tree of the month Belfast Botanic Gardens

Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens

Tree of the month series - this series of short articles about trees in the Belfast Botanic Gardens is compiled by members of the Friends group and Gardens staff. We aim to build up to a comprehensive archive of trees in Belfast Botanic Gardens. Each article will illustrate a tree growing in Belfast Botanic Gardens together with information from a range of sources.

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Tree of the Month, September 2009

Nymans Eucryphia

Eucryphia x nymansensis 'Nymansay'

Jonathan Pilcher and Reg Maxwell
This is a super small flowering garden tree for this time of the year and valuable through the year as it is an evergreen. It is best in sheltered locations as the leaves are prone to burn round the edges and the petals blow off in windy situations.

Nymans Eucryphia is a cross between E. cordifolia and E. glutinosa, both South American species. It was raised in 1914/1915 at Nymans in Sussex by James Comber. It was awarded the RHS Award of Merit in 1924 and the Award of Garden Merit in 1984.

It makes a columnar tree, often multi-stemmed and described as fastigiate by some authors. It is fairly fast growing and will reach about 20m. The leaves are variable with some simple and some compound (tri-foliate). They are slightly downy on both sides and are evergreen. The shoots are green and very hairy and the stems are smooth.

The flowers are large, up to 6cm across, white with pink stamens, and are produced prolifically in August and September. The example in Belfast Botanic Gardens is opposite the gate into the works yard and flowers spectacularly each year.


Nymans Eucryphia in Belfast Botanic Gardens	Nymans Eucryphia simple and trifoliate leaves

Nymans Eucryphia	Nymans Eucryphia