Ulmus glabra 'Crispa'

Ulmus glabra
'Crispa' leaf
Cultivar	'Crispa'
Origin	England

The wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Crispa' Loudon, was once sometimes known as the fernleaf elm.

Description

'Crispa' is a slow-growing tree with pendulous branches bearing narrow, linear to oblanceolate leaves up to 9 cm long by 3.5 cm broad, distinctively wrinkled and with numerous incised curved teeth.^[1] Elwes and Henry described it as a small tree,^[2] but mature specimens in Sweden have attained a height comparable to the type.^[3]

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  Leaves of 'Crispa'

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  Underside of 'Crispa' leaves

Pests and diseases

A cultivar of the wych elm, 'Crispa' is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

The tree was once to be found in botanical gardens across Britain, notably at Kew,^[4][5] but only one mature tree is now known to survive, at the Rosemoor Garden in Devon. Specimens survive in Sweden ^[6] and Latvia. As 'Crispa' was marketed in Poland in the 19th century by the Ulrich nursery,^[7] Warsaw, other specimens may still survive elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

The tree is not known to have been introduced to North America, but was once listed by nurseries in Australia in the early 20th century; there are no records of any survivors.^[8]

Synonymy

• Ulmus adantifolia Hort.: Kirchner, in Petzold & Kirchner, Arb. Muscav., 565, 1864. Name in synonymy.
• Ulmus campestris var. laciniatus: Mathieu, Fl. Gen. Belg. 1: 480, 1853.
• Ulmus urticaefolia: Audibert, Tonelle, Tarascon, France, Catalogue 2, p. 53, 1831-32.

Accessions

Europe

• Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK. Acc. no. 1069.
• Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. no. 18101
• Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Sweden. Acc. no. 1996-1558
• Rosemoor Garden, Torrington, Devon. One tree, in Lady Anne's Garden, planted 1976, 8 m high (2008); obtained from the D M van Gelderen nursery, Boskoop, Netherlands.
• Tallinn Botanic Garden, Estonia . No details available.

Nurseries

• Arboretum Waasland , Nieuwkerken-Waas, Belgium.
• Kwekerij Arborealis , Wilhelminaoord, Netherlands
• Szkółki Konieczko , Gogolin, Poland.

References

1. Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition. Murray, London.
2. Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII.  p.1867. Private publication, Edinburgh.
3. tradgardsakademin.se/aktuella-uppdateringar/ulmus-glabra-crispa-rynkalm
4. Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848-1929. Private publication, Edinburgh.
5. Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University.
6. Photographs of mature specimens of U. glabra 'Crispa' in Serafimerparken in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, and in Norrköping,
7. Ulrich, C. (1894), Katalog Drzew i Krezewow, C. Ulrich, Rok 1893–94, Warszawa
8. Spencer, R., Hawker, J. and Lumley, P. (1991). Elms in Australia. Australia: Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. ISBN 0-7241-9962-4.