Ulmus × hollandica 'Smithii'
| Ulmus × hollandica | |
|---|---|
| Hybrid parentage | U. glabra × U. minor |
| Cultivar | 'Smithii' |
| Origin | Nottingham, England |
The hybrid elm cultivar 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 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]
Description
'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]<ref name=Hilliers'>Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.</ref>
Cultivation
'Smithii' was grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and at the National Botanic Gardens , Glasnevin, Ireland, before the First World War, [3] but is now probably extinct.
Synonymy
- Ulmus campestris pendula: Masters Hort. Duroverni 66, 1831
- Ulmus campestris 'Pendula': Krüssmann , Handb. Laubgeh. 2, p. 53, 1831–32.
- Ulmus × hollandica var. pendula (Loudon) Rehder, Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ges. 24: 217 (1915 publ. 1916).
- Ulmus glabra var. pendula Loudon, Arb. Frut. Brit.: 1405 (1838).
- Ulmus montana var. Smithii Hort.: Kew
- Ulmus pendula: Masters Hort. Duroverni 66, 1831 (not Willdenow)
- Ulmus Smithii Henry: Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. 1913. Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Private publication.
References
- ↑ Hanham, F. (1857). A Manual for the Park (Royal Victoria Park, Bath). Longman, London.
- ↑ Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University.
- ↑ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108069380