As the bright flowers of summer begin to fade, the rust-coloured charm of autumn begins. This year the autumn equinox takes place on Sunday 23rd September. This is when the length of night and day is almost equal as the sun shines directly on the equator. For me, autumn is my favourite time of year. There is a chill in the air where the crisp leaves dance, but there is still enough warmth from the sun to enjoy those ever-changing woodland walks.

Budding into beauty

Something most of us will have fond childhood memories of is playing many a game of conkers with friends. These mahogany-brown seeds form on the horse chestnut tree, a species that isn’t native to the UK but introduced to the country from turkey in the late 16th century. Horse chestnut trees bud in the winter and are covered in a sticky residue. In the spring, as the air starts to warm, the glue-like residue begins to melt away, and the bud starts to open revealing the flower structure and large leaves.

The flowers blossom into drapes of yellow and white throughout the tree, the yellow of which turns to pink once pollinated by insects. A robust green skin forms, housing a soft, creamy substance which squirrels love to eat, so spikes grow on the outside to deter them from breaking through and eating what will soon be a shiny new conker. By the arrival of the autumn, if they haven’t already due to infection, the conkers will be ripe and ready to fall to the ground. At this time squirrels will eat the ripe conkers but also bury others that may turn into future horse chestnut trees if buried before they dry out.

Under threat

These trees can live for up to 300 years; however, they are under threat from two rather severe conditions. One of which is the leaf miner moth. The moths spread their larvae into the tissue of the leaves turning them brown and dry. Some people think this is due to an early autumn, but it is, in fact, a moth infestation. Over time this kills the leaves which can contribute towards confusing the annual calendar of the tree and its fruiting.

The second threat is bleeding canker – an infection that affects the trunk of the tree. You can spot this on the bark and branches of the tree as a brown, sticky, oozing substance. As the years pass, this bacterial infection will eventually split the bark around the diameter of the tree, and it will sadly die. It has been reported that the disease is so widespread that at least half the horse chestnut trees in the UK are infected with bleeding canker.

Don’t forget to leave some for the squirrels!

That being said, there are still many exceptional horse chestnut trees around to be enjoyed. So why not awaken the nostalgia from within and have a good old-fashioned game of conkers. Foraging is also great fun, and you can create unique crafts for your home for the approaching harvest season. But don’t forget to leave some for the squirrels!