| Ulmus minor 'Cretensis' | |
|---|---|
| Species | Ulmus minor |
| Cultivar | 'Cretensis' |
| Origin | Crete |
The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Cretensis' [:from Crete] was first mentioned by Nicholson in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs Vol.2 (1896), as Ulmus campestris var. cretensis, without description. [1] [2] A 1908 herbarium specimen at Kew Gardens with an accompanying description [3] suggests that 'Cretensis' is not synonymous with Ulmus minor var. canescens, also present on Crete. [4] [5]
On the Kew Herbarium specimen Augustin Ley added the description: "All parts [of the shoots and upper leaf-surface] very glabrous and smooth; [on the leaf underside] axils and leaf-surface along mid-rib hairy; non glandular". [3] The specimen shows obovate leaves, 4 to 6 cm long by 3 to 5 wide, with a small tapering tip, biserrate or triserrate margin, and a 5 mm petiole.
See under Ulmus minor .
It is not known whether 'Cretensis' remains in cultivation. An old field elm by the 11th-century Byzantine church of St Nicholas, Kyriakosellia, Apokoronas, western Crete, [6] is in the locality where 'Cretensis' herbarium specimens were collected in the early 20th century, [7] and outside the small area in central Crete where 'Canescens' has been found. [5] Sfikas (2011), however, refers to 'Canescens' in the Apokoronas area. [4]