Ulmus minor 'Argenteo-Variegata'

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Ulmus minor 'Argenteo-Variegata'
Ulmus minor Variegata.jpg
'Argenteo-Variegata', Benalla Botanic Garden, Australia
Species Ulmus minor
Cultivar 'Argenteo-Variegata'
OriginEurope

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Argenteo-Variegata' or simply 'Variegata', known in Australasia and North America as Silver Elm [1] [2] or Tartan Elm, [3] is said to have been cultivated in France from 1772. Green noted that variegated forms of Field Elm "arise frequently, and several clones may have been known under this name". [4] Dumont de Courset (1802) listed an U. campestris var. glabra variegata, [5] Loudon (1838) an U. nitens var. variegata, and Wesmael (1863) an U. campestris var. nuda microphylla variegata. [6] [7]

Contents

'Variegata' is not to be confused with the variegated English Elm cultivar, U. minor 'Atinia Variegata', which has the broader, almost orbicular leaves of the type.

Description

The tree's foliage is randomly blotched and speckled with creamy white, the colour of the leaves on the same tree ranging from almost completely cream to totally green. [8] [9] [10] In 1915 the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles described "a tall Silver Elm" at Myddleton House, his lifelong home at Bulls Cross in Enfield, Middlesex:

"In some seasons it is an absolutely silver pillar from top to toe, with more than half of every leaf pure milky white. Another year it will hardly show the variegation, and in yet another it may be spangled with minute silver specks all over the leaves, but with no large pure white markings. It turns to fine gold in some Novembers. I believe that it is in the seasons that it is greenest that it turns the finest autumn yellow. Mr. Elwes tells me that it is a very fine specimen of a variegated elm, and should have been figured for his great book [note 1] if he had seen it in time, and also that it is unusual in being on its own roots, whereas most of them are grafted. This one suckers up all over the lawn and in the adjacent flower beds, and reproduces all its vagaries of variegation in its offspring." [11]

Bowles' photograph and the name "Silver Elm" suggest that the Myddleton House tree was U. minor 'Variegata', rather than Variegated English Elm.

Etymology

As the blotching and margination of the foliage may appear more silver than cream, the cultivar is sometimes listed as U. minor 'Argenteo-Variegata'. [12]

Pests and diseases

The cultivar is as susceptible to Dutch elm disease as the species.

Cultivation

Henry cited Loudon's report that 'Variegata' was cultivated in Chiswick in the early 19th century. [13] The Späth nursery of Berlin supplied the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada, with an U. campestris variegata argentea (1893) and an U. campestris fol. argenteis variegatis (1899), which may have been Silver Elm or Tartan Elm, as well as an U. campestris fol. argenteis marginatis (1897), possibly variegated English Elm. [14] An U. fol. argent. var. minor, a "small, silver, variegated variety", appeared in the 1902 catalogue of the Bobbink and Atkins nursery, Rutherford, New Jersey. [15] An Ulmus medio argentea variegata, "a pretty silver-variegated variety", probably Silver Elm, appeared in early 20th-century nursery catalogues in Australia. [16] Silver Elm remains in commercial cultivation in Europe, and is commonly cultivated in Australasia and North America, where a number of mature specimens survive (see under Accessions).

Notable trees

In the Netherlands, a 25m tall specimen known as the Rococo Iep (:Elm), planted in 1916, grows at Houten, next to the old church. [18] A group of 5 grows along a canal in Alkmaar, on the Kwerenbolwerk, just after the bridge. [19] In Australia, several trees planted in 1897 stand in Geelong Botanic Gardens, Victoria. [20] 'Atinia Variegata' is also found among the elms lining the Avenue of Honour at Ballarat, while approximately 50 trees grow at The Nook, Sunbury, Victoria. [21] There are two mature trees in the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Hobart. [22] In the United States, a specimen in Portland, Oregon, has been designated a 'Heritage Tree'. [23]

Synonymy

Accessions

North America

Europe

Australasia

Nurseries

North America

None known.

Europe

Australasia

Notes

  1. Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. p.1895

Related Research Articles

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

The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Stricta', known as Cornish elm, was commonly found in South West England, Brittany, and south-west Ireland, until the arrival of Dutch elm disease in the late 1960s. The origin of Cornish elm in the south-west of Britain remains a matter of contention. It is commonly assumed to have been introduced from Brittany. It is also considered possible that the tree may have survived the ice ages on lands to the south of Cornwall long since lost to the sea. Henry thought it "probably native in the south of Ireland". Dr Max Coleman of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, arguing in his 2002 paper on British elms that there was no clear distinction between species and subspecies, suggested that known or suspected clones of Ulmus minor, once cultivated and named, should be treated as cultivars, preferred the designation U. minor 'Stricta' to Ulmus minor var. stricta. The DNA of 'Stricta' has been investigated and the cultivar is now known to be a clone.

<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 minor</i> Atinia Variegata Elm cultivar

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Atinia Variegata', the Variegated-leaved common English Elm, formerly known as U. procera 'Argenteo-Variegata' and described by Weston (1770) as U. campestris argenteo-variegata, is believed to have originated in England in the seventeenth century and to have been cultivated since the eighteenth. The Oxford botanist Robert Plot mentioned in a 1677 Flora a variegated elm in Dorset, where English Elm is the common field elm. Elwes and Henry (1913) had no doubt that the cultivar was of English origin, "as it agrees with the English Elm in all its essential characters". At the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, the tree was listed as U. procera 'Marginata', as the variegation is sometimes most obvious on leaf-margins.

<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 Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Marginata', a variegated form of Ulmus minor 'Viminalis', was first listed as Ulmus campestris var. viminalis marginataHort. by Kirchner in 1864. Both Van Houtte and Späth marketed an U. campestris viminalis marginata in the late 19th century.

<i>Ulmus</i> Purpurea Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Purpurea', the purple-leaved elm, was listed and described as Ulmus Stricta Purpurea, the 'Upright Purpled-leaved Elm', by John Frederick Wood, F.H.S., in The Midland Florist and Suburban Horticulturist (1851), as Ulmus purpureaHort. by Wesmael (1863), and as Ulmus campestris var. purpurea, syn. Ulmus purpureaHort. by Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864). Koch's description followed (1872), the various descriptions appearing to tally. Henry (1913) noted that the Ulmus campestris var. purpureaPetz. & Kirchn. grown at Kew as U. montana var. purpurea was "probably of hybrid origin", Ulmus montana being used at the time both for wych elm cultivars and for some of the U. × hollandica group. His description of Kew's U. montana var. purpurea matches that of the commonly-planted 'Purpurea' of the 20th century. His discussion of it (1913) under U. campestris, however, his name for English Elm, may be the reason why 'Purpurea' is sometimes erroneously called U. procera 'Purpurea' (as in USA and Sweden.

<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 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.

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

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Webbiana', or Webb's curly-leaf elm, distinguished by its unusual leaves that fold upwards longitudinally, was said to have been raised at Lee's Nursery, Hammersmith, London, circa 1868, and was first described in that year in The Gardener's Chronicle and The Florist and Pomologist. It was marketed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as U. campestris WebbianaHort., and by Louis van Houtte of Ghent as U. campestris crispa (Webbiana). Henry thought 'Webbiana' a form of Cornish Elm, adding that it "seems to be identical with the insufficiently described U. campestris var. concavaefoliaLoudon" – a view repeated by Krüssmann.

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Albo-Dentata' first featured in the Baudriller nursery catalogue of 1880 as U. microphylla foliis albo-dentata. It was distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th century, as U. campestris microphylla fol. albo-dentatis.

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Cucullata', the Hooded elm, was listed by Loddiges of Hackney, London, in their catalogue of 1823 as Ulmus campestris cucullata, and later by Loudon in Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum (1838), as U. campestris var. cucullata.

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Argenteo-Marginata' was first mentioned by Deegen in Deutsches Magazin für Garten- und Blumenkund (1879), as Ulmus campestris elegans foliis argenteo-marginatis. An U. campestris fol. argenteo-marginataHort. was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, from the 1890s to the 1930s.

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Picturata' was listed in the 1880 catalogue of Simon-Louis, as Ulmus picturataCripps, suggesting an English origin in the nursery of Thomas Cripps of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who marketed elm cultivars in the 1860s. Clibrans' nursery of Altrincham, Cheshire, marketed it in the early 20th century as Ulmus campestris picturata variegata, their Ulmus campestris being English Elm. Elwes and Henry (1913) placed it under English Elm cultivars.

<i>Ulmus minor</i> Viminalis Pulverulenta Elm cultivar

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Pulverulenta' (:'powdery'), also known as 'Viminalis Variegata', a variegated form of U. minor 'Viminalis', was first mentioned by Dieck, in 1885 as U. scabra viminalis pulverulentaHort., but without description. Nursery, arboretum, and herbarium specimens confirm that this cultivar was sometimes regarded as synonymous with U. minor 'Viminalis Marginata', first listed in 1864, which is variegated mostly on the leaf margin. It is likely, however, that 'Pulverulenta' was the U. 'Viminalis Variegata', Variegated Twiggy-branched elm, that was listed and described by John Frederick Wood, F.H.S., in The Midland Florist and Suburban Horticulturist 1847 and 1851, pre-dating both Kirchner and Dieck. Wood did not specify the nature of the variegation.

<i>Ulmus minor</i> Umbraculifera Gracilis Elm cultivar

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera Gracilis' was obtained as a sport of 'Umbraculifera' by the Späth nursery of Berlin c.1897. It was marketed by the Späth nursery in the early 20th century, and by the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, in the 1930s.

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Microphylla Pendula', the Weeping small-leaved elm, was first listed by the Travemünde nursery, Lübeck, and described by Kirchner in Petzold & Kirchner's Arboretum Muscaviense (1864), as Ulmus microphylla pendulaHort.. By the 1870s it was being marketed in nurseries in Europe and America as Ulmus campestris var. microphylla pendula.

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

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Pendula' was said to have been raised in Belgium in 1863. It was listed as Ulmus sativa pendula by C. de Vos in 1887, and by Boom in 1959 as a cultivar.

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

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Suberosa', commonly known as the Cork-barked elm, is a slow-growing or dwarf form of conspicuously suberose Field Elm. Of disputed status, it is considered a distinct variety by some botanists, among them Henry (1913), Krüssmann (1984), and Bean (1988), and is sometimes cloned and planted as a cultivar. Henry said the tree "appears to be a common variety in the forests of central Europe", Bean noting that it "occurs in dry habitats". By the proposed rule that known or suspected clones of U. minor, once cultivated and named, should be treated as cultivars, the tree would be designated U. minor 'Suberosa'. The Späth nursery of Berlin distributed an U. campestris suberosa alataKirchn. [:'corky-winged'] from the 1890s to the 1930s.

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

The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis' (:'willow-like'), occasionally referred to as the twiggy field elm, was raised by Masters in 1817, and listed in 1831 as U. campestris viminalis, without description. Loudon added a general description in 1838, and the Cambridge University Herbarium acquired a leaf specimen of the tree in 1866. Moss, writing in 1912, said that the Ulmus campestris viminalis from Cambridge University Herbarium was the only elm he thought agreed with the original Plot's elm as illustrated by Dr. Plot in 1677 from specimens growing in an avenue and coppice at Hanwell near Banbury. Elwes and Henry (1913) also considered Loudon's Ulmus campestris viminalis to be Dr Plot's elm. Its 19th-century name, U. campestris var. viminalis, led the cultivar to be classified for a time as a variety of English Elm. On the Continent, 'Viminalis' was the Ulmus antarcticaHort., 'zierliche Ulme' [:'dainty elm'] of Kirchner's Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).

The field elm cultivar 'Punctata' ['spotted', the leaf] first appeared in the 1886–87 catalogue of Simon-Louis of Metz, France, as U. campestris punctata. It was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s as U. campestris punctataSim.-Louis, the Späth catalogue listing it separately from U. campestris fol. argenteo-variegata and from U. campestris fol. argenteo-marginata. Green considered it possibly a synonym of the Field Elm cultivar 'Argenteo-Variegata'.

References

  1. treelogic.com.au/facts/ulmus-minor-variegata-silver-elm/
  2. flemings.com.au/ornamental_details.asp?CULT_ID=MINOR
  3. plantthis.co.nz/plant-information.asp?gardener=26019&tabview=photos&plantSpot=
  4. Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  5. Dumont de Courset, George Louis Marie (1802). Le botaniste cultivateur. Vol. 3. Paris, J.J. Fuch. p. 700.
  6. Bulletin de la Fédération des sociétés d'horticulture de Belgique 1862: 390, 1863
  7. "Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries".
  8. Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.
  9. "Herbarium specimen - WAG.1853149". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. [right-hand specimen, distinct from variegated English Elm on left]; "Herbarium specimen - L.4222713". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet labelled Ulmus sativa marmorata (1897)
  10. Photographs of Ulmus minor 'Variegata', www.ogrodyprzydomowe.eu
  11. Bowles, E. A. (1915). My Garden in Autumn and Winter. London. p. 165. Retrieved 20 December 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. Photograph of foliage of U. minor 'Argenteovariegata', www.flower.onego.ru (photo 6)
  13. Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. p.1895
  14. 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.). Ottawa. pp. 74–75.
  15. Bobbink and Atkins, Rutherford. N.J. 1902. p. 51.
  16. Nobelius nursery, Melbourne, 1916 catalogue
  17. U. minor 'Variegata' in Sarphatipark, Amsterdam; Leo Goudzwaard, 'Een nieuwe toekomst met nieuwe én oude iepen', p.9
  18. Sjoerd Rispens, "U. campestris 'Variegata' more than 25 m high in church grounds"; 18 March 2020, boomzorg.nl
  19. 'Tree edge and waterfront: a nature walk through the centre of Alkmaar'; animo-alkmaar.nl, 2013
  20. Spencer, Roger, ed., Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia, Vol. 2 (Sydney, 1995), p.114
  21. Silver elms, The Nook, Sunbury, Victoria - Google Maps, November 2014, access date: December 31, 2024
  22. 'Variegated elms on Playground Lawn' (Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Hobart) by Natalie Tapson, flickr.com
  23. 'Heritage' Silver Elm in Portland, Oregon, portlandoregon.gov/parks/article/479576?
  24. RBGV (Melbourne) Elm list