Eucryphia

Today's the day ........................... to find a botanical gem

I've seen a very remarkable tree today. Remarkable in that it was quite an incredible sight - in full bloom, the entire tree covered with sweet-smelling quite large, pure white flowers. But also remarkable because on paper, it really has no business thriving the way that it is, in my brother and sister-in-law's garden in the middle of Edinburgh!

It is a Eucryphia or Leatherwood tree - a small genus of trees or large shrubs of the Antarctic flora, native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia. They are usually found in areas with mild winters, cool summers and good rainfall so that away from their native areas, this restricts them to the Atlantic coastal regions of Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America, and New Zealand.

Apparently its name is derived from the Greek for 'well hidden' which has to be very appropriate for this particular botanical gem ..............................