The Battersea Park Hybrid Strawberry Tree

A round green plaque on the railings calls this the biggest hybrid strawberry tree in Britain, and dates the claim to 1997. Since then the titles have multiplied and drifted apart. A tree-care firm's survey calls it the largest in Britain by girth, just under 60 feet tall, and a Champion Tree of London. The Friends of Battersea Park, who know it best, settle for "second highest in the country" and "one of the treasures of the Park". They also call it the most splendid of the park's strawberry trees, which is the one title nobody contests. It is a cross between the Mediterranean strawberry tree and its Greek cousin, and it shows off in two ways. The bark peels back to red, so the trunk looks freshly skinned all year, and it flowers in autumn, when most of the park is shutting down. The Great Trees of London list dates it to the 1850s. Where it came from, the Friends admit, nobody knows. The last few years have been hard on it. A storm in February 2022 tore off a major limb, and in September 2023 the next bough up came down too. It is still standing, and still a Great Tree of London. You will find it near the south-west corner of the Ladies Pond, ten minutes on foot from Battersea Park station, and the pin is on the tree.