Scented tree

looksee

Can anyone suggest the name of a small tree that grows in woodland, has a small white flower and is very sweetly scented? Its either native or long established. I have seen it growing wild in Ireland, but I can't remember the name.

Oldtree

looksee wrote: »

Can anyone suggest the name of a small tree that grows in woodland, has a small white flower and is very sweetly scented? Its either native or long established. I have seen it growing wild in Ireland, but I can't remember the name.

Perhaps its a spindle (Euonymus europaeus). Has it green bark?
Or maby a crab apple?
I've seen jasmin gone wild too.
A hawthorn is white but does not have a nice smell.

looksee

Thank you for those suggestions but it is not any of them. I knew what it was when I saw it, but I cannot remember it now.

bradford pear?

Day Lewin

Rowan? Has sweet scented creamy blossom around Easter time, red berries later in the year.

Day Lewin

You wouldn't call Rowan a "small flower" though.

OP, where have you seen this tree? Which woods, which county?

Hotei

looksee wrote: »

Can anyone suggest the name of a small tree that grows in woodland, has a small white flower and is very sweetly scented? Its either native or long established. I have seen it growing wild in Ireland, but I can't remember the name.

Is it in flower at the moment?
I have a Viburnum tinus flowering in my garden at the moment, and it has a pleasant scent. I'm not aware of any native species that you would see in flower at this time of year.
Sarcococca is another possibility.

looksee

Unfortunately I cannot remember - probably Waterford or Wexford. We were walking on a path through some fairly light woodland and I suddenly got the most glorious scent. There by the path was a rather sad little tree - it was healthy enough but quite small and spindly - not much more than a single branch, and it had small flowers. I knew immediately what it was, an old fashioned kind of shrub/tree that has (to me) connotations of romantic wedding flowers, but I cannot remember now what I thought it was. Myrtle is the only thing I can think of, but that has much more robust and regular leaves, these were more like an insignificant beech or hazel leaf. Unless there is a wild variety that has a different leaf type.

Edit, no it was summer, last year. Yes I have a sarcococca in flower, and it is lovely!

Oldtree

this is intriguing

So we have small spindly tree with white flowers in the summer and a delicious scent.

Have you an exact month in summer, and can you better describe the scent? How tall exactly was the tree? What size was the flower, how many petals, similar to any other plant? leaf details?

How about Privet, if growing in a woodland it would be tall and spindly but perhaps a more delicate scent than you describe and more a flower cluster.

Another shrub that might grow taller in a woodland setting with a delicious scent, that can flower in the summer, is an Azaelia. Their leaf is kind of what you describe.

looksee

It was neither azalea nor privet. The person who was with me recalls the discussion (and between us we could probably give common and latin names to pretty much any plant you could mention She remembers the incident but cannot remember either, though it was mostly me that was interested at the time. She suggested choisya, but I think the flowers were much smaller, though otherwise the leaf and flower shape were similar, its probably the nearest so far. I may be completely misleading everyone, my recall is not that great!

Day Lewin

I've never seen Choisya escaped into the wild. Mostly it likes the sun, and a bit of shelter like a wall behind it.

Its possible that flowers would grow much smaller in unfavourable conditions, though.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=427

Hotei

A long shot, but how about Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica? The flowers aren't white though, more green in colour, small, and grow in clusters, and they have a very pleasant scent. I think it flowers in May and June, and although it grows in the wild here in Ireland, it's not a commonly seen shrub.

Oldtree

ok a few more:

Styras maby snowbell? Drimys or Amelanchier, I'm going for the latter this time

were the flowers in tight clusters like a elder, loose like a cherry or single?

looksee

I have amelanchier in the garden and while the appearance is good, it is not particularly scented (at least mine isn't). The lack of scent would also apply to the buckthorn.

However I think, even if it is not what I am looking for, the Styrax japonicus would do the job! I was not familiar with it but it looks lovely and is apparently very sweet scented.

I think my memory may be playing tricks on me. If I can recall where I saw it - my friend suggested it was in Mt Congreve gardens, which would be easy enough to investigate when the weather gets warmer; or it might have been JFK arboretum, though as a specimen it wasn't really up to their standards

Thank you for all your great suggestions though, I have done some very satisfactory browsing of plants both new and forgotten!

Oldtree

last one then I'm out of ideas

Stewartica

Rancid

Though it doesn't match up with all your details, I can't help thinking of some type of Nicotiana when you say that the scent was so lovely.
I remember being stopped in my tracks by some variety of Nicotiana in the Botanic Gardens, the scent was amazing.

(Talking about scented plants, I think I came across a flowering Mahonia (?) recently, spiky leaves and delicately small scented pale yellowish flowers.)

Oldtree

My favorite flower scent of all is a Philadelphus, followed closely by Apple and Dog Rose. At the moment the delicate scent from the Hammamellis X intermedia (witch hazel) is lovely.

TAZ32

white flower, fragrant and spindly, maybe Heptacodium miciniodes but its not wild. mount congreve i remember has a small tree and spindly,fragrant to but flowers were yellow in late spring, Lindera obtusiloba. or maybe Prunus padus for something wild and white flower.