 Arbutus x andrachnoides bark peels back in a spiral or near perpendicular style, giving a colour range from orange through brown to grey. In certain lights, minute shadows are cast against the surface of the trunk from myriad curls of flaking outer bark. This is surely one of the most exciting and unsung beauties of bark - shadow patterns, be they from sunlight filtering down through the tree canopy throwing monochrome leaf shapes across the bole, or from the flakes of exfoliation. The bark of the big shellbark, Carya laciniosa, is shaggy, flaking off randomly in a vertical pattern; when viewed from the ground, and backed by a high canopy of foliage, it is an unforgettable sight. |
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| Almost all stewartias have attractive bark, but the finest, albeit one of the rarest, is Stewartia sinensis. It looks at its best in midwinter when the outer bark flutters away from the bole. One exciting way of magnifying the colour of bark flakes is by siting trees (or shrubs) to catch and filter morning or evening sunlight through them; when seen against the light, the effect is stunning. Warm colours work the best, so choose plants such as Acer griseum, Betula nigra, B. utilis or B. davurica. Birches are, with few exceptions, out of the top drawer when it comes to bark beauty. North America has given us Betula alleghaniensis (syn. B. luted), with a smooth, lightly peeling bole, and B. lenta with a charming, cherry like, fissured bark. Asia has furnished our gardens with B. albosinensis, as well as its glorious coppery pink variety, B. a. septentrionalis, plus other gems such as B. ermanii and B. costata. The Asian birches frequently exhibit attractive horizontal lenticels (breathing pores), B. utilis, including its variety jacquemontii, being particularly impressive. |
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 Certain rhododendrons flake and peel beautifully. Rhododendron thomsonii varies according to the clone, but one of the loveliest produces fawn coloured flakes set against the grey green, newly exposed bole. R. barbatum is another peeler and at maturity, the limbs have a beautiful polished sheen. Plated barks are also eye catching. The Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), with its plate faces burnished orange brown, can hardly be bettered.Parrotia persica is renowned for its autumn colour and its small late winter flowers, but its plated bark, especially on a mature specimen, is a delightful blend of soft and mellow colouration; the same may be said of the bark of the Dutch Elm disease resistant Chinese elm Ulmus parvifolia.
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| There are highly polished barks to drool over too, Prunus serrula being one of the most obvious, but the closely related P. rufa is also worth acquiring. If a corky effect is desired, little can better the Amur cork tree, Phellodendron amurense, If spirals are the effect you crave, the sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, is surely first choice, even if it does take 100 years to achieve the full effect! Acer caudatum (syn. A. papilio) is rare, but is worth looking out for as its bark is both subtly striated and flaky. Rarer still is the South American Polylepis australis, the beauty of whose multicoloured exfoliating bark is impossible to put into words. |
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