List of elm cultivars, hybrids and hybrid cultivars explained

The starting-points for List of elm cultivars, hybrids and hybrid cultivars were threefold: (1) Green's 'Registration of Cultivar Names in Ulmus ' (1964),^[1] based on the contemporary nomenclature of elm species and wild hybrids; (2) Krüssmann's confirmation or correction of cultivar-names in his monumental Handbuch der Laubgehölze (1976);^[2] and (3) Santamour and Bentz's 'Updated Checklist of Elm (Ulmus) Cultivars for use in North America' (1995).^[3] Since the 1990s there have been many new cultivars, some 'disease-resistant', either species cultivars (e.g. U. minor 'Ademuz', U. americana 'New Harmony') or cultivars with complex hybrid origins, the subject of ongoing trials. Information on these is taken from post-1990 scientific papers (see 'Further reading' below), pteleologists' articles,^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} and updated handbooks.^[8] There has not yet (2024) been a single recent collation comparable to Green's.

Green and Krüssmann acknowledged their debt to Rehder's list of elm-cultivar synonyms (1949),^[9] and to Schneider (1906),^[10] but the digitisation of older dendrologies, handbooks, and nursery-catalogues^{[11] [12] [13]} added cultivars and cultivation information missed or omitted by these four authorities.^[14] The list below makes good some of these omissions, additions justified by the survival of extensive elm collections in disease-control locations such as Edinburgh (known to have been stocked from one such nursery^[15]), Brighton, Sweden,^[7] and New Zealand. Australia remains disease-free (2024) and has in quantity both well-known clones (e.g. 'Lutescens') and at least one old cultivar missed by Green and Krüssmann ('Canadian Giant'), as well as others that do not match European 'types'.^[16] "Deliberate planting of selected clones," wrote Spencer (1995) "combined with chance hybridisation, has resulted in a mix of elms [in Australia] rather different from that in England"^[17] (see Elms in Australia).

The older elm cultivars (sometimes called 'varieties') usually bore simple descriptive Latin names (e.g. 'Tortuosa', 'Argenteo-Variegata', 'Stricta') under their contemporary species headings, or, later, under hybrid headings, as hybrids were then understood. Early lists, with no more information than this,^[18] abound, and are a further source for the articles listed below; one of the fullest is, e.g., Beissner's (1903).^[19] Amongst the more discursive treatments, however, that included cultivation-history and subjective comment (and sometimes illustrations), used in articles in this list, were those of Loudon (1838)^[20] and Elwes and Henry (1913) in the UK,^[21] Browne in USA (1851),^[22] Petzold in Germany (1864),^[23] and Fontaine in the Nertherlands (1965).^[24] These more discursive and subjective dendrologists are frequently cited in the articles listed below for information that would have been out of place in Green and Krüssmann.

The turn of the 20th century was the heyday of ornamental elm cultivation,^{[25] [21] [26]} and Green noted that many cultivars had been inadequately described or illustrated before they were almost wiped out by the catastrophes of two Dutch elm disease epidemics and two world wars. Some had been described only from juvenile specimens whose ultimate size was unknown (e.g. U. minor 'Umbraculifera Gracilis' Späth). The digitisation of university and arboretum herbarium specimens, however, (leaves and fruit), bearing original labels, – a process more advanced, by the 2020s, in European^[27] and American collections^[28] than in those of the UK,^{[29] [30]} – and of old photographs of known cultivar-locations (see e.g. 'Atropurpurea'), has confirmed or supplemented the descriptions in many of the listed items. 'Lost' cultivars identified by Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh since 2016 through such old planting-location information,^[15] and through herbarium specimens, – and returned to cultivation, – include U. × hollandica 'Wentworthii Pendula', U. minor 'Umbraculifera Gracilis' Späth, and U. glabra 'Concavaefolia'.^{[31] [32] [33]}

Until the early 20th century, both wych cultivars and those of large-leaved European hybrids were often classified as Ulmus montana.^{[11] [21] [19]} The likely hybrid origin of some of the latter had, however, long been suspected,^[10] English carpenters for example referring to their 'Dutch elm' as 'bastard elm',^[21] while nurserymen knew that popular cultivars like 'Belgica' and 'Vegeta' could be raised reliably only by vegetative propagation or cloning, their seedlings not coming true to type.^[21] The nomenclature of hybrids was systematised by the mid-20th century.^[9] Research leading to the selection and breeding of cultivars resistant to Dutch elm disease was under way in the Netherlands from the 1920s, in the US from the 1930s, in Italy from the 1970s, and in Spain from the 1990s.^[34]

Species cultivars

Ulmus alata

Lace Parasol.

Ulmus americana

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica

Ulmus glabra

Ulmus laevis

Ulmus minor

Ulmus parvifolia

Ulmus pumila

Hybrids and hybrid cultivars

Ulmus × arbuscula

U. glabra × U. pumila. Russia

Ulmus × arkansana

U. serotina × U. crassifolia. US

Ulmus × brandisiana

U. chumlia × U. wallichiana. India, Pakistan

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica × U. minor

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica × U. minor. US

Ulmus × diversifolia

U. glabra × U. minor 'Coritana' × U. minor 'Plotii'. UK

Ulmus × hollandica

U. glabra × U. minor. [Dutch Elm, (US) Netherland Elm.] Europe

Ulmus × intermedia

Ulmus x intermedia. US

Ulmus × mesocarpa

U. macrocarpa × U. davidiana var. japonica. Korea

U. minor × U. pumila

U. minor × U. pumila. Spain, Italy, Uzbekistan^[35]

Complex hybrids and other crossings

• Ulmus 'Amsterdam'. 'Bea Schwarz' × U. minor. Netherlands, before 1950.
• Ulmus 'Arno'. 'Plantyn' × U. pumila. Italy, 2006.
• Ulmus 'Cathedral'. U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila. US, 1994.
• Ulmus 'Charisma': See under 'Morton Glossy' =
• Ulmus 'Clusius'. ('Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana) × 'Bea Schwarz' selfed. Netherlands, 1983.
• Ulmus 'Columella'. 'Plantyn' × U. minor. Netherlands, 1989.
• Ulmus 'Curro'. U. minor R1 × U. minor S22. Spain, 2022. ^[36]
• Ulmus 'Den Haag'. U. pumila × 'Belgica'. Netherlands, 1936.
• Ulmus 'Dodoens'. ('Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana) selfed. Netherlands, 1973.
• Ulmus 'Endeavor'. (U. americana × U. davidiana var. japonica) . US, 2022. ^{[37] [38]}
• Ulmus 'Europa'. ((U. glabra × U. minor) × 'Commelin'). Netherlands, 2021.
• Ulmus 'Fagel'. (U. wallichiana × ‘Commelin’) × (‘Dodoens’ × (U. glabra × U. minor)). Netherlands, 2021.
• Ulmus 'Frontier'. U. minor × U. parvifolia. US, 1990.
• Ulmus 'Klondike'. 'Plantyn' × 'Wredei'. Netherlands, 2021.
• Ulmus 'Homestead'. U. pumila × ('Commelin' × (U. pumila × 'Hoersholmiensis')). US, 1984.
• Ulmus 'Karagatch'. U. pumila × U. × androssowii? Turkestan,  c. 1910
• Ulmus 'Lobel'. ('Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana) × 'Bea Schwarz' selfed. Netherlands, 1973.
• Ulmus 'Marga'. U. minor R2 × U. minor S32. Spain, 2022. ^[36]
• Ulmus 'Morfeo'. (U. × hollandica × U. minor) × U. chenmoui. Italy, 2010.
• Ulmus 'Morton' = . U. davidiana var. japonica × U. davidiana var. japonica. US, 2000.
• Ulmus 'Morton Glossy' = . 'Morton' = × 'Morton Plainsman' = . US, 2000.
• Ulmus 'Morton Plainsman' = . U. pumila × U. davidiana var. japonica. US, 2000.
• Ulmus 'Morton Red Tip' = . 'Morton' = open pollination. US, circa 2000.
• Ulmus 'Morton Stalwart' = . 'Morton' = × (U. pumila × U. minor). US, 2000.
• Ulmus 'Nanguen' = . 'Plantyn' × ('Bea Schwarz' × 'Bea Schwarz' selfed). Netherlands, 2002.
• Ulmus 'New Horizon'. U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila. US, 1994.
• Ulmus 'Night Rider'. U. davidiana var. japonica × (U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila). Canada, 2020.
• Ulmus 'Patriot'. 'Urban' × 'Prospector'. US, 1993.
• Ulmus 'Plantyn' or 'Plantijn'. ('Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana) × (U. minor × U. minor). Netherlands, 1973.
• Ulmus 'Plinio'. 'Plantyn' × U. pumila. Italy, 2002.
• Ulmus 'Rageth'. US, before 1954.
• Ulmus 'Rebella'. U. parvifolia × U. americana. US, 2011.
• Ulmus 'Rebona'. U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila. US, 1993.
• Ulmus 'Regal'. 'Commelin' × Dutch clone '215' (U. pumila × 'Hoersholmiensis'). US, 1983.
• Ulmus 'Repura'. 'Regal' × (U. rubra × (U. pumila × U. davidiana var. japonica)). US, 1993.
• Ulmus 'Revera'. 'Regal' × (U. rubra × (U. pumila × U. davidiana var. japonica)). US, 1993.
• Ulmus 'San Zanobi'. 'Plantyn' × U. pumila. Italy, 2002.
• Ulmus 'Sapporo Autumn Gold'. U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila. US, 1975.
• Ulmus 'Sapporo Gold 2' . U. davidiana var. japonica × U. pumila. US, 1990.
• Ulmus 'Stavast'. ('Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana) × 'Commelin'. Netherlands, c.1985.
• Ulmus 'Urban'. Dutch clone '148' ('Vegeta' × U. minor) × U. pumila. US, 1976.
• Ulmus 'Wanoux' = . 'Plantyn' × 'Plantyn' selfed. Netherlands, 2006.
• Ulmus 'Wingham'. (((U. wallichiana × U. minor) × (U. pumila × U. minor)) o.p. × (U. × hollandica ‘Vegeta’ × U. minor)) o.p. UK, 2019.
• and others without formal hybrid names.

Misidentified genus

• Pitteurs Pendula

See also

• Lists of cultivars
• National Elm Trial

Further reading

• Armstrong . J. V. . Sell . P. D. . 1996 . A revision of the British elms (Ulmus L., Ulmaceae): the historical background . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society . 120 . 39–50 . 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1996.tb00478.x. 26 October 2017. free .
• Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition. Murray, London.
• Brasier, C. M. (1996). New horizons in Dutch elm disease control. Pages 20 - 28 in: Report on Forest Research, 1996. Forestry Commission. HMSO, London, UK.http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/New_horizons_DED.pdf/$FILE/New_horizons_DED.pdf
• Brookes, A. H. (2015). Disease-resistant elms, Butterfly Conservation trials report, 2015 Butterfly Conservation, Hants & IoW Branch, England. http://www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk/downloads/2015%20Elm%20Report.pdf
• Burdekin. D.A.. Rushforth. K.D.. Revised by J.F. Webber. Elms resistant to Dutch elm disease. Arboriculture Research Note. November 1996. 2/96. 1–9. 26 October 2017. Arboricultural Advisory & Information Service. Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham. 1362-5128.
• Cornell University: Elm hybrids (pdf file)
• Phytoneuron . A morphological analysis of a hybrid swarm of native Ulmus rubra Muhl. and introduced U. pumila L. (Ulmaceae) in southeastern Nebraska. C.G. . Elowsky . I.E. . Jordon-Thaden . R.B. . Kaul . 2013-07-17. 44. 1–23.
• Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848 - 1929. Private publication https://web.archive.org/web/20081005210025/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/QK488xE4/7tgbi/
• Green . Peter Shaw . Peter Shaw Green . 1964 . Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia . 24. 41–80 . 6–8 . . 16 February 2017.
• Northern Arizona University: Elm trials.
• Richens, R. H. (1983). Elm. Cambridge University Press.
• Santamour, J., Frank, S. & Bentz, S. (1995). Updated checklist of elm (Ulmus) cultivars for use in North America. Journal of Arboriculture, 21:3 (May 1995), 121-131. International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, US.
• Santini, A., Fagnani, A., Ferrini, F. & Mittempergher, L. (2002). 'San Zanobi' & 'Plinio' Elm Trees. HortScience, Vol. 37 (7) : 1139 - 1141. Dec. 2002.
• Smalley, E. B. & Guries, R. P. (1993). Breeding Elms for Resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. Annual Review of Phytopathology Vol. 31 : 325-354. Palo Alto, California.
• Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. Journal of Arboriculture, (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, US. https://web.archive.org/web/20071130221822/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/nursery/metria/metria8/m87.pdf.

Notes and References

1. https://archive.org/details/arnoldiaarno_21/page/40/mode/2up Arnoldia : Bulletin of the Arnold Arboretum, 24 July 1964, Vol 24 Nos 6-8, pp.40-80
2. Krüssmann, Johann Gerd, Handbuch der Laubgehölze (Vol. 3) (Paul Parey, Berlin and Hamburg, 1976); trans. Michael E. Epp, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees and Shrubs (Vol. 3) (Batsford, Timber Press, Beaverton, Oregon, 1984-6), pp.403-413
3. Santamour, Frank S.; Bentz, Susan E. (May 1995). 'Updated Checklist of Elm (Ulmus) Cultivars for use in North America', Journal of Arboriculture. 21 (3); pp.122–131.
4. https://edepot.wur.nl/545143 Tijdgat, M. (2020): Ulmus – Gebruikswaarde- en sortimentsonderzoek in de praktijk. Dendroflora Nr. 56-2020, p.73 Koninklijke Vereniging voor Boskoopse Culturen & Nederlandse Dendrologische Vereniging
5. https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/search/search-results/?q=Ulmus treesandshrubsonline, Ulmus
6. http://www.ulmen-handbuch.de/handbuch/ulmus/gattung_ulmus.html Ulmen-handbuch; ulmen-handbuch.de
7. http://www.dendrologerna.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Lustgarden-2014.pdf Lars Lagerstedt, 'Almar i Sverige', Lustgarden, 2014, pp.53-78
8. [Hillier Nurseries|Hillier, H. G., & sons]
9. https://archive.org/details/bibliographyofcu00rehd/page/135/mode/1up Rehder, Alfred, Bibliography of cultivated trees and shrubs hardy in the cooler temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1949), pp.135-143
10. https://archive.org/details/illustriertesha00schngoog/page/212/mode/2up Schneider, Camillo Karl, Illustriertes handbuch der laubholzkunde (Jena 1906) pp.212-222
11. e.g. Späth, L., Catalogue 104 (1899–1900; Berlin), p.132-135, one of Späth, L., & sons, Baumschulen Nursery catalogues (1870s –1930s), Berlin.
12. e.g. Hesse, Hermann Albert. Baumschulen: Preis- und Sortenliste. Nursery catalogues (1920s and 1930s). Weener, Germany.
13. e.g. van Houtte, Louis, & son. Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre. Nursery catalogues of van Houtte & son, 1870s - 1890s. Ghent, Belgium.
14. Among extant cultivars missing from Green and Krüssmann are U. glabra Huds. 'Superba' Blandford elm, the largest-leaved wych cultivar; U. glabra Huds. 'Concavaefolia', formerly U. montana var. cucullata, a 'boat'-leaved wych; U. × hollandica 'Canadian Giant', present in quantity in Victoria, Australia; U. × hollandica 'Viminalis' Späth, a narrow-leaved hybrid; Nottingham elm, discussed by Richens (1983); and U. pumila 'Pendula' Meyer, Dragon's Claw elm from northern China.
15. Book: 1902. Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 45, 47.
16. Spencer, Roger, ed., Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia, Vol. 2 (Sydney, 1995), Ulmus, p. 103-118 https://books.google.com/books?id=jLabuEqJNNsC&dq=Horticultural+Flora+Of+South-+Eastern+Australia+ulmus&pg=PA105
17. Spencer, Roger, ed., Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia, Vol. 2 (Sydney, 1995), Ulmus, p.105
18. https://archive.org/details/handlistofconife00royarich/page/612/mode/2up e.g. Hand-list of trees and shrubs grown in the Arboretum, Kew Gardens (London, 1902), p. 613-625
19. https://archive.org/details/Laubholzbenennung1903/page/n91/mode/2up Beissner, Ludwig, Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (Berlin 1903), p.82-88
20. https://archive.org/details/arboretumetfruti03loudrich/arboretumetfruti03loudrich/page/1373/mode/1up Loudon, J. C., Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum (London 1838; 2nd edition 1854, pp.1373-1409
21. https://archive.org/details/treesofgreatbrit07elweuoft/page/1846/mode/2up Elwes, H. J., and Henry, A., The trees of Great Britain & Ireland, Vol 7 (London 1913), p.1847-1929
22. https://archive.org/details/treesofamerican00brow/page/476/mode/2up Browne, Daniel Jay, The Trees of America (New York, 1851), pp.467-513
23. https://archive.org/details/arboretummuscav01kircgoog/page/550/mode/2up Petzold, Eduard Carl Adolf, and Kirchner, Arboretum Muscaviense (Muskau, 1864) p. 550-570
24. F. J.. Fontaine. Ulmus. Dendroflora. 1968. 5. 37–55. 30 August 2017.
25. A 1905 survey of tree types along main roads in Belgium found that of the 806,985 trees counted, 294,725 were elms, the most numerous genus. Elwes & Henry (1913), p.1870, note
26. https://archive.org/details/treesshrubshardy02beanrich/treesshrubshardy02beanrich/page/610/mode/2up Bean, William Jackson, Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles (London 1916), pp.611-621
27. https://bioportal.naturalis.nl/ Netherlands digital herbarium collection; bioportal.naturalis.nl
28. https://vplants.org/portal/collections/ American digital herbarium collections; vplants.org
29. http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoHerbariumGrowthPage.do Kew Herbarium's Digital Collection; apps.kew.org
30. https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/ Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Herbarium's Digital Collection; data.rbge.org.uk
31. Web site: Full story of the Wentworth elm discovery. Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. 5 October 2016 . Max Coleman.
32. https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/24774 Dr Max Coleman, 'Strange fruit offer lifeline to rare elms', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; stories.rbge.org.uk
33. Dr Max Coleman, 'Survey of the elms of Holyrood Palace', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 22/07/2016 (updated 11/08/16)
34. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230860054_The_history_of_elm_breeding Mittempergher, L., and Santini, A., 'The history of elm breeding'; researchgate.net
35. There is no collective name analogous to Ulmus × hollandica or Ulmus × intermedia for crossings of Ulmus pumila and Ulmus minor, though hybrids of this group are common in the wild in Spain and (since Dutch elm disease) in elm-breeding (see Ulmus pumila, 'Cultivation').
36. Dominguez, J., Macaya-Sanz, D., Gil, L, and Martin, J. A. (2022) Excelling the progenitors: Breeding for resistance to Dutch elm disease from moderately resistant and susceptible native stock. Forest Ecology and Management 511 (2022) 120113. Amsterdam: Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112722001074
37. West, T. P. (2022) Elms, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. NDSU North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. https://www.greenindustryshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Elms-Good-Bad-Ugly-Handout.pdf
38. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/2022/09/09/the-long-game-2 Colleen Zacharias, 'The long game: a better future for new generation of disease-resistant elm trees'

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of elm cultivars, hybrids and hybrid cultivars".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.