Autumn’s blushing colours

AUTUMN’S glorious colour arrives later on Irish trees than in most countries because of our mild climate.

The best of it appears as late as November, and some years not at all because equinoctial storms strip the leaves off the trees before they develop their brightest colours.

Our native species are not spectacular, though rowan and aspen are attractive in good years. The maple family provides the showiest displays and is a major contributor to the famous ‘fall’ colours of New England. But there is no native Irish maple and the only species widely naturalised, the sycamore, is an autumn disappointment.

But there are 150 species of maple across the rest of the northern hemisphere, and countless numbers of cultivated varieties, and most of these grow well in this country.

The Norway maple is a European species — Norway is at the extreme northern end of the maple’s range, which stretches south to the Balkans and east to the Caucasus and northern Iran. It does well in this country, where it’s been grown for 300 years, and it’s planted in larger gardens, parks, streets and along motorways. In a decent autumn, the large leaves turn a brilliant yellow.

The smooth Japanese maple has smaller leaves, but they reliably turn a brilliant red in autumn. The tree is a native of China, Japan and Korea. It was introduced into Britain from Japan in 1820, but the main influx was from China later in the century. The species is uncommon in this country, but for 300 years the Japanese have been cultivating ornamental varieties and 250 of these are available. Some, particularly the smaller ones, are among the most popular garden trees in Ireland.

Of the American species, the red maple’s leaves turn a bright scarlet tinged with gold. It’s a hardy species, and handsome, and has been cultivated in this country for a long time. But it has the potential to become too large for most private gardens — it can reach in excess of 35 metres. Also, the autumn colour, although reliable and impressive, is never as intense in Ireland as it is in Vermont.

Another American species, not a maple, with excellent autumn colour, is the stag’s horn sumac. This is smaller, seldom exceeding seven metres. It’s widely planted in cottage and suburban gardens and the autumn colour is spectacular, including yellows, reds and purples. Its disadvantage is it produces aggressive root suckers.

Nature table

FLY AGARIC (Amanita muscaria)

Autumn is the most prolific season for mushrooms and toadstools in Ireland. There are 3,000 species in this country and identifying them can be a challenge. But mycology, the study of fungi, is a fascinating branch of natural history. One of the easiest species to recognise is the fly agaric, with its bright-scarlet (occasionally orange) cap covered in wart-like white spots. The cap can be up to 20 centimetres across, though it’s usually smaller. This is the toadstool often used by illustrators of books for children.

The fruiting bodies appear from late summer to late autumn and it’s a common woodland species, most often associated with birch woods, though I’ve occasionally found it growing with other tree species. It’s name is derived from the past practice of floating pieces of the cap in plates full of milk to kill flies. On no account should it be eaten. It contains unstable chemicals, which can cause symptoms varying from hallucination and violent vomiting to death.