87. Cwmdonkin Katsura
In Swansea, a rare east Asian tree complements a Victorian park associated with Dylan Thomas.
Katsuras are a species much admired by dendrophiles, but despite their popularity among tree folk, they remain rare. In Cwmdonkin Park, this trend is bucked by an exceptional example growing near the tennis courts. It is a katsura in its prime, displaying elegant heart shaped leaves throughout a copious crown covering multiple deeply fissured trunks. A contender for Swansea’s loveliest tree.
Species details
Katsura
Cercidiphyllum japaonicum
Where to find it
Cwmdonkin Park, Uplands, Swansea SA2 0PN
///fancy.lance.handy | 51.621321, -3.968945
Katsura notes
Katsuras have admirable features that become apparent at different times through the seasons making this a species to seek out at any time of the year. In winter their distinct multi-trunked form is most noticeable along with their deeply fissured bark. In early spring, small red flowers appear copiously before the leaves. Those leaves are a delight, they first open as small bronze heart-shapes, which fill out with fresh green as the spring turns to summer. In autumn, the leaves emit a delightful aroma of burnt sugar as they turn a fine golden shade.
They occur naturally in China and Japan, where they can become enormous, and first arrived in these islands in the mid nineteenth century. They are often a feature in large gardens and botanical collections, but for some reason, they have been rarely planted in public parks and squares where their presence would enable many more people to become acquainted with this most wonderful species.
