Barking up the right tree!

On dull days like this it's hard to find a striking image to Blip. I did photograph our first Rhododendron protistum in flower, which is certainly very striking, but thought I'd do that again tomorrow, hoping we don't have a sharp frost tonight!

I chose instead an image of this wonderful maple bark. Acer griseum is a small to medium-sized tree - ours is still quite small - from central China, introduced into cultivation by Ernest Wilson in 1901 - thanks Ernest!

Unusually the leaves are trifoliate and usually they colour very well in autumn, but it's for the amazing bark that this lovely tree is grown - the popular name is Paperbark Maple. There's a large specimen in Edinburgh Botanics just opposite the Palm House. Quite hardy, it's a great choice if you can grow only one tree!