Florence Court Yew | |
---|---|
Species | Yew ( Taxus baccata ) |
Location | Florence Court, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
Coordinates | 54°15′15″N7°43′23″W / 54.254077°N 7.722987°W Coordinates: 54°15′15″N7°43′23″W / 54.254077°N 7.722987°W |
Date seeded | 1767 |
Custodian | National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty |
The Florence Court Yew is the surviving specimen of the two original Irish yew (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata') seedlings. As such, it is the oldest Irish yew alive and it is believed that almost all Irish yews worldwide descend from this specimen. [1] It is located in Florence Court demesne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and is cared for by the National Trust.
In 1767 George Willis, a local farmer, retrieved a pair of unusual yew seedlings from the slopes of Cuilcagh mountain in the Aghatirourke townland, near Florencecourt, County Fermanagh. [1] One specimen was presented to Willis' landlord, Lord Mount Florence (later 1st Earl of Enniskillen) who had it planted in the old garden in the Florence Court estate. The other was planted in Willis' own garden, where it died in 1865.
The specimens Willis discovered had a 'fastigiated' or vertical habit in contrast to the wider spread of the common yew seen throughout the British Isles and Europe. The characteristics of the young seedlings survived into maturity and the tree attracted interest from visitors and horticulturists due to its compactness and attractive columnar shape.
Like all Irish yews, the Florence Court Yew is female. The species can only be propagated from cuttings as specimens raised from seed revert to common yews. They lose the Irish yew's distinctive upright habit, although specimens raised from seed may display minor variations in foliage colour. [2]
Cuttings for propagation were taken from the tree and by 1820 the Irish yew had become so popular that the tree was commercially reproduced. [1] The Irish yew is common in churchyards throughout the world and it is believed almost all specimens are descended from the tree at Florence Court. [1]
As a result of the volume of cuttings taking from the tree and the shade of larger ash and sycamore trees surrounding it, the Florence Court Yew has lost much of the characteristic shape and balance of its species. As of 2010, the condition of the tree was stable although moss, which thrives in the tree's damp location, was slowing the tree's growth. [3]
Epacris impressa, also known as common heath, is a plant of the heath family, Ericaceae, that is native to southeast Australia. French botanist Jacques Labillardière collected the species in 1793 and described it in 1805. Four forms have been identified, but no subspecies are recognised. Growing in heathland, shrubland or open forest, it is generally a small shrub around 0.5 to 1 m tall, with small stiff leaves. The red, pink or white tube-like flowers appear from late autumn to early spring. Honeyeater birds, particularly the eastern spinebill, feed upon the nectar of the flowers. It regenerates after bushfire by seed or by resprouting.
Taxus is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 2.5–20 m (8.2–65.6 ft), with trunk girth averaging 5 m (16 ft). They have reddish bark, lanceolate, flat, dark-green leaves 10–40 mm long and 2–3 mm broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem. The oldest known fossil species are from the Early Cretaceous.
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. As an art form it is a type of living sculpture. The word derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, topiarius, a creator of topia or "places", a Greek word that Romans also applied to fictive indoor landscapes executed in fresco.
Platanus × acerifolia, Platanus × hispanica, or hybrid plane, is a tree in the genus Platanus. It is often known by the synonym London plane, or London planetree. It is usually thought to be a hybrid of Platanus orientalis and Platanus occidentalis. Some authorities think that it may be a cultivar of P. orientalis.
Ulmus glabra, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese in Greece; it is also found in Iran. A large deciduous tree, it is essentially a montane species, growing at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), preferring sites with moist soils and high humidity. The tree can form pure forests in Scandinavia and occurs as far north as latitude 67°N at Beiarn in Norway. It has been successfully introduced as far north as Tromsø, Norway and Alta, Norway (70°N). It has also been successfully introduced to Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland (61°N).
Earl of Enniskillen is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for William Cole, 1st Viscount Enniskillen. He had already been created Viscount Enniskillen in the Peerage of Ireland in 1776 and had inherited the title Baron Mount Florence, of Florence Court in the County of Fermanagh, which had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1760 for his father John Cole, who had earlier represented Enniskillen in the Irish House of Commons.
Plant propagation is the process by which new plants grow from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the man-made or natural dispersal of seeds.
The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, Connecticut, contains 93 acres of parkland, gardens, landscapes, and hiking trails that focus on the regional plants, ecology and character of Southwestern New England. The Arboretum is open and accessible to the public every day of the year and is located at 151 Brookdale Road.
Taxus baccata is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may now be known as common yew, English yew, or European yew. It is primarily grown as an ornamental. Most parts of the plant are poisonous, with toxins that can be absorbed through inhalation and through the skin; consumption of even a small amount of the foliage can result in death.
Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name Florencecourt. It is owned and managed by the National Trust and is the sister property of nearby Castle Coole. The other National Trust property in County Fermanagh is the Crom Estate.
Taxus cuspidata, the Japanese yew or spreading yew, is a member of the genus Taxus, native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia.
Taxus brevifolia, the Pacific yew or western yew, is a species of tree in the yew family Taxaceae native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. It is a small evergreen conifer, thriving in moisture and otherwise tending to take the form of a shrub, known as yew brush.
Torreya taxifolia, commonly known as Florida torreya or stinking-cedar, but also sometimes as Florida nutmeg or gopher wood, is an endangered subcanopy tree of the yew family, Taxaceae. It is native to only a small glacial refugium in the southeastern United States, at the state border region of northern Florida and southwestern Georgia.
Taxus canadensis, the Canada yew or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply "yew", this species is also referred to as American yew or ground-hemlock.
Florencecourt is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 135 people. It is situated within Fermanagh and Omagh district. Historically the area was called "Mullanashangan".
Taxus floridana, the Florida yew, is a species of yew, endemic to a small area of under 10 km² on the eastern side of the Apalachicola River in mesophytic forests of northern Florida at altitudes of 15–40 m. It is listed as critically endangered. It is protected in reserves at the Torreya State Park and at the Nature Conservancy's Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, and has legal protection under the United States and Florida Endangered Species laws.
Cephalotaxus harringtonia, commonly known as Japanese plum-yew, Harrington's cephalotaxus, or cowtail pine, is a coniferous bush or small tree in the family Taxaceae. It is native to Japan, but is occasionally utilised in western gardens and several cultivars exist for these purposes. Japanese plum yew has been in cultivation in Europe since 1829, and many modern horticulturists are familiar with this Japanese species, named in honor of Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington, one of the first to grow the plant in a European garden, at Elvaston.
Willis is a surname of English, Norman French, and Scottish origin. The oldest extant family of the name, the Willes family of Warwickshire, formerly of Newbold Comyn and Fenny Compton, has used the spellings 'Willis,' 'Willys,' and 'Wyllys' and appear in records from 1330. In this case, the name derives from the name de Welles which comes from the Norman name de Vallibus, which in turn was derived from the Vaux family tree. The Vaux family, established in England by Harold de Vaux, a close relative of William the Conqueror, appears in French records from 794. They had held power in their own right and through royal intermarriages.
Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.
Captain Humphrey Willis was an English soldier in Ireland in the sixteenth century, his parents are unknown. Captain Willis was appointed Sheriff of County Donegal and County Fermanagh by the Lord Deputy of Ireland William FitzWilliam. Captain Willis was a fluent speaker of Irish, and enforced his authority with a detachment of the Irish Army.