The Florence Court Yew is the surviving specimen of the two original

Irish yew ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family (botany), family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). '' ...

(''Taxus baccata'' 'Fastigiata') seedlings. As such, it is the oldest Irish yew alive and it is believed that almost all Irish yews worldwide descend from this specimen. It is located in

Florence Court Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name F ...

demesne in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and is cared for by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

In 1767 George Willis, a local farmer, retrieved a pair of unusual yew seedlings from the slopes of Cuilcagh mountain in the Aghatirourke

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

, near Florencecourt, County Fermanagh. One specimen was presented to Willis' landlord, Lord Mount Florence (later 1st Earl of Enniskillen) who had it planted in the old garden in the Florence Court estate. The other was planted in Willis' own garden, where it died in 1865.

Characteristics

The specimens Willis discovered had a 'fastigiated' or vertical habit in contrast to the wider spread of the common yew seen throughout the British Isles and Europe. The characteristics of the young seedlings survived into maturity and the tree attracted interest from visitors and horticulturists due to its compactness and attractive columnar shape.

Propagation

Like all Irish yews, the Florence Court Yew is female. The species can only be propagated from cuttings as specimens raised from seed revert to common yews. They lose the Irish yew's distinctive upright habit, although specimens raised from seed may display minor variations in foliage colour. Cuttings for propagation were taken from the tree and by 1820 the Irish yew had become so popular that the tree was commercially reproduced. The Irish yew is common in churchyards throughout the world and it is believed almost all specimens are descended from the tree at Florence Court.

Condition and conservation

As a result of the volume of cuttings taking from the tree and the shade of larger

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

trees surrounding it, the Florence Court Yew has lost much of the characteristic shape and balance of its species. As of 2010, the condition of the tree was stable although moss, which thrives in the tree's damp location, was slowing the tree's growth.

Notes

* The

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

of this plant has also been referred to as ''Taxus florencecourtiaiana''.

External links

Original article
reported in ''Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet'', 10 February 1842 - hosted by

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive web site provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London, ...

References

{{reflist Individual yew trees Individual trees in Northern Ireland County Fermanagh