Scientists who discovered a new species of tree off a remote countryside road announced it will be named "No Parking" after a sign that was nailed to the trunk.

A team of botanists found the tree in a north Devon lay-by while working on a project that saw the discovery of 14 new species and hybrids across the British Isles.

It was known locally as the 'No Parking Tree' and the nickname has stuck as it is listed in Watsonia, the scientific journal of the Botanical Society of the British Isles, as No Parking Whitebeam.

The tree's Latin name is Sorbus admonitor, meaning to admonish or tell off, and it grows at Watersmeet, between the villages of Lynton and Lynmouth.

The research project, led by Dr Tim Rich, Head of Vascular Plants at the National Museum Wales, involved academics from the University of Wales, Bristol University, Exeter University, Oxford University and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

Of the 14 new types of tree some were named after those who found them, others after the place where they were discovered and some according to what they look like.

The No Parking tree was first noticed to be different from the Devon Whitebeam in the 1930s but clear evidence that it was a different species was not possible until DNA analysis was carried out.

Dr Rich said: "Some of these trees have probably developed recently and are examples of on-going evolution of new species.

"Others are older types which have been known for some time but are only now described as 'species' thanks to modern DNA methods.

"The No Parking Whitebeam was first noted to be different from the more widespread Devon Whitebeam in the 1930s, but has only recently been demonstrated to be a different species using biochemical analyses."