Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Gold Rush’
Common name: Oriental paperbush, mitsumata [Japanese for '3 forks'], false winter daphne
Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Gold Rush’ is a deciduous shrub native to China, with clusters of small yellow flowers in winter that smell of cloves. Its branches fork sharply, giving it a slightly ungainly habit before it leafs out. Its soft white bark was traditionally prized in Asia for paper-making. It is named for the Irish botanist Michael Pakenham Edgeworth and his half-sister, the novelist Maria Edgeworth. It is closely related to, if not synonymous with, E. papyrifera.
There are a few specimens along the hellebore walk and one hidden along the east fence near the north corner.
Flower photos by Roy Forster, pre-1990, City of Vancouver Archives. Shrub photos taken mid-January, 2023 in Garden.