Attention green-fingered readers. Can anyone identify this tree? It’s growing in a pretty exposed spot on Cliff Rigg. According to the ‘Seek’ app on my trusty phone, it’s a member of the myrtle family, and opinion is that it might be part of the Eucalyptus genus. If that’s true, this tree has ventured quite a long way from its native Australia.
Now, we know some eucalypts have made their way into British gardens purely for ornamental purposes. It’s entirely plausible that someone intentionally planted this tree, maybe as a memorial or something. But here’s the catch – it’s non-native, and since it’s taken root on a National Trust nature reserve, its days are numbered. There are not many koala bears on the North York Moors.
The photo was actually taken earlier this week when the weather was a little more clement than the drizzle this morning. Any Sherlock Holmes of the gardening world out there willing to crack this botanical case?
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