Large-fruited Elm
Encyclopedia
The Large-fruited Elm Ulmus macrocarpa Hance is a deciduous
tree or large shrub endemic to the Far East
excluding Japan
. It is notable for its tolerance of drought and extreme cold and is the predominant vegetation on the dunes of the Korqin sandy lands in the Jilin
province of north-eastern China
, making a small tree at the base of the dunes, and a shrub at the top http://www.fao.org//docrep/006/ad110e/ad110e01.htm.
U. americana, but will never approach the latter's size. The tree can reach a height of 17 m, with a slender trunk rarely exceeding 0.4 m d.b.h
; the bark is longitudinally fissured, and dark grey in colour. The twigs often develop corky wings that may persist for several years. The leaves are usually obovate
< 9 cm long by 5 cm broad (significantly smaller on juvenile trees) and chiefly characterized by their thick, leathery texture and obtusely doubly or simply toothed margins. The perfect, wind-pollinated apetalous flowers appear from March until May.
As implied by its name, U. macrocarpa is distinguished by its large, orbicular, wafer-like samarae
< 50 mm in diameter, which ripen in May and June.
and a low susceptibility to Elm Yellows
, it has also proven very resistant to the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola
in trials in Oklahoma
http://www.sunshinenursery.com/elms.htm and Italy
.
, in 1908, and to the UK at Aldenham House
in Hertfordshire
, almost certainly as part of the quincunx
elm avenue leading to the front of the house, by Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932) in the late 19th century. What remained of the avenue after the advent of Dutch elm disease was cleared circa 1980 to make way for a cricket
pitch.
The tree has been assessed at the Morton Arboretum
, Illinois
, for its landscape potential, and is now considered suitable for open areas such as parks and campuses. Typically, U. macrocarpa is intolerant of poorly-drained ground prone to waterlogging. U. macrocarpa has been found to be the most cold hardy of the Chinese elms. In artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum
the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was - 36 °C
.
Nie & Huang and var. macrocarpa
L.K.Fu
was discovered in South Korea
in the 1980s.
U. macrocarpa is believed to have been used in recent (post 2000) hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum but results have yet (2008) to be published. There are no known cultivar
s of this taxon.
Europe
Europe
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree or large shrub endemic to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
excluding Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is notable for its tolerance of drought and extreme cold and is the predominant vegetation on the dunes of the Korqin sandy lands in the Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
province of north-eastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, making a small tree at the base of the dunes, and a shrub at the top http://www.fao.org//docrep/006/ad110e/ad110e01.htm.
Description
By the age of ten years, the tree bears a close resemblance to the American ElmAmerican Elm
Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can...
U. americana, but will never approach the latter's size. The tree can reach a height of 17 m, with a slender trunk rarely exceeding 0.4 m d.b.h
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....
; the bark is longitudinally fissured, and dark grey in colour. The twigs often develop corky wings that may persist for several years. The leaves are usually obovate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
< 9 cm long by 5 cm broad (significantly smaller on juvenile trees) and chiefly characterized by their thick, leathery texture and obtusely doubly or simply toothed margins. The perfect, wind-pollinated apetalous flowers appear from March until May.
As implied by its name, U. macrocarpa is distinguished by its large, orbicular, wafer-like samarae
Samara (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...
< 50 mm in diameter, which ripen in May and June.
Pests and diseases
Possessed of a moderate resistance to Dutch elm diseaseDutch 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...
and a low susceptibility to Elm Yellows
Elm Yellows
Elm Yellows is a plant disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts. Elm Yellows, also known as Elm Phloem Necrosis, is very aggressive, with no known cure. Elm Yellows occurs in the Eastern United States and southern Ontario in Canada. It is caused by phytoplasmas which...
, it has also proven very resistant to the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola
Xanthogaleruca luteola
Xanthogaleruca luteola, commonly known as the Elm Leaf Beetle, is a serious pest of the elm. Indigenous to Europe, it was accidentally introduced to North America. Both the imagines and larvae feed on the emergent leaves of the elm...
in trials in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
http://www.sunshinenursery.com/elms.htm and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Cultivation
The species was introduced to the USA at the Arnold Arboretum, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in 1908, and to the UK at Aldenham House
Aldenham House
Aldenham House near Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, was the seat of Vicary Gibbs, a wealthy financier and avid plant collector who once amassed a larger collection of Chinese flora than the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, almost certainly as part of the quincunx
Quincunx
A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, that is five coplanar points, four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center...
elm avenue leading to the front of the house, by Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932) in the late 19th century. What remained of the avenue after the advent of Dutch elm disease was cleared circa 1980 to make way for a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
pitch.
The tree has been assessed at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum
The 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...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, for its landscape potential, and is now considered suitable for open areas such as parks and campuses. Typically, U. macrocarpa is intolerant of poorly-drained ground prone to waterlogging. U. macrocarpa has been found to be the most cold hardy of the Chinese elms. In artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum
The 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...
the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was - 36 °C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
.
Subspecies & varieties
Two varieties are recognized: var. glabraUlmus macrocarpa var. glabra
Ulmus macrocarpa var. glabra Nie & Huang is restricted to mixed forest in the Chinese province of Heilongjang.-Description:The tree is distinguished by a "leaf blade subelliptic, smooth, with tufted hairs in vein axil, base oblique, apex acuminate to narrowly acuminate. Samara smooth, glabrous,...
Nie & Huang and var. macrocarpa
Ulmus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa
Ulmus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa L. K. Fu is found on hillslopes and in valleys at elevations of between 700 m and 800 m in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, eastern Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong...
L.K.Fu
Hybrids, hybrid cultivars and cultivars
A natural hybrid of U. macrocarpa and U. davidiana var. japonica, named Ulmus × mesocarpaUlmus × mesocarpa
The natural hybrid elm Ulmus × mesocarpa M. Kim & S. Lee is a cross of Ulmus macrocarpa with Japanese Elm Ulmus davidiana var. japonica discovered on Seoraksan near the city of Sokcho on the eastern coast of South Korea. The tree is endemic to the provinces of Gangwon-do, Injegun, Bukmyeon,...
was discovered in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in the 1980s.
U. macrocarpa is believed to have been used in recent (post 2000) hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum but results have yet (2008) to be published. There are no known cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s of this taxon.
Accessions
North America- Arnold Arboretum. Acc. nos. 17911, 346-82 (no provenances for either), 377-40 collected in China.
- Denver Botanic GardensDenver Botanic GardensThe Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in Denver, Colorado in the Cheesman Park neighborhood. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer...
, one specimen, no details available - 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...
. Listed as U. macrocarpa var. dorsetti (unrecognized variety), acc. no. 97-26. - 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...
. Acc. nos. 589-64, 179-84, 286-95, 589-54*3. - 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. Acc. nos. 70030, 76229, 76230, 76231, 76247, 68915. Also, listed as U. macrocarpa var. dorsettii: 68990, 76232, 64253.
Europe
- Botanic Garden of the University of CopenhagenUniversity of CopenhagenThe University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
, no details available - 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, NCCPG elm collection http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1254274 - Cambridge Botanic Garden http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/, University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, UK. No accession details available. - 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. James, 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. 831, as var. Dorsettii. - Great Fontley Farm, FarehamFarehamThe market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
, UK, Butterfly ConservationButterfly ConservationButterfly Conservation is an insect conservation organisation in the United Kingdom. It is one of the largest insect conservation organisations in the world.-History of the Organisation:...
Elm Trials plantation, Home Field K8, (from seed donated by the Beijing Botanic Garden). - Linnaean Gardens of UppsalaLinnaean GardenThe Linnaean Garden or Linnaeus' Garden is the oldest of the botanical gardens belonging to Uppsala University in Sweden. It has been restored and is kept as an 18th century botanical garden, according to the specifications of Carolus Linnaeus.The garden was originally planned and planted by Olaus...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Acc. nos. 1976-1142, 1976–2032, 0000-1484. - Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghRoyal Botanic Garden EdinburghThe Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...
. Acc. no. 20022149 (grown from seed sold by Lawyer Nursery, USA). - Strona Arboretum, University of Life Sciences, WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. No details available.
Nurseries
North America- Sunshine Nursery http://www.sunshinenursery.com/catalogue.htm, ClintonClinton, OklahomaClinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 9,033 at the 2010 census.-History:The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Europe
- Arboretum Waasland http://www.arboretum-waasland.be/English.htm, Nieuwkerken-Waas, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.