19. Victoria’s Secret
Rare and attractive, an Asian shrub has grown into a striking tree in a late nineteenth century Cardiff park.
Cardiff’s Victoria Park typifies the exceptional quality of the Welsh capital’s parks. It is relatively small, well maintained, and extensively planted with interesting trees, some dating back to the park’s opening in 1897. The best is a very rare Asian spindle tree growing in the south west corner between Victoria Park Road West and the children’s playground. Creamy flowers appear in June followed by pink berries.
Species details
Large-flowered spindle
Euonymus grandiflorus
Where to find it
Victoria Park, Victoria Park Road East, Cardiff CF5 1EH
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Large-flowered spindle notes
By the early twentieth century, European and North American plant collectors had become well acquainted with superbly biodiverse parts of Asia, particularly the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan and north east India, and Yunnan province in south west China. Thousands of plants were sent back, and many have since become garden favourites. However, the large-flowered spindle, a plant found in both the Himalayas and Yunnan, appears to have been overlooked despite being picked up by eminent collectors Roland Edgar Cooper around 1910 and George Forrest a decade or two later. Perhaps it was deemed unspectacular compared to glamorous Rhododendrons also arriving at the time. But a century on it is perhaps time to reassess Euonymus grandiflorus. The Cardiff example has become a handsome evergreen tree with its creamy flowers appearing in early summer followed by striking pink berries in the autumn.
