Family: Eucryphiaceae

Origin of parent species: Chile

Photographed in a garden in Co Down 17 August 2008.

The genus Eucryphia has five species, 2 from Chile, 3 from Australia. Eucryphia x nymansensis 'Nymans' is a popular hybrid of two Chilean species, Eucryphia glutinosa x E. cordifolia. Large showy white flowers are produced in dense masses. The stiff evergreen leaves are mostly trifoliate (having 3 leaflets), with prominent teeth all along the margin of each leaflet.

The cultivar 'Nymansay' originated c. 1915 at Nymans in Sussex, with E. glutinosa probably being the female parent.

'Mount Usher', which originated at the garden of that name in Co. Wicklow, has the same parent species but E. cordifolia is the female parent.

The leaves of 'Nymansay' are mostly trifoliate, but with some simple leaves as well. The leaves of 'Mount Usher' are mostly simple but with some trifoliate leaves. E. glutinosa has compound leaves and E. cordifolia has simple leaves; the different proportion of trifoliate to simple leaves in these two cultivars may reflect a difference in the direction of the crosses (i.e. which was the female and which the male parent).