Ulmus gaussenii
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Ulmus gaussenii is a medium-sized deciduous tree whose natural range is restricted to the valleys of limestone mountains in Anhui Province, eastern China. It can grow to a height of about 25 m, with a slender trunk < 0.5 m d.b.h (diameter at breast height). The bark is longitudinally fissured and almost black. The leaves are generally obovate and up to 11 cm long, borne on densely pubescent twigs sometimes featuring flat corky wings. The wind-pollinated petal-less flowers appear in March, the large orbicular samarae < 28 mm diameter ripen in April.
The species is very rare in cultivation in West. It was introduced to the Morton Arboretum, Illinois in the 1990s as part of an evaluation of Chinese elms for landscape use, and is also grown at the Denver Botanic Gardens; it is not known to exist in Europe. U. gaussenii proved very resistant to the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola in trials in Oklahoma [1]. The tree is now considered rare and endangered in its native China.
[edit] References
- Fu, L. & Jin J. (eds). (1992). China Red Data Book. Rare and endangered plants. Vol. 1. Science Press, Beijing.
- Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002). Ulmaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) Flora of China, Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA. [2]
- Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. Journal of Arboriculture, (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
[3].
