At large in London

摘要

A family visit found me in Hackney, East London one dazzlingly bright day in August 2017. It was here, a short distance from the restored Hackney Empire Theatre, that my attention was arrested by the sight of a glorious tree occupying a small domesticfront garden. It had unusual bi-pinnate leaves, flaring white flowers and long, twisted seed capsules, rather like those of Catalpa. It trumpeted Bignoniaceae but so few of that family are hardy in London and it seemed completely unfamiliar. I say completely but there was a nagging feeling that I had seen the foliage before. At last from my memory the name Radermachera sinica emerged, bringing with it images of a compact houseplant grown for its fresh, glossy leaves. Leaves much like those of this tree but in miniature. Could this then be a Radermachera at large in London?