Ulmus glabra 'Nana'

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Ulmus glabra 'Nana'
EDIN-BG-1989-08.A.jpg
'Nana', Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (1989)
Species Ulmus glabra
Cultivar 'Nana'
OriginEurope

The dwarf wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Nana', a very slow growing shrub that with time forms a small tree, is of unknown origin. It was listed in the Simon-Louis (Metz, France) 1869 catalogue as Ulmus montana nana. [1] [2] Henry (1913), referring his readers to an account of the Kew specimen in the journal Woods and Forests, 1884, [3] suggested that it may have originated from a witch's broom. It is usually classified as a form of Ulmus glabra and is known widely as the 'Dwarf Wych Elm'. However, the ancestry of 'Nana' has been disputed in more recent years, Melville considering the specimen once grown at Kew to have been a cultivar of Ulmus × hollandica . [4]

Contents

Not to be confused with Loudon's U. campestris nana (1838), a dwarf field elm "with small, narrow, rough leaves", [5] or with Ulmus 'Monstrosa', a long-petioled dwarf field-elm cultivar sometimes referred to as 'Nana Monstrosa'. [6] [7]

Description

The tree rarely exceeds 5 m in height, but is often broader. [8] The dark green leaves are smaller than the wych type, 5–9 centimeters (2.0–3.5 in) long, often with one or two cusp-like lobes either side of the apex. [7] The thick twigs, short petiole and diminutive samara with seed close to base, all point to U. glabra origin. A specimen at Kew was described by Henry as 'a slow-growing hemispherical bush that has not increased appreciably in size for many years'. [2] Green describes 'Nana' as growing some 60 centimeters (24 in) in 10 to 12 years. [9]

Pests and diseases

The low height of the tree should ensure that it avoids colonization by Scolytus bark beetles and thus remain free of Dutch elm disease. It has been noted that shrub-elms are usually less prone to infection. [10]

Cultivation

The Späth nursery of Berlin marketed U. montana nana in the late 19th century. [11] It was introduced to the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada, in 1898. [12] Ulmus montana nana, 'Dwarf Scotch Elm', was introduced to the USA in the late 19th century, appearing as a "new variety" in the 1897 catalogue of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York. [13] A 'Nana' appeared as U. nana, 'Dwarf American elm', a "very small" elm with compact habit, in Kelsey's 1904 catalogue, New York. [14] (Other European elms described as 'American' by various nurseries include 'Vegeta', [15] 'Scampstoniensis', [16] [17] and 'Lutescens'. [2] ) There was a well-grown specimen in Missouri Botanical Garden in the mid 20th century. [18] The tree is still occasionally found in arboreta and gardens in the UK, Europe and North America. It is not known in Australasia. 'Nana' remains in cultivation in Europe (see Nurseries).

A shrub elm sold in the Netherlands as U. 'Monstrosa' appeared from its leaf and short petiole to be 'Nana', [19] while one cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the early 20th century as 'Nana' appears from its leaf and long petiole to have been 'Monstrosa'. [20] The current RBGE 'Nana' is the authentic wych clone (2017).

Notable trees

The specimen of 'Nana' in the University Parks (North Walk), Oxford, UK, has attained a height of about 6 m (2017). [21] Another grew in Alexandra Park, East Sussex, UK, measured 6 m high, 38 cm dia. at 1 m from ground in 1980 but is possibly now lost. [22]

Synonymy

Accessions

North America
Europe

Nurseries

North America

None known

Europe

Related Research Articles

<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Dampieri Elm cultivar

The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Dampieri', one of a number of cultivars arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with a variety of Field Elm U. minor, is believed to have originated in continental Europe. It was marketed in Wetteren, Belgium, in 1851 as 'Orme de Dampier', then in the Low Countries in 1853, and later identified as Ulmus campestris var. nuda subvar. fastigiata DampieriHort., Vilv. by Wesmael (1862).

<i>Ulmus</i> Exoniensis Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Exoniensis', the Exeter elm, was discovered near Exeter, England, in 1826, and propagated by the Ford & Please nursery in that city. Traditionally believed to be a cultivar of the Wych Elm U. glabra, its fastigiate shape when young, upward-curving tracery, small samarae and leaves, late leaf-flush and late leaf-fall, taken with its south-west England provenance, suggest a link with the Cornish Elm, which shares these characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis'</span> Elm cultivar

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis', commonly known as the Weeping Wych Elm or Horizontal Elm, was discovered in a Perth nursery circa 1816. The tree was originally identified as 'Pendula' by Loddiges (London), in his catalogue of 1836, a name adopted by Loudon two years later in Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, 3: 1398, 1838, but later sunk as a synonym for 'Horizontalis'.

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Atropurpurea' [:dark purple] was raised from seed at the Späth nursery in Berlin, Germany, circa 1881, as Ulmus montana atropurpurea, and was marketed there till the 1930s, being later classed as a cultivar by Boom. Henry (1913) included it under Ulmus montana cultivars but noted that it was "very similar to and perhaps identical with" Ulmus purpureaHort. At Kew it was renamed U. glabraHuds. 'Atropurpurea', but Späth used U. montana both for wych elm and for some U. × hollandica hybrids, so his name does not necessarily imply a wych elm cultivar. The Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, however, which marketed 'Atropurpurea' in the 1950s, listed it in later years as a form of U. glabraHuds..

<i>Ulmus</i> Crispa Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Crispa' [:'curled', the leaf margin], sometimes known as the Fernleaf Elm, arose before 1800 and was first listed by Willdenow as U. crispa (1809). Audibert listed an U. campestrisLinn. 'Crispa', orme à feuilles crépues [:'frizzy-leaved elm'], in 1817, and an Ulmus urticaefolia [:'nettle-leaved elm'] in 1832; the latter is usually taken to be a synonym. Loudon considered the tree a variety of U. montana (1838). In the 19th century, Ulmus × hollandica cultivars, as well as those of Wych Elm, were often grouped under Ulmus montana. Elwes and Henry (1913) listed 'Crispa' as a form of wych elm, but made no mention of the non-wych samara.

<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Serpentina Elm cultivar

The putative hybrid cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Serpentina' is an elm of unknown provenance and doubtful status. Henry identified it as intermediate between U. glabra and U. minor, a view accepted by Bean and by Melville, who believed that the specimens at Kew bearing the name 'Serpentina' were U. glabra "introgressed by U. carpinifolia" [: U. minor] and were similar to but "distinct from 'Camperdownii'".

<i>Ulmus minor</i> Propendens Elm cultivar

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Propendens', described by Schneider in 1904 as U. glabra (:minor) var. suberosa propendens, Weeping Cork-barked elm, was said by Krüssmann (1976) to be synonymous with the U. suberosa pendula listed by Lavallée without description in 1877. Earlier still, Loudon's Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum had included an illustration of a pendulous "cork-barked field elm", U. campestris suberosa. An U. campestris suberosa pendula was in nurseries by the 1870s.

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Monstrosa' [: "monstrous", "strange"], a shrub-elm with fasciated branching, is believed to have originated in France, where it was first listed by Lavallée in Arboretum Segrezianum (1877) as a form of Field Elm, Ulmus campestris var. monstrosa, but without description. Though its long slender 2 cm petiole is not a feature of wych elm U. glabraHuds., and is even less likely in a shrub form of this species, the wych-cultivar error arose early, perhaps because the Späth nursery of Berlin, using Ulmus montana both for some Ulmus × hollandica cultivars and for wych varieties, listed it c.1890 as Ulmus montana monstrosa. Hartwig in Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch (1892) followed with Ulmus scabra monstrosa, an error repeated by Krüssman (1962) and by Green (1964), with their U. glabraHuds. 'Monstrosa'.

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Albo-Variegata' was first mentioned by Weston in 1770 as U. glabra var. variegata. An U. campestris latifolia albo-variegataHort. was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, from the 1890s to the 1930s.

<i>Ulmus</i> Australis Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Australis' [:'southern'], reputedly endemic to south-eastern France, Switzerland and Italy, is a little-known tree considered by various authorities to have been a variety of Ulmus minor or Ulmus × hollandica.

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Corylifolia Purpurea' was raised from seed of 'Purpurea' and described as U. campestris corylifolia purpurea by Pynaert in 1879. An U. campestris corylifolia purpurea was distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, corrected the U. campestris corylifolia purpurea of their 1930s' lists to U. glabraHuds.corylifolia purpurea by the 1950s. Green listed 'Corylifolia Purpurea' as a form of U. glabra.

The putative Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Dovaei', or Doué elm, was raised by the André Leroy nursery at Angers, France, as Ulmus dovaei, before 1868. The Baudriller nursery of Angers marketed it as Ulmus Dowei, "orme de Doué", suggesting a link with the royal nurseries at nearby Doué-la-Fontaine, which stocked elm. Green considered it a form of wych.

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Nigra', commonly known as the Black Irish Elm, was found in the Kilkenny area c.1770 by the father of nurseryman John Robertson of Kilkenny, who later cultivated it. Robertson stated that he had not seen the form outside Ireland. It was listed by Loddiges (1830) as Ulmus nigra, and described by Loudon in Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum (1838), as Ulmus montana nigra. 'Nigra' is not mentioned in either Elwes and Henry's or Bean's classic works on British trees.

<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Superba Elm cultivar

The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Superba' is one of a number of intermediate forms arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with a variety of Field Elm U. minor. Boulger tentatively (1881) and Green more confidently (1964) equated it with a hybrid elm cultivated in the UK by Masters at Canterbury in the early 19th century, known as "Masters' Canterbury Seedling" or simply the Canterbury Elm. Loudon examined a specimen sent by Masters and considered it a hybrid, calling it U. montana glabra major.

<i>Ulmus</i> Scampstoniensis Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Scampstoniensis', the Scampston Elm or Scampston Weeping Elm, is said to have come from Scampston Hall, Yorkshire, England, before 1810. Loudon opined that a tree of the same name at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden in 1834, 18 feet (5.5 m) high at 8 years old "differed little from the species". Henry described the tree, from a specimen growing in Victoria Park, Bath, as "a weeping form of U. nitens" [:Ulmus minor ]; however Green considered it "probably a form of Ulmus × hollandica". Writing in 1831, Loudon said that the tree was supposed to have originated in America. U. minor is not, however, an American species, so if the tree was brought from America, it must originally have been taken there from Europe. There was an 'American Plantation' at Scampston, which may be related to this supposition. A number of old specimens of 'Scampstoniensis' in this plantation were blown down in a great gale of October 1881; younger specimens were still present at Scampston in 1911.

<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Wentworthii Pendula Elm cultivar

Ulmus × hollandica 'Wentworthii Pendula', commonly known as the Wentworth Elm or Wentworth Weeping Elm, is a cultivar with a distinctive weeping habit that appears to have been introduced to cultivation towards the end of the 19th century. The tree is not mentioned in either Elwes and Henry's or Bean's classic works on British trees. The earliest known references are Dutch and German, the first by de Vos in Handboek tot de praktische kennis der voornaamste boomen (1890). At about the same time, the tree was offered for sale by the Späth nursery of Berlin as Ulmus Wentworthi pendulaHort.. The 'Hort.' in Späth's 1890 catalogue, without his customary label "new", confirms that the tree was by then in nurseries as a horticultural elm. De Vos, writing in 1889, states that the Supplement to Volume 1 includes entries announced since the main volume in 1887, putting the date of introduction between 1887 and 1889.

<i>Ulmus</i> Glabra Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Glabra' was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s as U. glabraMill.. Not to be confused with the species U. glabraHuds..

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Gigantea' was listed as U. montana var. giganteaHort. by Kirchner (1864). An U. montana gigantea was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s. It did not appear in Späth's 1903 catalogue. A specimen at Kew was judged by Henry to be "not distinct enough to deserve a special name". Both Späth and the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, supplied it in the 1930s.

<i>Ulmus glabra</i> Concavaefolia Elm cultivar

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Concavaefolia', a form with up-curling leaves, was listed in Beissner's Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (1903) as Ulmus montana cucullataHort. [:'hooded', the leaf], a synonym of the Ulmus scabraMill. [:glabraHuds.] var. concavaefolia of herbarium specimens. An Ulmus campestris cucullata, of uncertain species, had appeared in Loddiges' 1823 list, but Loudon's brief description (1838) of concave- and hooded-leaved elms was insufficient for later botanists to distinguish them. The earliest unambiguous description appears to be that of Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).

<i>Ulmus glabra</i> Superba Elm cultivar

The wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabraHuds. 'Superba', Blandford Elm, with unusually large leaves, was raised by Gill's of Blandford Forum, Dorset, in the early 1840s as Ulmus montana superba and was quickly distributed to other UK nurseries. It was confirmed as a form of wych, and first described, by Lindley in The Gardeners' Chronicle, 1845, later descriptions being added by Gill (1845) and Morren (1848), who called it U. montana var. superba. Morren had adopted the name 'Superba' from the Fulham nurseryman Osborne in 1844, who supplied him with the tree – presumably one of the nurseries supplied by Gill. Morren states that 'Superba', already in cultivation in England, was introduced to Belgium by Denis Henrard of Saint Walburge, Liège, that in 1848 it had been present in Belgium for only three years, and that this variety was the one described as 'Superba' by Osborne, whom Henrard had visited at his nursery in Fulham in September 1844. 'Blandford Elm', with leaves of the same dimensions, was soon for sale in the USA.

References

  1. ↑ Simon-Louis Catalogue, p. 97, 1869
  2. 1 2 3 Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. 7. p. 1868.
  3. ↑ Woods and Forests, 1884, p.482
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Loudon, John Claudius (1838). Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum. Vol. 3. p. 1404., p.1378
  6. ↑ Rehder, Alfred. "Ulmaceae". Bibliography of cultivated trees and shrubs hardy in the cooler temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. pp. 135–143. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 Krüssman, Gerd, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs (1984 vol. 3)
  8. ↑ White, J. & More, D. (2003) Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell's, London.
  9. ↑ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts, Kris Michielsen and Eike Jablonski, 'Untraced weeping broadleaf cultivars: an overview', dendrology.lu
  11. ↑ Katalog (PDF). Vol. 108. Berlin, Germany: L. Späth Baumschulenweg. 1902–1903. pp. 132–133.
  12. ↑ Saunders, William; Macoun, William Tyrrell (1899). Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm (2 ed.). pp. 74–75.
  13. ↑ Ellwanger & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, 1897 catalogue; p.9
  14. ↑ General catalogue, 1904 : choice hardy trees, shrubs, evergreens, roses, herbaceous plants, fruits, etc. New York: Frederick W. Kelsey. 1904. p. 18.
  15. ↑ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, 3: 1398, 1404
  16. ↑ Winchelsea, C.C. (1910). "Weeping trees". The Gardeners' Magazine. 53: 501.
  17. ↑ Anthony waterer's catalogue. 1880. p. 20.
  18. ↑ 'Nana' in Missouri Botanical Garden; Beilmann. A. P., 'Some Ornamental Elms', Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin, Vol.32, No.4, April 1944; p.74
  19. ↑ Photographs of plant sold as 'Monstrosa' in Holland: Herman Geers Dwarf & Miniature Plants,
  20. ↑ barcodes E00824863 & E00212441
  21. ↑ parks.ox.ac.uk/tree/alpha.htm
  22. ↑ Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, ISBN   978-1-873580-61-5.
  23. ↑ Späth, Ludwig (1930). Späth-Buch, 1720-1930. Berlin: Self published. pp. 311–313, 351–352.
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