| Ulmus × hollandica | |
|---|---|
Herbarium specimen, RBG Kew |
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| Details | |
| Hybrid parentage | U. glabra × U. minor |
| Cultivar | 'Smithii' |
| Origin | Nottingham, England |
Ulmus × hollandica 'Smithii', commonly known as the Downton Elm, was one of a number of cultivars arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with the Field Elm U. minor. The tree was originally planted at Downton Castle[3] near Ludlow, as one of a batch raised at Smith's Nursery, Worcester, England, from seeds obtained from a tree in Nottingham in 1810. Some Victorian writers confused 'Smithii' with U. glabra 'Horizontalis' because both featured weeping branches [1].
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'Smithii' made a small tree < 10 m high, with ascending branches bearing long pendulous shoots. The oval leaves are dark green and glabrous above, < 8.5 cm long by 4.0 cm wide, long acuminate at the apex [2] [3].
Probably extinct, although a small weeping elm grows in one of the car parks of the Seven Sisters Country Park near Friston, East Sussex. With leaves of similar dimensions and texture, it may be an example of 'Smithii', but with no other known survivors for comparison, confirmation is all but impossible.
'Smithii' was grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and at the National Botanic Gardens [4], Glasnevin, Ireland, before the First World War [4].