Ulmus minor var plotii
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| Ulmus minor var. plotii | ||||||||||||||||
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| Ulmus minor var. plotii Mill. |
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Ulmus minor var. plotii Mill., known as Plot's Elm, Goodyer's Elm or Lock Elm, was a tree with a most distinctive habit. Before the advent of Dutch elm disease, to which it has proved very susceptible, this slender tree grew to a height of 30 m and was chiefly characterized by a crooked trunk curving near the summit, supporting a few short ascending branches to form a narrow, cocked crown; Richens [1] likened its appearance to an ostrich feather. The obovate- to elliptic-acuminate leaves are small, rarely > 4 cm in length, with comparatively few marginal teeth, usually < 70. The upper surface is dull, with a scattering of minute tubercles and hairs. The samarae rarely ripen, but when mature are narrowly obovate, < 13 mm in length, with a triangular open notch [2] [3]. Like other forms of the Field Elm, the tree suckers freely and is thus not considered endangered.
The tree was first described by Goodyer in 1633. It is only found in England, where it is most commonly encountered in the Midlands, notably around the River Witham in Lincolnshire. As with other members of the Field Elm group, the taxonomy of this tree is a matter of contention, several authorities [4] [5] [6] [7] recognizing it as a species in its own right. Indeed, it is as U. plotii that the specimens held by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place are listed. The UK Champion Tree is at Romney Gardens, Kendal, Cumbria; listed as var. lockii, its dimensions were 28 m high, 87 cm d.b.h., when last measured in 1996 [8].
There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be available from any nurseries.
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[edit] Hybrids & hybrid cultivars
- Ulmus × elegantissima, a natural U. glabra × U. minor var. plotii hybrid led to the selection of the dwarf cultivar 'Jacqueline Hillier'.
- Ulmus × viminalis, U. minor subsp. minor × U. minor var. plotii: another natural crossing, England, 1677, resulting in the hybrid cultivars: 'Aurea', 'Marginata', 'Pulverulenta'.
[edit] Arbroreta etc. accessions
- North America
- Bartlett tree nurseries, acc. nos. 7771, 00-108, as U. plotii, provenances not disclosed.
- Europe
- Brighton & Hove City Council, UK, NCCPG, Elm Collection, no details available.
- Cambridge Botanic Garden [2], University of Cambridge, UK, as U. coritana var. angustifolia, no accession details available.
- Romney Gardens, Cumbria, UK. UK champion 28 m high, 87 cm d.b.h. (1996)[9].
- Royal Botanic Garden, Wakehurst Place, UK, as U. plotii, acc. no. 1912-59402, donated by Augustine Henry, acc. nos. 1975-6181, 1975-6195, 1977-6692, all collected by Melville.
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK, as U. plotii, acc. no. 1969-16753, (planted 1958), donated by Melville.
[edit] Etymology
The tree was named for Dr Robert Plot, 17th century English naturalist [3]. The origin of the synonym Lock Elm is obscure, however the synonym Goodyer's Elm can be traced to Goodyer's description of an elm found between Lymington and Christchurch, as published in Johnstone's edition of Gerarde's Herball 1478, (1633).
[edit] References
- ^ Richens, R. H. (1968). The correct designation of the European field elms. Feddes Repertorium 79: 1-2.
- ^ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848-1929. Private publication. [1]
- ^ White, J. & More, D. (2002). Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell's, London.
- ^ Coleman, M., Hollingsworth, M. L. and Hollingsworth, P. M. (2000). Application of RAPDs to the critical taxonomy of the English endemic elm Ulmus plotii Druce. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 133: 241-262.
- ^ Armstrong, J. V. & Sell, P. D. (1996). A revision of the British elms (Ulmus L., Ulmaceae): the historical background. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 120: 39-50.
- ^ Stace, C. A. (1997). New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Melville, R. (1978). On the discrimination of species in hybrid swarms with special reference to Ulmus and the nomenclature of U. minor (Mill.) and U. carpinifolia (Gled.). Taxon 27: 345-351.
- ^ Tree Register Of the British Isles
- ^ Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, ISBN 9781873580615.
