A twisted hornbeam trunk in Epping Forest. Photograph: Colin Boulter
People rave about oaks and beeches, but as lockdowns restricted our outings to walks in the woods near our home, I became fascinated with a more eccentric species: the hornbeam.
While most tree trunks stick unimaginatively to growing vertically, hornbeams in Epping Forest adopt all kinds of exuberant angles: 45 degrees to the forest floor is not unusual; some â still green and growing â lie prostrate on the ground or even across a stream, like a diva in mid-tantrum. On poor soil, I learned, hornbeams put down deep roots and remain upstanding, but in south-east Englandâs rich clay â OK, sticky mud in winter â thereâs no need for such efforts and their roots descend barely 35cm, leaving an unsure footing, and crazy leans.