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Only two examples of so-called ‘pedestal’ larch are known to exist in Scotland.
The prefix ‘pedestal’ refers to the tree’s shape when a perfectly normal-looking tree sits atop a vastly swollen and contorted base. The distinction between the normal tree and the base tends to be very obvious, giving the impression that the trunk is growing out of a raised pedestal.
This phenomenon is very rare and only eight such larch trees are known within the United Kingdom.
Exposed and wind-battered
The largest Scottish pedestal larch is a rather exposed and wind-battered specimen standing isolated in a field below Foswell House, near the Perthshire town of Auchterarder.
The grossly distended and gnarled pedestal rises to a height of 1.2 metres (3 feet 11 inches) and has a massive girth of 8.96 metres (29 feet 5 inches) measured at 1 metre above ground, narrowing abruptly thereafter. This monstrous podium is in sharp contrast to the perfectly normal stem which sits atop it, with its much more modest girth at 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) above ground of 5.03 metres (16 feet 6 inches).
The trunk has a pronounced lean to the east, with a contorted crown bearing long, almost weeping, branches. If it was not for the relentless browsing by sheep, it is highly likely that these would touch the ground and layer.
The second Perthshire pedestal
The other Scottish example also resides in Perthshire, on a wooded hillside to the rear of the Dunkeld House Hotel.
Although the pedestal is not as large as the Foswell tree, it is the better specimen of the two and provides an excellent example of this outlandish growth habit. The pedestal also stands at 1.2 metres (3 feet 11 inches) in height and has a girth of 7.88 metres (25 feet 10 inches). This narrows very abruptly and the ‘normal’ trunk which emerges from it has the much reduced girth of 5.03 metres (16 feet 6 inches). The crown appears to be in good health and condition, although decay has set into the butt region.
In common with the other known pedestal larches in the UK, the swollen bases appear to consist of twisted and conglomerated masses of roots with a very distinct ‘root collar’ where the normal trunk arises. One plausible theory as to how such trees arise is that they have been propagated in containers and retained within restricted growing environments for prolonged periods, with the result that they have become ‘pot bound’ and the roots over-crowded and distorted.
Once such trees were planted out, the growth pressures exerted by the downward spiral of the deformed root systems gradually forced the root balls out of the ground. The amalgamated mass of the exposed roots grow at a disproportionate rate to the trunks, thus creating the enlarged pedestals.
The trees are clearly of considerable age and are thought to date from around 1720 - 1740.
Where to see the Pedestal Larches:
The Foswell Pedestal Larch stands in a field near Foswell House, approximately 1.6km (1 mile) on minor roads off the A9 to the south of Auchterarder, Perth & Kinross. The Dunkeld Pedestal Larch stands on the hillside immediately behind the Dunkeld House Hotel, Dunkeld, Perth & Kinross. Access is available with the permission of the hotel.
Image: copyright Archie Miles
