A LITTLE-KNOWN landowner has been revealed as the man who brought the 'hedges from hell' to Britain.
Christopher Leyland, who was skipper of the revolutionary turbine vessel Turbinia, lived at Haggerston Castle, in Northumberland, and tested Charles Parsons' experimental hulls in the lake on his estate.
Leylandii has figured in bitter neighbour disputes across the country, many of which have ended up in court.
Now a new book, Gardeners, Gurus and Grubs (Sutton Publishing £14.99) described how Leyland had specimens of the Nootka cypress and Monterey cypress from North America.
But he noticed that six seedlings from the Nootka were different from the rest.
The book's author George Drower said; "Had he destroyed them, the history of trees would have been much poorer.
"But such was nature's fortune - some neighbours might say misfortune - Leyland chose to spare them."
Leyland's discovery was revealed at Kew Gardens in 1926.
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