Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
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| Ulmus davidiana var. japonica | ||||||||||||||
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 Japanese Elm, aged 30 years
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| Ulmus davidiana var. japonica Rehder |
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Ulmus davidiana var. japonica Rehder, the Japanese Elm, is one of the larger and more graceful Asiatic elms, endemic to much of continental north-east Asia and Japan. It commonly grows to over 30 m tall, with a broad crown comprising pendent branches. Augustine Henry described one tree at Iwamigawa, Hokkaido, railway station as being 34 m tall, with an untypically clean stem to a height of approximately 15 m [1].
The young shoots often bear corky wings, similar to those of the European Field Elm U. minor, to which it is closely related. The leaves are generally obovate, up to 110 mm long, and with a coarse upper surface. The tree flowers in early spring, before the leaves appear. The samarae are obovate to orbicular, 15 mm long [2].
The tree was introduced to North America in 1895 as seed sent from Sapporo to the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts, whence seedlings were donated to Kew Gardens, London, two years later [3]. The Arnold Arboretum specimens grew rapidly, and first flowered aged 12 years. Unlike many Asiatic species, Japanese Elm has also proven tolerant of a mild, maritime climate with high rainfall over winter.
Specimens planted at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire, England, in 1977 have grown very well on heavy clay in an open location. In trials elsewhere in Hampshire conducted by Butterfly Conservation, the tree also proved tolerant of dry soils on chalk and soils waterlogged in winter, although growth was comparatively slow [4].
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[edit] Cultivars
Resistant to Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle[3], the tree was assessed in Canada as a substitute for native elms that had succumbed. Consequently a number of particularly hardy cultivars were released there in the 1980s; two cultivars were also raised in the USA[4]: Discovery, Emerald Sunshine (formerly treated under U. propinqua Koidz.), Freedom, Jacan, Mitsui Centennial, Prospector (formerly treated under Wilson's Elm U. wilsoniana C.K. Schneid.), and Thomson [5].
[edit] Hybrid cultivars
The Japanese Elm was widely used in the USA in hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum and University of Wisconsin [6] [7], resulting in the release of the following cultivars: Cathedral, Morton (Accolade). Morton Glossy (Triumph), Morton Plainsman (Vanguard), Morton Red Tip (Danada Charm), Morton Stalwart (Commendation), New Horizon, Patriot, Rebone, Repura, Revera, Sapporo Autumn Gold.
The species has also been crossed with Dutch hybrids by the Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante (IPP) in Florence, Italy. Three clones are currently (2007) under evaluation in Italy, and England by Butterfly Conservation: FL 601, FL 610 and FL 626.
[edit] Arboreta etc. accessions
- North America
- Arnold Arboretum, acc. nos. 4119 (from cult. material), 917-78, wild collected in Korea.
- Brenton Arboretum, Dallas Center, Iowa, as U. wilsoniana. No details available.
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden [5], New York, acc. no. 780251 (as U. japonica).
- Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois. 1 tree in the West Collections Area, listed as U. propinqua var. suberosa.
- Dawes Arboretum [6], Newark, Ohio. 1 tree, no acc. details available.
- Holden Arboretum, acc. nos. 80-664 (unrecorded provenance), 97-126, wild collected in Korea.
- Morton Arboretum acc. nos. 514-39, 679-62, 680-62, 354-U, also two others under the synonyms of U. propinqua Koidz. or Cork Bark Elm (acc. no. 53-96), and U. propinqua Koidz. var. suberosa, collected from the Nei Mongol Zizhiqu Autonomus Region, China, (acc. no. 52-95).
- Europe
- Brighton & Hove City Council, UK, NCCPG elm collection [7]
- Grange Farm, Sutton St. James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK, (as Ulmus japonica) acc. no. 514
- Great Fontley Farm, Fareham, UK, Butterfly Conservation Elm Trials plantation, Home Field J6, (planted 2002, grown from seed collected from the Great Elm, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan).
- Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia acc. nos. 18128,29,30,31.
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK, (as U. japonica), acc. no. 19031053.
- Royal Botanic Garden Kew, UK acc. nos. 1995-581, 1995-1305
- Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley (as U. japonica), no details available.
- Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK, (as U. japonica), acc. nos. 1977.5234, 1977.5972, 1977.6373, 1982.4019, all trees 12 m - 14 m in height.
- Thenford House arboretum, Oxfordshire, UK, no details available.
[edit] Nurseries
- North America
- Europe
Only as cultivar; see 'Prospector'
[edit] References
- ^ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848–1929. Private publication. [1]
- ^ 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]
- ^ Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. 7th edition. Murray, London.
- ^ Brookes, A. H. (2006). An evaluation of disease-resistant hybrid and exotic elms as larval host plants for the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly, Satyrium w-album. Part 1. Butterfly Conservation, Lulworth, England.
- ^ 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 & Information Service, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, England.
- ^ Santamour, J., Frank, S. & Bentz, S. (1995). Updated checklist of elm (Ulmus) cultivars for use in North America. Journal of Arboriculture, 21:3 (May 1995), 121-131. International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, USA
- ^ Smalley, E. B. & Guries, R. P. (1993). Breeding Elms for Resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. Annual Review of Phytopathology Vol. 31 : 325-354. Palo Alto, California
