Wild service trees arrive at Wytham

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

25 wild service trees have been planted around the Woods to help fill the gaps left behind by ash dieback, adding yet another native species to the woodland ecosystem.

The species is found all over England but is not common anywhere. Wild service trees thrive all the way from southern Britain to Italy and the Balkans, so they should be well able to adapt to the warming climate here.

The new specimens were generously provided by staff at Ditchley Park, a stately home near Charlbury, where a small wild service population grows. This is an early step in our long-term plan to plant new species at Wytham that will make the woodland ecosystem more resilient to climate change.

Wild service is also now present as a street tree on South Parks Road, after the University Parks team recently planted two specimens there alongside 10 limes and disease-resistant elms.