This is a superb small flowering garden tree for late summer, valuable throughout 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 tend to 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 situated opposite the gate into the works yard and it flowers spectacularly each year.

Photos taken in Belfast Botanic Gardens in 2009. Copyright: Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens.