The Wonder of Yew

Nestled away in a quiet corner of the Florencecourt Estate in County Fermanagh is a wayward Irish yew tree with a remarkable history. The tree in question is the original mother of all Irish yews in the world, sometimes referred to as ‘the mother of millions’.  Sometime between 1740 and 1760 while out hunting on Cuilcagh Mountain local farmer, George Willis, found two young yew trees growing adjacent to  the boundary of the townlands of Beihy and Aghatirouke. Carefully removing them both, Willis kept one for himself and gave the other to the Earl of Enniskillen. Willis’ tree failed but the one planted on the Earl of Enniskillen’s Florencecourt Estate flourished.

The Irish yew (Taxus baccata ‘fastigiata’), is a dense, dark and sombre tree with its distinctive upright habit much associated with graveyards. It was Liverpool man George Cunningham who introduced the plant into commerce around 1780. However he had to rely on cuttings received from the Earl of Enniskillen. The Florencecourt Yew is a female tree and as such, cuttings are the only way to propagate the tree hence a tree originating Fermanagh has spread throughout the world. However branches bearing male flowers have been seen on Irish yews, and may self-pollinate resulting in similar upright growing seedlings.

The Florencecourt tree grows on what is now part of Forest Service property where a number of walks can be enjoyed. The Earl of Enniskillen’s former home, gardens and parkland is now owned by the National Trust. The National Trust land at Florencecourt is managed under one of Northern Ireland’s agri-environment schemes, the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Scheme. As part of the ESA Scheme, the Trust carry out positive management of the parkland area. Typical parkland trees have been planted in addition to small areas of native tree planting in order to aid the restoration of the parkland to its former glory.

For more information on agri-environment schemes, including the NI Countryside Management Scheme, please contact your local DARD office or go on-line to www.dardni.gov.uk.

Countryside Management Adviser, Jayne Armstrong, examines the original Irish Yew tree in the Florencecourt Estate.