Guernsey Elm
Encyclopedia
Ulmus minor subsp. sarniensis Stace , known variously as Guernsey Elm, Jersey Elm, Wheatley Elm, or Southampton Elm, once enjoyed much popularity in Britain
, where it was widely cultivated for street planting. However the Dutch elm disease
pandemic has now destroyed all the mature trees in the UK save a few at Preston Park
in Brighton
, Peasholm Park
in Scarborough, and in Edinburgh
.
are similar to those of the Field Elm
group in general; like others of the group, the tree suckers very freely. The tree often developed highly distinctive cancerous burrs on its branches or trunk.
on the Isle of Wight
by Albert the Prince Consort
, where it survives today as suckers along the lane leading to Barton Manor Farm. Guernsey Elm was also planted in large numbers across Amsterdam
, but eventually replaced by the similarly fastigiate but much more disease-resistant clone, 'Columella'
http://www.amsterdambomen.nl.
, Brighton
. The latter is 34 m tall with a trunk 115 cm d.b.h. (diameter at breast height
) in 2006, part of a line of trees averaging 30 m in height planted circa 1880. The tallest on record in the UK stands on Paradise Drive, Eastbourne
and had a height of 36m in 2007.
, whither it was introduced and propagated by Sir William Cooke in the early 19th century . The tree was also raised in great numbers at the Rogers nursery in Southampton
in the late 1800s , which probably explains the synonym Southampton Elm. Although the tree is also known as the Jersey
Elm, its introduction from Guernsey has been clearly chronicled.
'Dicksonii', commonly known as Dickson's Golden Elm, is a yellow-leaved form of the Guernsey Elm raised in Chester
in 1900 by Dickson's Nursery, which marketed it as the 'Golden Cornish Elm'. Slower-growing than the type and described as "an attractive tree" with leaves "a fine yellow colour, said to last till autumn", 'Dicksonii' was granted the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society
in 1969. Among the rare survivors are two specimens in Peasholm Park
, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, re-discovered in 1994 during a National Tree Register audit of the trees in Peasholm Glen. The horticulturalist Christopher Lloyd
used Dickson's Golden Elm in his celebrated long herbaceous borders at Great Dixter
Gardens, Northiam, East Sussex.
Europe
Australasia
None known.
Europe
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where it was widely cultivated for street planting. However the Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
pandemic has now destroyed all the mature trees in the UK save a few at Preston Park
Preston Park, Brighton
Preston Park is a park near Preston Village in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. It is located in Preston Park ward to the north of the centre of Brighton, and served by the nearby Preston Park railway station....
in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Peasholm Park
Peasholm Park
Peasholm Park is an oriental themed municipal park located in the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1912 and became a favourite venue for galas, displays and exhibitions. The park was extended to include Peasholm Glen, a natural ravine, in 1924...
in Scarborough, and in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Description
The appeal of the tree lay chiefly in its compact, columnar form, not dissimilar to the Lombardy Poplar. Rarely exceeding a height of 27 m, the tree has long stiff ascending branches forming a narrow pyramidal crown . The small leaves and samaraeSamara (fruit)
A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...
are similar to those of the Field Elm
Field Elm
Ulmus minor Mill., the Field Elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor; its northern outposts are the Baltic islands of Öland and Gotland, although it...
group in general; like others of the group, the tree suckers very freely. The tree often developed highly distinctive cancerous burrs on its branches or trunk.
Cultivation
The origin of the tree remains obscure. The Guernsey Elm was introduced to Osborne HouseOsborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
by Albert the Prince Consort
Prince consort
A prince consort is the husband of a queen regnant who is not himself a king in his own right.Current examples include the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal...
, where it survives today as suckers along the lane leading to Barton Manor Farm. Guernsey Elm was also planted in large numbers across Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, but eventually replaced by the similarly fastigiate but much more disease-resistant clone, 'Columella'
Ulmus 'Columella'
Ulmus Columella is a Dutch cultivar raised by the Dorschkamp Research Institute in Wageningen from a selfed seedling of the hybrid 'Plantyn' sown in 1967...
http://www.amsterdambomen.nl.
Notable trees
Among the largest surviving specimens of Guernsey Elm in the UK are the two in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh (2011), girth 3 m, and the one in Preston ParkPreston Park
Preston Park may refer to:* Preston Park, Brighton* Preston Park railway station* Preston Park , London* Preston Park, Pennsylvania* Preston Park, Stockton-on-Tees...
, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. The latter is 34 m tall with a trunk 115 cm d.b.h. (diameter at breast height
Diameter at breast height
Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements....
) in 2006, part of a line of trees averaging 30 m in height planted circa 1880. The tallest on record in the UK stands on Paradise Drive, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
and had a height of 36m in 2007.
Etymology
The tree is named for the Channel Island (Sarnia is the Ancient Roman name for Guernsey), whence it may have originated. A similar tree is found along the Brittany coast, referred to in several 18th and 19th century French treatises as 'l'Orme male' owing to its phallic resemblance and it is still sometimes referred to as the Male Elm in Guernsey, although no mature trees survive there either. The synonym Wheatley Elm was derived from a tree planted at Wheatley Park, DoncasterDoncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, whither it was introduced and propagated by Sir William Cooke in the early 19th century . The tree was also raised in great numbers at the Rogers nursery in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
in the late 1800s , which probably explains the synonym Southampton Elm. Although the tree is also known as the Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
Elm, its introduction from Guernsey has been clearly chronicled.
Cultivars
- Dicksonii, ?Microphylla Pendula, Purpurea
'Dicksonii', commonly known as Dickson's Golden Elm, is a yellow-leaved form of the Guernsey Elm raised in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
in 1900 by Dickson's Nursery, which marketed it as the 'Golden Cornish Elm'. Slower-growing than the type and described as "an attractive tree" with leaves "a fine yellow colour, said to last till autumn", 'Dicksonii' was granted the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
in 1969. Among the rare survivors are two specimens in Peasholm Park
Peasholm Park
Peasholm Park is an oriental themed municipal park located in the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1912 and became a favourite venue for galas, displays and exhibitions. The park was extended to include Peasholm Glen, a natural ravine, in 1924...
, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, re-discovered in 1994 during a National Tree Register audit of the trees in Peasholm Glen. The horticulturalist Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd (gardener)
Christopher Hamilton Lloyd, OBE was a British gardener and author. He was the 20th Century chronicler for the heavily planted, labour-intensive, country garden.-Life:...
used Dickson's Golden Elm in his celebrated long herbaceous borders at Great Dixter
Great Dixter
Great Dixter is a house in Northiam, East Sussex close to the South Coast of England. It has a famous garden which is regarded as the epitome of English plantsmanship. - House :...
Gardens, Northiam, East Sussex.
Accessions
North America- Holden ArboretumHolden ArboretumThe Holden Arboretum, in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, is one of the largest arboretums and botanical gardens in the United States, with over 3,500 acres , 600 acres of which are devoted to collections and gardens. Diverse natural areas and ecologically sensitive habitats make up the rest of the holdings...
, as U. × Sarniensis. Acc. no. 56-185. - Morton ArboretumMorton ArboretumThe Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...
, as U. carpinifolia 'Sarniensis'. Acc. nos. 591-22, 212-40, 1043-41, all garden collected. - Smith CollegeSmith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, as U. carpinifolia 'Sarniensis'. Acc. no. 8120PA. - U S National ArboretumUnited States National ArboretumThe United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
http://www.usna.usda.gov/index.htm, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA. One small tree imported 2011. No accession details available.
Europe
- Brighton & HoveBrighton & HoveBrighton and Hove is a unitary authority area and city on the south coast of England. It is England's most populous seaside resort.In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium...
City Council, UK, NCCPG elm collection http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1254274. World's tallest line of the species is in Preston ParkPreston ParkPreston Park may refer to:* Preston Park, Brighton* Preston Park railway station* Preston Park , London* Preston Park, Pennsylvania* Preston Park, Stockton-on-Tees...
, BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
(2011). - Grange Farm ArboretumGrange Farm ArboretumThe Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam....
http://www.thegardeningwebsite.co.uk/grange-farm-plants-speciality-rare-trees-shrubs-i411.html, Sutton St JamesSutton St JamesSutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about south west of Long Sutton.Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of Domesday Book of 1086...
, SpaldingSpalding, LincolnshireSpalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, Lincs.LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, UK. Acc. no. 832. - National Botanic Gardens http://www.botanicgardens.ie, GlasnevinGlasnevinGlasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...
, Dublin, IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Location: A3 (153) - Wakehurst Place GardenWakehurst Place GardenWakehurst Place is National Trust property located near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald of southern England , comprising a late 16th century country house and a mainly 20th century garden, managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew...
, Wakehurst Place, UK, as U. × Sarniensis. Acc. nos. 1977-67, 1977-68, collected by Melville.
Australasia
- Eastwoodhill ArboretumEastwoodhill ArboretumEastwoodhill is the national arboretum of New Zealand. It covers and is located 35 km northwest of Gisborne, in the hill country of Ngatapa. It was founded in 1910 by William Douglas Cook...
http://www.eastwoodhill.org.nz/gardens--collection/collection.aspx?Type=&G=Ulmus, GisborneGisborne, New Zealand-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. 1 tree (as U. minor 'Sarniensis'), details not known.
Nurseries
North AmericaNone known.
Europe
- Plantentuin Esveld, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, http://www.esveld.nl/catalen/heestersu.htm#ulmus, as U. carpinifolia 'Sarniensis' - Tuinenlandschap http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=kweker+dampieri+ulmus&btnG=Google+Search&meta=, DoetinchemDoetinchemDoetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . The municipality has 56,700 inhabitants and has an area of 79.66 km²...
, The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...