Ulmus minor 'Rueppellii'

Ulmus minor
Cultivar	'Rueppellii'
Origin	Europe

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Rueppellii' is of unknown origin. First listed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in Catalogue 73, p. 124, 1888–89, as Ulmus campestris Rueppelli, and later by Krüssmann in Handb. Laubgeh, 2: 535, 1962, as a cultivar.

Description

A tree with a single stem, and numerous ascending branches forming a globose or ovoid crown, much like 'Umbraculifera'.^[1] The branches are slightly corky, and the branchlets pubescent, bearing small leaves similar to those of the Cornish Elm.

Pests and diseases

A specimen at the Ryston Hall , Norfolk, arboretum, obtained from the Späth nursery before 1914,^[2] was killed by the earlier strain of Dutch elm disease Ophiostoma ulmi prevalent in the 1930s.

Cultivation

Probably extinct. Two specimens were grown at Kew Gardens before the First World War, obtained from the Barbier nursery, France.^[3]

Etymology

The tree is almost certainly named for T. Rueppell, owner of the Smith & Co nursery in Hamburg during the latter part of the 19th century.

References

1. Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University.
2. Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue, circa 1920
3. Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848-1929. Private publication, Edinburgh.