Mezereon

I called in at a Wildlife Trust reserve near mine this afternoon to get some photographs for a talk. One of the specialities of the site is this plant, Daphne mezereum. It is a very rare plant in the wild, found in open woodland on chalk or limestone, and this site is thought to be one of only two places where it survives as a native in the Chilterns. I tried out its fragrance and can only agree with Richard Mabey that it smells like a domestic cleaning product! Nevertheless, visually it is stunning.