A map of the trees of London

Ever wondered what that tree is you passed during your lockdown exercise walk? There’s a website that tells you the answer.

The Tree Map from Tree Talk has been around for a couple of years, but not many people know about it – and it should be better known as the map covers a lot of London now.

In use, it might be better if the trees weren’t green circles as that makes them slightly harder to spot against the map background where there’s other parks and green spaces around — but once you zoom in a bit it becomes clearer what’s there.

Apart from identify that big tree near you — there’s also some interesting analysis maps, such as this one showing tree species rarity across London.

Of course, any grading scale will have oddities, so where the Thames seems to be filled with trees is thanks to denser numbers of trees on the shoreline. Pity though – a floating forest on the Thames would be cool.

The tree map is here, and it works on a smartphone for when you’re out and about.