Ulmus × viminalis
| Ulmus × viminalis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hybrid parentage | U. minor × U. minor 'Plotii' |
| Origin | England |
Ulmus × viminalis Lodd. is an elm hybrid derived from the crossing of U. minor × U. minor 'Plotii'. Bean said that the cultivar, which he called Ulmus 'Viminalis', is one form of a natural hybrid, U. × viminalis, which occurs from Essex to Oxfordshire.[2] According to Henry, this was the tree first described in 1677 by Robert Plot from specimens growing in an avenue and coppice at Hanwell near Banbury,[3] though the name 'Plot's Elm' was later given by George Claridge Druce not to this hybrid but to one of its parents.[4]
The tree was once commonly treated as a variety of Ulmus procera, before it was determined as a hybrid by Melville.[5]
Description
Bean's description, "a narrow-headed, rather slender tree", and Henry's "tree with ascending branches, pendulous branchlets, and sparse foliage", accord with what would be expected from a crossing of Plot Elm and Smooth-leaved Elm. Ulmus × viminalis is a slow-growing tree which can ultimately reach 20 m in height.[6][7] Leaves vary according to U. minor subsp. minor parentage, from obovate-elliptic to narrowly elliptic; they are deeply serrated, < 5.0 cm long, nearly symmetrical at the base and long-acuminate at the tip, with prominent white axil tufts on the undersides.[2][6] The cultivar form can be mistaken for a variety of birch;[7] the tree has also been likened to Zelkova × verschaffeltii.<ref name=Hilliers'>Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.</ref>
Pests and diseases
The cultivar is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease; a specimen at the Ryston Hall , Norfolk, arboretum, obtained from the Späth nursery in Berlin before 1914,[8] was killed by the earlier strain of Dutch elm disease prevalent in the 1930s.
Cultivation
A few specimens survive in arboreta in the UK, USA, and Australia.
Synonymy
- Ulmus antarctica Hort.: Kirchner, in Petzold & Kirchner, Arb. Muscav. 551, 1864.
- Ulmus campestris 'Betulinoides': Dieck (Zöschen, Germany) in Haupt-Cat. Nachtrag 1, 1887.
- Ulmus campestris var. betulaefolia: Loddiges (Hackney, London) catalogue of 1836, and later by Loudon in Arb. Frut. Brit. 3: 1376, 1838.
- U. campestris var. microphylla pendula Hort.: Hartwig & Rümpler, Ill. Geholzb. 580, 1875, as in synonymy.
- Ulmus campestris var. nuda subvar. incisa Hort.Vilv.: Wesmael , Bull. Fed. Soc. Hort. Belg. 1862: 389 1863. Considered "possibly U. viminalis" by Green (1964).
- Ulmus campestris var. stricta: Audibert, (Tonelle, Tarascon, France), Catalogue, 1817, p. 23.
- Ulmus campestris var. virginalis: Lavallée , Arb. Segrez. 235, 1877, in synonymy.
- ? Ulmus campestris viminalis stricta: Boulger , in Gard. Chron. II. 12: 298, 1879.
- Ulmus gracilis Hort.: Kirchner, in Petzold & Kirchner, Arb. Muscav. 551, 1864.
- Ulmus 'Masters's Twiggy'. Masters, W. Hortus Duroverni. 1831.
- Ulmus montana viminalis marmorata Hort.: Schelle in Beissner et al., Handb. Laubh.-Benenn. 85, 1903.
- Ulmus scabra viminalis gracilis Hort.: Dieck (Zöschen, Germany), Haupt-Cat. p. 82, 1885.
- Ulmus scabra viminalis pulverulenta Hort.: Dieck (Zöschen, Germany), Haupt-Cat. p. 82, 1885, and Dippel, Handb. Laubh. 2: 30, 1892.
- Ulmus suberosa betuloides Hort.: Kirchner, in Petzold & Kirchner, Arb. Muscav. 553, 1864.
- Ulmus viminalis pendula: Masters, in Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc. 13: 90, 1891.
Accessions
North America
- Arnold Arboretum. Acc. no. 499-53
Europe
- Brighton & Hove City Council, NCCPG Elm Collection UK champion: Upper Larkrise Wood, 23 m high, 50 cm d.b.h., last surveyed in 1995.[9]
- Cambridge Botanic Garden , University of Cambridge, UK. No details available.
Australasia
- Benalla Botanic Gardens. Three specimens; listed on the Significant Tree Register of the National Trust., they are the only known cultivated examples of the hybrid in the country.
References
- ↑ Pollarded 1984; photo 2006 vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;70863
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, W. J. (1988) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 8th edition, Murray, London, p.659
- ↑ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. p.1906. Private publication.
- ↑ Wilkinson, Gerald, Epitaph for the Elm, London 1978, p.72
- ↑ Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. p.1906. Private publication.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Browne, D. J. (1846). The Trees of America. Harper & Brothers, New York.
- ↑ Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue, circa 1920
- ↑ Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, ISBN 978-1-873580-61-5.