Major (Dutch Elm)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dutch Elm
Hybrid parentage
U. glabra × U. minor
Cultivar
Major
Origin
England

Although all naturally-occurring Field Elm U. minor × Wych Elm U. glabra hybrids are loosely termed 'Dutch elm', U. × hollandica Major is a distinctive English cultivar that came to be known specifically as the 'Dutch Elm'. Before the advent of Dutch elm disease, the tree often attained a height of over 30 m, with a short bole and irregular, wide-spreading branches. The bark of the trunk is dark, and deeply fissured. The leaves are oval, < 12 cm long by 7 cm wide, the top surface dark green and glossy, with a long serrated point at the apex. The petal-less, wind-pollinated flowers are red, and produced in spring in large clusters of up to 50. The obovate samarae are up to 25 mm long by 18 mm broad. The cultivar may be distinguished from other elms by the corky ridges that occur only on the epicormic branches of the trunk. The seed is rarely viable, but the tree suckers profusely from roots.

In North America it is grown at several arboreta and along the streets of Portland, Oregon. The cultivar is also grown in parks in Australia, notably Melbourne, and New Zealand. In the British Isles it is still commonly found as a sucker. It is usually more vigorous than the English elm U. procera, with which it is often confused. Large Dutch Elm sucker populations have been found in south west Wales, Cornwall and along the south coast of England. Mature trees are rare, except in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex; The Level, in Brighton, alone has over 80 specimens in a double avenue. Other fine trees can be seen in the city along the London Road and in private gardens. There are also fine examples in Edinburgh.

Contents 1 Arboreta etc. accessions 1.1 North America 1.2 Europe 2 Nurseries 2.1 Australasia 3 Synonymy 4 References

[edit] Arboreta etc. accessions

[edit] North America

• Arnold Arboretum, acc. no. 241-98, from cultivated material.
• Longwood Gardens, acc. no. L-0600, unrecorded provenance.
• Morton Arboretum, acc. nos. 1114-25, 338-46.

[edit] Europe

• Brighton & Hove City Council, UK, NCCPG Elm Collection.
• Royal Botanic Gardens Wakehurst Place, UK, acc. no. 1973-20146.

[edit] Nurseries

None known

[edit] Australasia

• Established Tree Planters Pty. Ltd., Wandin, Victoria, Australia. [1]

[edit] Synonymy

• Ulmus montana (: glabra) var. gigantea Hort.: Kirchner, in Kirchner & Petzold's Arb. Muscav. 564, 1864.
• ?Ulmus montana (: glabra) var. macrophylla fastigiata Hort. : Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs, 2: 141, 1896.
• Ulmus praestans: Beterams, Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ges. 20: 250, 1911.

[edit] References

• Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition. Murray, London.
• 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.
• Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848-1929. Private publication. [2]
• Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. [3]
• Richens, R. H. (1983). Elm. Cambridge University Press.