2. Tree is a symbol of home, history,
past and future at the same time. It
is so rich in meaning that it
certainly deserves our respect.
Perhaps not without reason, one of
Polish folk stories says that the tree
symbolizes human life. If we do not
take care of it, the man will suffer
harm, too. But if we look after the
tree properly, our lives will also be
happy.
Beautiful trees grow here in Poland – let’s get to know them!
Our trees
3. Italian poplars - these are slender trees with
branches put upright, leaves in a shape of a
triangle and pointed on the tip. They bloom in
April, earlier than other poplars. Without them,
you cannot imagine the Polish landscape. They
grow along our villages and roads, guard our
homes.
4. The most beautiful and oldest black poplar tree
is considered to be a natural monument. Its
age can be determined for 170 years. It is a
magnificent tree with a circumference of 440
cm and a height of 23 m. The peculiar feature is
its trunk split into three main branches at a
height of 5 m.
5. Guelder Rose, as it is described in
one of the Polish folk songs, is the
tree with "the broad leaf"
standing by the deep blue
stream. It grows in wet areas, by
streams and ponds, and always
individually, one by one without
the company of the same species.
It blooms white flowers and has a
lot of fruit – berries of the
spherical shape, which first are of
coral colour and later turn into
red.
6. Malus, the apples
Apples have leaves which are from 5 - 10 cm long, ovate in a shape and with a
rounded base that is sometimes heart-shaped . The top of the leaves is abruptly
tightened. At first flowers are pink, then white. In autumn they change into red
apples.
7. Black elder and white dogwood decorate
our park. White dogwood grows up to 2
metres. It has ovate dark green leaves,
which are paler underneath. It blooms in
May and June with white flowers
gathered in corymbs, decorating parks
and gardens.
White dogwood
Black elder
8. The northern red oak
The northern Oak reaches a height of 25 m. Its leaves have
smooth upper surface and are bright red in autumn. Since
time immemorial the oak tree was sacred. Oaks were
worshiped not only because of the impressive size and the
vital forces, but also because of their power to attract
lightning, and to give fire.
9. Sumac is a low tree with extensive upper branches. It
stem is leaning, leaves are dark green, feathery, in
autumn turning it colour into orange - red. It looks
really smartly in summer with cone-shaped red
seedheads.
10. Blue spruce
Bialowieska Street is separated from the park by a row of spruce trees, including blue spruce. It
has very sharp rectangular-shaped needles , which are blue-green in colour. Spruce is called
smrek by Polish highlanders and it is irreplaceable in the Polish landscape. Spruces are allergic to
dust, fumes, and all other air pollutants, as well as the heat. Nevertheless, numerous varieties of
these trees decorate parks in Polish cities under the smoky sky.
Blue spruce
A row of
Spruce trees
11. Swedish whitebeam is a rare and protected
tree here in Poland, but really worth
attention. It grows in the wild only along the
Baltic Sea coastline from Kolobrzeg to Gdansk.
Whitebeam is rather a low tree and it can also
be a shrub. Leaves are green above, and
densely hairy with pale grey-white hairs
beneath. It blooms in May and June. Its
flowers are white, gathered corymbs; its ripe
fruits are intensely orange-red.
12. In summer a small-leaved lime is fragrant, with golden flowers among which bees buzz.
Its stem has shoots at the base and is relatively short and thick. The crown is big and
broadly ovate. Leaves are nearly round, cordate at its base, of a green colour at the top
and blue-green underneath. It blooms yellow-white fragrant flowers in late June and
July. ‘Lime is one of those symbols, those concepts that shape our Polishness’, confesses
Julius Slovak in his "Journey to the East", thinking longingly about Poland.
13. This is an alley of young Norway spruce trees. Spruces appeared in the
world many millions years ago, before Adam and Eve. Spruce, together
with fir and larch, is the tallest tree in our woods, reaching about 50 m in
height. It has a roller-shaped stem and smooth reddish bark, which later
changes into grey-brown. The crown is tall, cone-shaped and dense.
Spruce needles are short, dark green, glossy, prickly, and its cones are
large and golden brown. Spruce tree has always been a wonderful tree,
distinguished among other trees by its height, the majestic beauty and
vital forces.
Norway spruce
14. Walking through the spruce alley we come to the square
of the park.
In the middle European larch is growing. This is our only
conifer that sheds its leaves in winter. The larch leaves are
soft needles with a length of 2 - 3 cm. Larch blooms
simultaneously with the development of needles in April
or early May. Male flowers are yellow, always pointed to
the bottom; the female flowers are cone shaped and
always faced upwards. Cones vary from roundish to
overlong, approximately 4 cm in length. On hot summer
days larch gives off resin that is used in folk medicine to
heal wounds caused by frostbite.
15. Willow
In the middle of a flower carpet a “weeping” willow grows. Probably the
prettiest and the most popular Polish tree. This species is native to Europe. It
has a spreading crown of long, thin, flexible, yellow, overhanging branches.
Dominated by male flowers, which make a tree look yellow at the time of
blooming.
16. Large-leaved Lime
Large-leaved Lime is bigger than
small-leaved Lime. It has a
thicker trunk and its crown is
wider and more extensive. It
got such a name thanks to the
leaves, which are indeed broad,
two times larger than leaves of
small-leaved lime.
17. Our attention is drawn by silver and sycamore maples. They
are probably the most beautiful trees. Silver maple is
suitable for planting in cities as the trees grow very rapidly,
are resistant to air pollution and are not afraid of cold. It isn
’t known when and why the opinion that the sycamore is a
patron of lovers was formed. Anyway, throughout the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was considered to be
their patron. "The poet of the heart", Franciszek Karpinski, in
the famous love lyric mentions a girl named Laura. She is
very much in love and rushes to the meeting with her
beloved one, who ’s waiting under the sycamore.
18. Hawthorn
Hawthorn flowers and fruits, has been commonly used in folk medicine for a long time.
Nothing helped for tinnitus better, than infusion from dried hawthorn flowers. Today we can
buy hawthorn potions in chemist’s, often with valerian, which help cure cardiac disorders.
Excellent pharmacist Jan Muszynski advised everyone who had problems with liver to "grind
the fruit of hawthorn, wild rose and rowan - after the first part, dissolve a tablespoon of this
powder in half of a glass and when you have aches to drink this with small gulps... "
22. Authors of the descriptions:
Second grade students under the supervision of M.Sc. Anna Dolinska and M.Sc. Alina
M. Bartoszuk.
Zespół Szkół im. A. Mickiewicza
17 – 100 Bielsk Podlaski
ul. Mickiewicza 126
The Presentation was made by Angelika Młodzianowska and
Diana Ciepłucha from class IIB.
The translation was done by M.A. Anna Lachowicz.
