The Birr Castle Demesne, August, 2006

Sherwood Harrington
August, 2006

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An astoundingly aromatic pair of flowering trees. We visited the Demesne in August, and at that time these trees' aroma could be detected far beyond where they could be seen. They are eucryphia of the "Nymansay" variety.  Eucryphia x nymansensis originated from a cross of two Chilean species in the garden of Lt. Col. Messel at Nymans in Sussex, England, in 1915. From the progeny of those species in Nymans, two were selected, called "Nymans A" and "Nymans B" for exhibition, and the former came to be known as 'Nymansay'. Colonel Messel -- Leonard Messel -- was the current Lord Rosse's maternal grandfather. (This information about the Nymansay development was cribbed almost verbatim from the St. Andrews Botanic Garden website.)

Birr Castle Demesne nymansay