Ulmus 'Louis van Houtte' explained

Ulmus 'Louis van Houtte'
Genus:Ulmus
Cultivar:'Louis van Houtte'
Origin:Belgium

Ulmus 'Louis van Houtte' (Syn. Ulmus 'Vanhouttei') is believed to have been first cultivated in Ghent, Belgium circa 1863.[1] [2] It was first mentioned by Franz Deegen in 1886.[3] [4] It was once thought a cultivar of English Elm Ulmus minor 'Atinia', though this derivation has long been questioned; W. J. Bean called it "an elm of uncertain status".[5] Its dissimilarity from the type and its Belgian provenance make the 'Atinia' attribution unlikely. Fontaine (1968) considered it probably a form of U. × hollandica.[6]

The cultivar is named for the Belgian horticulturist and plant collector Louis Benoit van Houtte, 1810 - 1876.

Description

When young, the tree has leaves entirely yellow, a colour retained throughout summer. However, as the tree ages, the colouring may begin a gradual reversion to green. A mature specimen which retained its yellow colouration in the crown stood in Edinburgh's Royal Circus Gardens till the early 1990s.[7] The vertically fissured bark of mature trees is unlike that of English elm, with its squarish scaly fissuring. 'Louis van Houtte' has smaller leaves than the not dissimilar Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens' (Golden Wych Elm).

Pests and diseases

'Louis van Houtte' is vulnerable to Dutch elm disease (DED). Two specimens planted at Kew Gardens in the Pagoda Vista succumbed very rapidly to the earlier strain of DED in 1931.[5]

Cultivation

Before Dutch elm disease the tree was commonly cultivated in northern Europe.[8] [9] The Späth nursery of Berlin marketed it in the late 19th century as U. campestris Louis van Houtte,[10] under which name it was introduced to the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada, in 1898,[11] and to the Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk, UK,[12] (planted 1913).[13] In the UK the tree was supplied by Hillier & Sons Nursery of Winchester, Hampshire, as U. procera 'Vanhouttei' / 'Louis van Houtte'.[14] The tree appeared in the 1902 catalogue of the Bobbink and Atkins nursery, Rutherford, New Jersey, as Ulmus aurea Louis van Houtte,[15] and in Kelsey's 1904 catalogue, New York, as U. 'Louis van Houtte'.[16] It is less commonly cultivated in Australasia, where the golden wych elm Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens' has sometimes been mistakenly sold by nurseries under the name 'Louis van Houtte'.[17] The description, "The finest of the golden elms, with a large leaf of a clear golden colour", in the 1918 catalogue of the Gembrook or Nobelius Nursery near Melbourne, suggests 'Lutescens' rather than 'Louis van Houtte'.[18] Three trees in separate locations are known in the British Isles,[19] as well as a partial avenue in Aberdeen (see 'Notable trees'). The cultivar remains in commerce at a nursery in the US.

Notable trees

Several large trees survive in Sweden, including a specimen in Kristianstad and one, planted c.1890 (girth 3.7 m), in the Serafimerparken, Stockholm (2017).[20] [21] [22] Osborne Place, Aberdeen is lined mostly with 'Louis Van Houtte' planted in 1936.[23]

The largest known tree is an old specimen located in Christchurch Botanic Gardens, New Zealand.[24] The tree has a diameter of 179.9 cm, is 27.7 m high and has an average canopy spread of 31.1 m (2023).[25]

Synonymy

Accessions

North America

None known.

Europe

Australasia

Nurseries

Europe

North America

Notes and References

  1. [Boudewijn Karel Boom|Boom, B. K.]
  2. Green . Peter Shaw . Peter Shaw Green . 1964 . Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia . 24. 41–80 . 6–8 . . 16 February 2017.
  3. Deutsche Garten-Zeitung. Wittmack. Perring. Franz. Deegen. Drei buntfarbige Gehölz-Neuheiten für die Frühjahrs-Saison 1886. 1. 7. 1886. 102.
  4. Labelled U. Louis van Houtte, Kew specimen, 1885, from Simon-Louis frères, Metz
  5. Bean, W. J. (1988) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 8th edition, Murray, London, p. 655
  6. F. J.. Fontaine. Ulmus. Dendroflora. 1968. 5. 37–55. 30 August 2017.
  7. Colour photo in Angus & Patricia MacDonald, Above Edinburgh and South-East Scotland (Edinburgh, 1989), pp. 70–71
  8. Clouston, B.; Stansfield, K., eds. (1979). After the Elm. London: Heinemann
  9. Wilkinson, G. (1978). Epitaph for the Elm. London: Hutchinson.
  10. Book: 1902–1903. Katalog. L. Späth Baumschulenweg. Berlin, Germany. 108. 132–133.
  11. Book: Saunders. William. Macoun. William Tyrrell. Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm. 1899. 2. 74–75. Ottawa.
  12. http://www.rystonhall.co.uk/ rystonhall.co.uk/
  13. Book: Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue . c. 1920 . 13–14.
  14. Trees and Shrubs Catalogue, Hillier & Sons, 1958–1959, p.99
  15. Book: 1902 . Bobbink and Atkins, Rutherford. N.J.. 51.
  16. Book: General catalogue, 1904 : choice hardy trees, shrubs, evergreens, roses, herbaceous plants, fruits, etc.. Frederick W. Kelsey. 1904. New York. 18.
  17. Spencer, R., Hawker, J. and Lumley, P. (1991). Elms in Australia. Australia: Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.
  18. Gembrook or Nobelius Nursery, Melbourne, 1916 catalogue
  19. In Brighton (see Accessions); in Kew's Wakehurst Place collection (hedge form); in the garden of Whitefoord House, Edinburgh (pollarded) (2017).
  20. Lagerstedt. Lars. Märkesträd i Sverige - 10 Almar. Lustgården. 2014. 94. 60, 76. 15 May 2018. Notable trees in Sweden - 10 Elms.
  21. Photograph of 'Louis van Houtte' elm in Kristianstad, Sweden: www.tradgardsakademin.se - photo 7 http://www.tradgardsakademin.se/aktuella-uppdateringar/standardartikel-5; photograph of Serafimerparken tree from tradgardsakademin.se
  22. 'Louis van Houtte' from the air, left, Serafimerparken, Stockholm (2013)https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockholm_September_2013_-_panoramio_(5).jpg
  23. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/FOI_16_1525_Plaques_Redacted.pdf#page=5 Application for commemorative plaque
  24. Photograph of 'Louis van Houtte' in Christchurch Botanic Gardens, wvendb.wordpress.com/page/3/
  25. Web site: The New Zealand Tree Register .
  26. Web site: List of plants in the collection. Brighton & Hove City Council. 23 September 2016.
  27. Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, .
  28. RBGV (Melbourne) Elm list
  29. Mike. Wilcox. Chris. Inglis. Auckland Botanical Society Journal. Auckland's elms. 58. 1. 2003. 38–45. Auckland Botanical Society. 22 February 2017. 6 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150106180021/http://bts.nzpcn.org.nz/bts_pdf/ABJ58%281%292003-38-45-Elms.pdf. dead.
  30. Centrum voor Botanische Verrijking vzw: Voorraadlijst, accessdate: 2 November 2016
  31. Web site: Trees . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929015538/http://www.foothillsnursery.com/trees.htm . 2007-09-29.

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