Rare Chinese tree flowers for first time in 100 years

♦ A rare Chinese tree that has sat flowerless in a Cardiff park for more than a century has now blossomed for the first time “because of the heatwave”.

The creamy white flowering of Roath Park’s Emmenopterys henryi, which stunned the local wardens, is believed to be only the sixth such occasion in the UK since the species was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, it has been joined by other blossoming Emmenopterys in Gloucestershire and Sussex, leading experts to conclude the sustained record temperatures are the cause.