{"id":611973693766,"date":"2025-10-16T16:41:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T16:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/uncategorized\/native-trees-list-british-uk\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:41:18","slug":"native-trees-list-british-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/trees\/native-trees-list-british-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Native British Trees List"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can find all the native British trees listed here, and we grow and sell most of them<\/a>. <\/p>

Definition of native VS naturalised trees<\/h2>

True natives<\/strong> 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.
<\/p>

List of Native British Trees & Shrubs<\/h2>

This list includes all the native woody plants.<\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Plant Group<\/th>\nNative Trees in the Group<\/th>\n\u201cTrue\u201d Native Tree?<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Alder<\/td>\nAlnus glutinosa<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ash<\/td>\nFraxinus excelsior<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aspen<\/td>\nPopulus tremula<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beech<\/td>\nFagus sylvatica<\/a><\/td>\nNo (Probably brought by stone age humans)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Birch<\/td>\n\nDowny Birch, Betula pubescens<\/a> & Silver Birch, Betula pendula<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blackthorn<\/td>\nPrunus spinosa<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Box<\/td>\nBuxus sempervirens<\/a><\/td>\nYes, South GB only<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Buckthorn<\/td>\n\nAlder Buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula<\/a> \u2013 Purging Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica<\/a> & Sea-buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cherry<\/td>\n\nBird Cherry, Prunus padus<\/a> & Wild Cherry, Prunus avium<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Crab Apple<\/td>\nMalus sylvestris<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dogwood<\/td>\nCornus sanguinea<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elder<\/td>\nSambucus nigra<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elm<\/td>\nEnglish Elm, Ulmus procera \u2013 Wych Elm, Ulmus glabra<\/a> \u2013 Smooth-leaf Elm, Ulmus minor<\/td>\nYes for Wych Elm. The others are disputed & only in the South.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawthorn<\/td>\n\nHawthorn, Crataegus monogyna<\/a> \u2013 Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus leavigata<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hazel<\/td>\nCorylus avellana<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Holly<\/td>\nIlex aquifolium<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hornbeam<\/td>\nCarpinus betulus<\/a><\/td>\nYes, Mostly South GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Juniper<\/td>\nJuniperus communis<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lime<\/td>\n\nLarge Leaved Lime, Tilia platyphyllos<\/a> & Small Leaved Lime, Tilia cordata<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes, South GB only.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maple<\/td>\nAcer campestre<\/a><\/td>\nYes, Mostly South GB.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oak<\/td>\n\nCommon Oak, Quercus robur<\/a> & Sessile Oak, Quercus petraea<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poplar<\/td>\n\nBlack Poplar, Populus nigra<\/a> & Aspen Poplar, Populus tremula<\/a>\n<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rowan a.k.a Mountain Ash<\/td>\nRowan \/ Mountain Ash \u2013 Sorbus aucuparia<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scots Pine<\/td>\nPinus sylvestris<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spindle<\/td>\nEuonymus europaeus<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Strawberry Tree<\/td>\nArbutus unedo<\/td>\nYes, Ireland only.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Whitebeam<\/td>\nSorbus aria<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wild Service Tree<\/td>\nSorbus torminalis<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Willow<\/td>\n\nGoat Willow, Salix caprea<\/a> \u2013 White Willow, Salix alba<\/a> \u2013 Crack Willow, Salix fragilis<\/a> \u2013 Salix triandra \u2013 Salix pentandra<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yew<\/td>\nTaxus baccata<\/a><\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

Which Trees are Unique to Britain?<\/h3>

Although Britain has many native trees, there are effectively no endemic trees<\/strong>, i.e. trees that are native here and nowhere else. <\/p>

If all the trees in Britain were destroyed tomorrow, the world would not lose a single distinct species. <\/p>

The small exception is a handful of asexual micro-species of Whitebeam, Sorbus aria.
These apomictic plants<\/a> are cheating in order to be unique: they naturally occur in Whitebeam populations around the world, and each strain barely counts as a distinct species only because they reproduce by cloning.
They are otherwise the same as normal Whitebeam, so they are not of any special importance to an ecosystem.<\/p>

What is a Nativar?<\/h3>

A cultivar is a cult<\/strong>ivated var<\/strong>iety of a species (read more about plant botanical names<\/a>), so a nativar is a cultivar of a native species.<\/p>

For example, Acer campestre<\/em> is the native British field maple<\/a>.
Acer campestre<\/em> has several cultivars, which are also nativars in Britain, even if they happened to have been bred in another country:<\/p>