David Oakes

David Oakes is the host of the podcast Trees a Crowd, exploring Britain’s native species.

Why do we bother with Christmas trees?

The closest thing we have to a native Christmas tree is the often broccoli-shaped Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). But the Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) is the classic Christmas tree. Despite it being present in Britain during the last interglacial period, it is not considered native. It did not return to Britain after the most recent