{"id":5823,"date":"2020-12-17T07:24:20","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T07:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/?p=5823"},"modified":"2020-12-16T20:24:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T20:24:43","slug":"adventbotany-2020-day-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/","title":{"rendered":"#AdventBotany 2020 Day 17 revisits a forest of Christmas Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BotanyRNG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alastair Culham<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drmgoeswild\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonathan Mitchley<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is much debate and disagreement about the origin of Christmas trees and they have variously been linked to oak branches used in mystery plays and even the Yule log, however the earliest records of the Christmas tree in the modern sense seem to relate to use of conifers in German speaking regions although this could have been in Riga in 1510 (although this could have been a paradise tree) or the Rhineland in the mid 1500s where a conifer was used.\u00a0 Records are patchy.\u00a0 Use of the tree in the UK and North America followed publicity on its use by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.\u00a0 Whatever the history is, christmas trees, both real and artificial, form a key part of many celebrations now.<\/p>\n<h3>Mother and son duet<\/h3>\n<p>To get us in the mood for Christmas this short extract from O Christmas tree is performed by mother and son duet.\u00a0 I now know where DrM got his singing voice.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-5823-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/0-christmas-tree-short.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/0-christmas-tree-short.mp4\">https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/0-christmas-tree-short.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>In 2015, for the first time on Whiteknights campus the University of Reading had an illuminated Christmas tree outside.\u00a0 The tree is a young <em>Cedrus libani<\/em> now about 10m tall and showing the distinctive triangular shape of most young conifers. The University of Reading Christmas Lecture in 2019 featured Dr M talking about christmas trees and the importance of boatny to everyone.\u00a0 He provided samples of many different conifers and got the audience to sniff various twigs to enjoy a full sensory experience of what real Christmas trees have to offer.<span id=\"more-1859\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-5823 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/img_20190103_124457707_hdr\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20190103_124457707_HDR.jpg 1638w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5831'>\n\t\t\t\tInstalling the lights on University of Reading Christmas Tree\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/christmastreeuor2015\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"161\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/christmastreeUoR2015-161x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/christmastreeUoR2015-161x300.jpg 161w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/christmastreeUoR2015-551x1024.jpg 551w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/christmastreeUoR2015.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 161px) 100vw, 161px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5828'>\n\t\t\t\tThe University of Reading Christmas tree illuminated\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/img_rhqpw9\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_rhqpw9-191x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_rhqpw9-191x300.jpg 191w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_rhqpw9.jpg 653w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 191px) 100vw, 191px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5832'>\n\t\t\t\tA Christmas tree of de-accessioned library books at University of Reading\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/img_20191217_163423398\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_163423398-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_163423398-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_163423398-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_163423398.jpg 921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5829'>\n\t\t\t\tVice Chancellor of University of Reading introducing the 2019 public lecture\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/img_20191217_173148877drm-o-christmas-tree\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_173148877DrM-O-christmas-tree-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_173148877DrM-O-christmas-tree-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_173148877DrM-O-christmas-tree-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_173148877DrM-O-christmas-tree.jpg 921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5830'>\n\t\t\t\tDrM&#8217;s 2019 Christmas lecture on The Christmas Tree\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/img_20191217_161131214\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_161131214-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_161131214-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_161131214-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/IMG_20191217_161131214.jpg 921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5833'>\n\t\t\t\tDr M preparing to puzzle a monkey with one branch of <i>Araucaria<\/i>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h3>What species in the Christmas tree?<\/h3>\n<p>Under the name Christmas tree many different conifer species are sold including:<\/p>\n<table width=\"281\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"154\"><em>Picea abies<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"127\"><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Picea_abies\">Norway spruce<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies alba<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_alba\">Silver fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies balsamea<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.reading.ac.uk\/crg\/advent-botany-2015-day1-balsam-fir-is-the-most-popular-christmas-tree-in-canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Balsam fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies concolor<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_concolor\">White fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies fraseri<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fraser_Fir\">Fraser Fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies grandis<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_grandis\">Grand fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies guatemalensis<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_guatemalensis\">Guatemalan fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies magnifica<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_magnifica\">Red fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies nordmanniana<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_nordmanniana\">Nordmann fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Abies procera<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Noble_fir\">Noble fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Araucaria heterophylla<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Araucaria_heterophylla\">Norfolk Island pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Picea omorika<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Picea_omorika\">Serbian spruce<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus cembra<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Swiss_pine\">Swiss pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus edulis<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colorado_Pinyon\">Pinyon pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus jeffreyi<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jeffrey_pine\">Jeffrey pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus pinea<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stone_pine\">Stone pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus pinea<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stone_pine\">Stone pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pinus sylvestris<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scots_pine\">Scots pine<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Pseudotsuga menziesii<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Douglas-fir\">Douglas-fir<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Thuja occidentalis<\/em><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.reading.ac.uk\/crg\/advent-botany-day-6-white-cedar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">White Cedar<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Bar far the commonest of these is the UK has been the Norway spruce, due to its good shape and low price\u00a0however other species are more popular as domestic Christmas trees now due to the tendency of the Norway spruce to drop its needles steadily throughout the Christmas season.\u00a0 The Norway spruce is the tree that had graced <a title=\"Norway Christmas tree\" href=\"http:\/\/www.norwaydirect.com\/norway\/norway-christmas-tree-gift\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trafalgar square each year since 1947<\/a>,\u00a0 in commemoration of the exile of King Haakon VII who escaped to Britain during Nazi occupation from 1940. A Norwegian exile government was set up in London resulting in many Norwegians, seeing London as home of a spirit of freedom during those difficult war years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5835\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5835\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5835 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a-660x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a-660x1024.jpg 660w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a-768x1192.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a-990x1536.jpg 990w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Trafalgar_Square_Christmas_tree7a.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5835\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In contrast with the botanical consistency in Trafalgar Square, the Vatican Christmas trees have been a mix of Fir and Spruce over the years.<\/p>\n<h3>Rare conifers<\/h3>\n<p>Around Europe there are many endangered Fir species but one I have seen regularly is the endangered <em><a title=\"Spanish fir red list\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/details\/42295\/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">Abies pinsapo<\/a><\/em>, the Spanish fir, occurring in the Sierra de Grazalema and in the Rif mountains of Morocco.\u00a0 This stately tree survives on the wet northern mountain slopes where fires are rare.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular\" data-original-width=\"640\" data-carousel-extra=\"{&quot;blog_id&quot;:82,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/blogs.reading.ac.uk\\\/crg\\\/2014-advent-botany-day-15-the-christmas-tree\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:43752863}\">\n<div class=\"gallery-row\" data-original-width=\"640\" data-original-height=\"320\">\n<div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" data-original-width=\"425\" data-original-height=\"320\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-row\" data-original-width=\"640\" data-original-height=\"858\">\n<div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" data-original-width=\"640\" data-original-height=\"858\">\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_5837\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5837\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5837 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Abies_pinsapo2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Abies_pinsapo2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Abies_pinsapo2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Abies_pinsapo2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/Abies_pinsapo2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i>Abies pinsapo<\/i> in habitat on a north facing mountain slope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5838\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5838\" style=\"width: 407px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5838\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/ApinsappoSpain2011a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"407\" height=\"611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/ApinsappoSpain2011a.jpg 407w, https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2020\/12\/ApinsappoSpain2011a-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young <i>Abies pinsapo<\/i> in habitat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But should we be cutting down live trees to decorate our houses each year?\u00a0 Yes, says <span class=\"author-card__details__name\">Dominique Mosbergen of the Huffington Post, they are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/christmas-tree-real-or-fake-better_us_58415410e4b0c68e04803d02?section=us_green\" class=\"broken_link\">more environmentally friendly than artificial ones<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Alastair Culham and Jonathan Mitchley There is much debate and disagreement about the origin of Christmas trees and they have variously been linked to oak branches used in mystery&#8230;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"&#104;&#116;&#116;&#112;&#115;&#58;&#47;&#47;&#114;&#101;&#115;&#101;&#97;&#114;&#99;&#104;&#46;&#114;&#101;&#97;&#100;&#105;&#110;&#103;&#46;&#97;&#99;&#46;&#117;&#107;&#47;&#104;&#101;&#114;&#98;&#97;&#114;&#105;&#117;&#109;&#47;&#50;&#48;&#50;&#48;&#47;&#49;&#50;&#47;&#49;&#55;&#47;&#97;&#100;&#118;&#101;&#110;&#116;&#98;&#111;&#116;&#97;&#110;&#121;&#45;&#50;&#48;&#50;&#48;&#45;&#100;&#97;&#121;&#45;&#49;&#55;&#47;\">Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent","category-advent-botany","category-science-communication"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>#AdventBotany 2020 Day 17 revisits a forest of Christmas Trees - Herbarium RNG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#AdventBotany 2020 Day 17 revisits a forest of Christmas Trees - Herbarium RNG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Alastair Culham and Jonathan Mitchley There is much debate and disagreement about the origin of Christmas trees and they have variously been linked to oak branches used in mystery...Read More &gt;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2020\/12\/17\/adventbotany-2020-day-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Herbarium RNG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PlantDiversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-17T07:24:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta 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