LONDON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- One of the most photographed trees in Britain that featured in a Hollywood blockbuster film, is in line for its own "Tree Oscars", according to a short list published Monday.
It faces competition from a mulberry bush said to have inspired a British nursery rhyme, as well as an umbrella-shaped tree planted in the late 1690s.
The Woodland Trust charity included the three among a short-list of 10 in the search for England's Tree of the Year contest.
The sycamore in Northumberland grows in a dramatic dip alongside Hadrian's Wall separating England and Scotland. It became one of the most photographed trees in the country after being featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
The mulberry bush, on the grounds of Wakefield Prison in Yorkshire, is said to be the bush where the popular nursery rhyme "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" originated.
The Woodland Trust said in its citation: "Women prisoners used to dance around the tree with their children, and invented the rhyme to keep the children amused. The original tree is still there, in the center of what was the prison exercise yard."
The Umbrella Tree at Levens Hall, Cumbria dates back to late 1690s when a topiary garden was first laid out. Scaffolding has to be erected each year to enable gardeners to clip it so it keeps its distinctive shape.
Six trees in Scotland have been nominated, including a sycamore that has devoured items such as a bicycle and a ship's anchor.
The so-called Bicycle Tree, a sycamore in the Trossachs, one of Scotland's beauty spots, has "eaten" various metal objects including a bicycle.
The Woodland Trust tells how a blacksmith's workshop once operated nearby and the tree is believed to have self-seeded in the late 1800s, sprouting up through scrap metal. Over the years it has devoured a number of items including an anchor and a horse's bridle.
Legend has it the bicycle was left hanging over a branch by a local man who went off to serve in World War I, never to return. The tree grew around and swallowed up the bike. Today, the handlebars and another small part of the frame can be seen protruding from the tree trunk.
Also listed in Scotland is the Birnam Oak in Perthshire, thought to be the last survivor of an ancient medieval oak woods mentioned in Shakespeare's Macbeth. It is believed Shakespeare was inspired when he visited the area in 1599 as part of a troupe of travelling players. In the play, a witch tells Macbeth he would remain King until Birnam wood comes to his castle. It sounded unlikely, until an attacking army camouflaged itself with branches from the great oak wood.
The trust has also listed six trees in each of Wales and Northern Ireland. Public voting will now decide which trees should go forward to the European Tree of the Year contest.
Beccy Speight, CEO of the Woodland Trust, said: "These trees have stood for hundreds, if not thousands of years and each will have a special place in peoples' lives. By celebrating them and reminding people of their value we hope to support and influence those who can ensure they continue to thrive for future generations."
