |
Yes |
| Cherry |
Bird Cherry, Prunus padus & Wild Cherry, Prunus avium |
Yes |
| Crab Apple |
Malus sylvestris |
Yes |
| Dogwood |
Cornus sanguinea |
Yes |
| Elder |
Sambucus nigra |
Yes |
| Elm |
English Elm, Ulmus procera - Wych Elm, Ulmus glabra - Smooth-leaf Elm, Ulmus minor |
Yes for Wych Elm. The others are disputed & only in the South. |
| Hawthorn |
Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna - Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus leavigata |
Yes |
| Hazel |
Corylus avellana |
Yes |
| Holly |
Ilex aquifolium |
Yes |
Hornbeam |
Carpinus betulus |
Yes, Mostly South GB |
| Juniper |
Juniperus communis |
Yes |
| Lime |
Large Leaved Lime, Tilia platyphyllos & Small Leaved Lime, Tilia cordata |
Yes, South GB only. |
| Maple |
Acer campestre |
Yes, Mostly South GB. |
| Oak |
Common Oak, Quercus robur & Sessile Oak, Quercus petraea |
Yes |
| Poplar |
Black Poplar, Populus nigra & Aspen Poplar, Populus tremula |
Yes |
| Rowan a.k.a Mountain Ash |
Rowan / Mountain Ash - Sorbus aucuparia |
Yes |
| Scots Pine |
Pinus sylvestris |
Yes |
| Spindle |
Euonymus europaeus |
Yes |
| Strawberry Tree |
Arbutus unedo |
Yes, Ireland only. |
| Whitebeam |
Sorbus aria |
Yes |
| Wild Service Tree |
Sorbus torminalis |
Yes |
| Willow |
Goat Willow, Salix caprea - White Willow, Salix alba - Crack Willow, Salix fragilis - Salix triandra - Salix pentandra |
Yes |
| Yew |
Taxus baccata |
Yes |
It is worth mentioning that although Britain has many native trees, there are effectively no endemic trees, i.e. trees that are native here and nowhere else. If all the trees in Britain were destroyed tomorrow, the world would not lose a single distinct species of tree. The small exception is a handful of asexual micro-species of Whitebeam, Sorbus aria. These apomictic plants are a bit of cheat if they want to be held up as unique: they naturally occur in Whitebeam populations around the world and each strain only counts as a distinct species because they reproduce by cloning only. They aren't of any special importance to an ecosystem.
