Rare and historical cultivars found

18:03 13th October 2009

The National Trust may have 3.5 million members and over 300 homes and gardens to look after, but it has also recently discovered it owns a number of rare and historical plant species.

A survey of the contents of its grounds found that some- such as the Weinmannia trichosperma found in Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland - have lain untended for more than a century.

Mike Buffin is in charge of the survey and revealed to the Royal Horticultural Society that the Trust was only aware of around five to ten per cent on the varieties in its gardens.

"We're not a botanical institution and historically we were more interested in whether a landscape had an interesting feel and historical presence rather than what was in it," he explained.

Other examples of rare breeds found in the organisation's lands include the Creeks Cross Rhododendron - created by 1930s Trengwainton head gardener Alfred Creek - and the Quercus robur Purpurascens purple oak at Belton House in Lincolnshire.