Ulmus laciniata - Manchurian Elm
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 Ulmus laciniata leaves
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| Ulmus laciniata Trautv. |
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Ulmus laciniata Trautv., the Manchurian Elm, is a deciduous tree found throughout the broadleaved forests of the Far East, including Japan, at elevations between 700 m and 2200 m. It is very closely related to the Wych Elm Ulmus glabra but distinguished by its leaves, which are regularly incised to form between three and seven apical lobes, giving rise to its common synonym, the Cut-leaf Elm[3]. The tree can reach a height of 27 m, although the trunk rarely exceeds 0.5 m d.b.h. The bark is dark, grey brown and exfoliates in flakes. The branchlets are unwinged. The laciniate leaves are usually obtriangular, and up to 18 cm in length. The wind-pollinated petal-less flowers are produced on second-year shoots in April, followed by elliptic < 20 mm x 14 mm samarae in May [1] [2] [3].
The species was introduced to the West in 1905, but remains uncommon in cultivation. A specimen at the Ryston Hall, Norfolk, arboretum, obtained from the Leon Chenault[4] nursery in Orleans[4], was killed by the earlier strain of Dutch elm disease prevalent in the 1930s. The tree was comprehensively evaluated in the Netherlands in the 1950s as a potential source of anti-fungal genes for use in the Dutch elm hybridization programme, but was found intolerant of all but the most sheltered and humid conditions [5]. Trees planted at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (sole accession died 2007) and as part of Butterfly Conservation's elm trials at Great Fontley Farm, Fareham, England, have confirmed the Dutch assessment [6].
Moreover, in trials in Italy and the USA [5], U. laciniata was severely damaged by elm leaf beetles Xantogalerucha luteola Müller; indeed in Italy chemical controls were necessary to ensure the tree's survival, unlike its compatriots U. parvifolia and U. davidiana var. japonica which survived unscathed [7].
The Dutch elm breeding programme discovered that the tree has a relatively high degree (39 % seed viability) of self-fertility [8]. The species is difficult to propagate from softwood cuttings, even under mist, often rooting but failing to develop foliage.
There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be available from any nurseries beyond the USA.
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[edit] Subspecies & varieties
A variety was recognized by Rehder: Ulmus laciniata var. nikkoensis - the Nikko Elm.
[edit] Hybrid cultivars
Several hybrid cultivars were raised as part of the Dutch elm breeding programme at Wageningen (Heybroek, 1993), crossing the species with hybrids of U. wallichiana and U. minor to produce Clone no. 560, which in turn was crossed with Clone 720 (itself a complex cross involving U. glabra, U. minor, U. wallichiana, and U. pumila) to produce Clone 1234. None of these clones has been commercially released.
[edit] Arboreta etc accessions
- North America
- Arnold Arboretum, acc. no. 17909 wild collected, 250-2001 wild collected in Korea.
- Denver Botanic Gardens, neither acc. no. nor origin disclosed.
- Morton Arboretum acc. no. 50-95 wild collected, Liaoning Province, China.
- Europe
- Great Fontley Farm, Fareham, UK, Butterfly Conservation Elm Trials plantation, Platts M 10, (from seed collected Hokkaido University campus, Sapporo, Japan).
- Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia acc. no. 18132,3,4,5,8.
- Oxford University Botanic Garden, Harcourt Arboretum, UK, acc. no. 1981061.1, origin undisclosed. 5 specimens in Bluebell Wood.
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK, acc. nos. 20022150 (grown from seed, Lawyer Nursery, USA); 20030906 and 20030907, both wild collected in South Korea.
[edit] Nurseries
- North America
[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]
- ^ White, J & More, D. (2003). Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell's, London
- ^ Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue, circa 1920
- ^ 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
- ^ 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, UK
- ^ Mittempergher, L. & Santini, A. (2004) The history of elm breeding. Investigacion agraria: Sistemas y recursos forestales 13(1): 161-177 (2004)
- ^ Went, J. A. (1954). The Dutch elm disease - Summary of 15 years' hybridisation and selection work (1937-1952). European Journal of Plant Pathology, Vol 60, 2, March 1954.
