Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera'

Ulmus minor

'Umbraculifera', Netherlands.
Cultivar 'Umbraculifera'
Origin Iran

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera' was originally cultivated in Iran, where it was widely planted as an ornamental, and occasionally grew to a great size. Litvinov considered it a cultivar of a wild elm with a dense crown that he called U. densa, from the mountains of Turkestan, Ferghana, and Aksu. [1] Non-rounded forms of 'Umbraculifera' are also found in Isfahan Province, Iran.[2] Zielińksi in Flora Iranica considered it an U. minor cultivar.[3]

'Umbraculifera' was introduced to Europe in 1878 by the Späth nursery in Berlin, which had obtained it from a German gardener in the employ of the Shah of Persia, and it was subsequently planted along streets in Berlin.[1][4] The tree was introduced to the USA in 1912 as "Karagatch" (Ulmus densa syn. U. campestris (:minor) 'Umbraculifera') at the USDA's Chico Plant Introduction Station in California by Frank Meyer, who collected it from the Russian imperial estate at Murgrab, Turkestan (see photo taken by Meyer in Gallery). [5]

Description

The tree is distinguished by its dense, rounded, sometimes flat-topped habit.[6][7] In its rounded form it is always grafted onto U. minor standards. [1]

Pests and diseases

The tree is as vulnerable to Dutch elm disease as the species; a specimen at the Ryston Hall , Norfolk, arboretum, obtained from the Späth nursery before 1914,[8] was killed by the earlier strain of the disease in the 1930s.

Cultivation

The tree was introduced to the Caucasus, Armenia and Turkestan,[1] and it remains in cultivation in central and south-west Asia.[2] Bean remarked that the tree succeeded well on the continent (Europe) and in eastern North America, but was rarely planted in the UK.[9] Introduced to Australia, the tree was marketed in the early 20th century by the Gembrook Nursery near Melbourne and by Searl's Garden Emporium, Sydney, but it is not known whether the tree survives in that country. Despite its susceptibility to Dutch elm disease, it remains in commercial cultivation in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Notable trees

An avenue of the trees once grew at the Russian imperial estate of Murgrab at Bairam-ali near Merv, formerly Russian Turkestan.

Synonymy

Hybrid cultivars

Accessions

Europe

Nurseries

Europe

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Elwes, H. J., & Henry, A., (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII, p.1893. Private publication, Edinburgh, 1913.
  2. 1 2 3 Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Elm', (6): iranicaonline.org/articles/elm
  3. ↑ J. Zielińksi, 'Ulmaceae', Flora Iranica, ed. K. H. Rechinger (Graz, 1979)
  4. 1 2 Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University.
  5. ↑ Meyer, F. N. (1912). Seeds and plants imported during the period from January 1 to March 31, 1912: Inventory No.30, Nos 32829–32831. Bureau of Plant Industry - Bulletin No. 282. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1913.
  6. ↑ 'Elms grown in America', Arnoldia, arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu, 7 December 1951, p.87 [arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/.../1951-11--elms-grown-in-america.pdfCachedSimilar]
  7. ↑ Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera' photographs, Michigan State University Plant Encyclopedia
  8. ↑ Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue, circa 1920
  9. ↑ Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition. Murray, London.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.