Ulmus lamellosa
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| iUlmus lamellosa | ||||||||||||||
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 Ulmus lamellosa leaves
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| Ulmus lamellosa Wang & Chang |
Ulmus lamellosa is a small deciduous elm restricted to mountain ravines in four provinces to the west and south of Beijing. Rarely more than 10 m in height, it has upright branches forming a rounded crown supported by a slender trunk < 20 cm d.b.h. (diameter at breast height). Considered closely related to the Large-fruited Elm U. macrocarpa, it is distinguishable from that species by its mottled, flaking bark and smaller, obovate, bluntly toothed leaves, which turn a rich gold in autumn. The wind-pollinated petal-less flowers are produced on second-year shoots in March - April; the large, almost orbicular 35 mm diameter samarae appear from April to May.
Rare in cultivation beyond China, it is one of a number of Chinese species that were assessed for their horticultural merit at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois, where it was adjudged suitable for planting in parks and gardens. It was found to have a good resistance to Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetles, but was typically intolerant of wet soils. Other specimens exist in the USA at the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Holden Arboretum. In the UK a specimen is grown at the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley; planted in 1998 (bed WA 0201) the tree appreared to have succumbed to the drought of summer 2006, and all top growth had died save a few suckers at the base of the tree.
[edit] References
- 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. [1]
- Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. Journal of Arboriculture, (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
[2].
