Commelin (elm hybrid)

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Commelin was one of two Dutch hybrids raised at Wageningen that were released for sale in 1960. A crossing of U. x hollandica Vegeta and a specimen of U. minor from France, it proved a fast-growing, attractively-shaped tree resistant to wind and a range of elm ailments. It became a considerable commercial success and over 500,000 had been sold by 1974, when its low resistance to the new, aggressive strain of Dutch elm disease became apparent. Sales consequently plummeted, and only 500 were sold in 1990. Fortunately, neither Commelin nor its equally vulnerable contemporary Groeneveld had sold in great numbers beyond the Netherlands, although it was later used in hybridization experiments in the USA as the female parent of Homestead, Regal and Urban.

Examples can be found in the USA at the Holden Arboretum and the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, North Carolina. In the UK, a specimen is grown in the NCCPG elm collection [1] maintained by Brighton & Hove City Council.

[edit] References

• Burdekin, D. A. & Rushforth, K. D. (Revised by Webber J. F. 1996). Elms resistant to Dutch elm disease. Arboricultural Research Note 2/96. Arboricultural Advisory and Information Service, Alice Holt, Farnham, UK.
• Heybroek, H. M. (1993). The Dutch Elm Breeding Program. In Sticklen & Sherald (Eds.)(1993). Dutch Elm Disease Research, Chapter 3. Springer Verlag, New York, USA