Ulmus 'Myrtifolia' Explained

Ulmus 'Myrtifolia'
Cultivar:	'Myrtifolia'
Genus:	Ulmus
Origin:	England?

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Myrtifolia', the Myrtle-leaved Elm, first appeared in nursery and horticultural lists from the 1830s, as Ulmus myrtifolia and Ulmus campestris myrtifolia,^{[1] [2]} the name Ulmus myrtifolia Volxem being used at Kew Gardens from 1880. Lawson's nursery of Edinburgh appears to have been the earliest to list the tree.^[1] 'Myrtifolia' was listed by Nicholson in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs (1896), but without description.^[3] It was later listed as a cultivar and described by Rehder in 1939^[4] and by Krüssmann in 1962.^[5]

The specimen under this name in the Herb. Nicholson at Kew was considered by Melville to be a probable U. minor × Ulmus minor 'Plotii' hybrid.^[6]

The cultivar 'Myrtifolia Purpurea', which has larger leaves, is not related to 'Myrtifolia'.^[4]

Description

'Myrtifolia' was described as having leaves ovate or rhombic-ovate to oblong-ovate, 2 - 5 cm long with nearly simple teeth, loosely pilose on both sides. The petiole is 2 to 4 mm long, the samarae 12 to 15 mm long.

Cultivation

A 'Mytifolia' was present in North Road, Bath in 1902.^[7] There were specimens at Arnold Arboretum in the mid-20th century, sourced in the 1920s from a tree in Cleveland, Ohio.^[4]

The tree is not known to remain in cultivation.

Putative specimen

A small, slow-growing, dense-crowned old elm (15 m, girth 2 m), with very small narrow myrtle-like leaves, stands near 90 Lower Granton Rd, Edinburgh (2016), in a garden that was once part of the elm-planted grounds of Wardie House (demolished 1955).^[8] Ulmus campestris myrtifolia appeared in the lists of the adjacent Wardie Nursery (Lawson Nursery group) in the late 19th century,^[9] and Ulmus myrtifolia in the Lawson's of Edinburgh lists from the 1830s.^[10] Its leaves, which flush and fall late,^[11] are lance-shaped or oval (2 - 4.5 cm by 1.3 - 2 cm; petioles 0.5 - 1 cm). The tree, which has smooth branchlets, has been grafted on to a suberose U. minor stock.

Synonymy

• Ulmus campestris (: minor) var. myrtifolia Hort.: Nicholson, in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896.
• Ulmus buxifolia Hort.: Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896, in synonymy.
• Ulmus procera var. myrtifolia: Bean (1934)^[12]
• Ulmus procera f. myrtifolia: Rehder (1939)^[4]

External links

• Ulmus Myrtifolia, systematics.mortonarb.org

Notes and References

1. https://archive.org/details/hortuslignosuslo00loudrich/page/144?q=Floetbeck Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis: or, A catalogue of plants ... cultivated in the gardens and grounds in the neighbourhood of London: with all their synonyms, including their French, German, and Italian names; ... To which are added ... hardy trees and shrubs in the principal nurseries of London and Edinburgh, and at Bollwyller in France, and in Hamburg (London, 1838), p.145
2. https://archive.org/details/internationalex02gardgoog/page/n317 Report of the Board on behalf of United States Executive Departments at the International Exhibition held at Philadelphia 1876 (Washington 1884), vol 2, The Department of Agriculture: Horticultural and Propagating Division; p.311
3. Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs, vol.2 (London 1896), p.135
4. Rehder . Alfred . 1939 . Rehder, new species, varieties and combinations. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum . 20. 87–88 . 12 August 2016.
5. Krüssmann, J. G., Handbuch der Laubgehölze 2: 540, 1962
6. Green . Peter Shaw . Peter Shaw Green . 1964 . Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia . 24. 41–80 . 6–8 . . 16 February 2017.
7. Inman . T. Frederic . 1905 . The Elm. Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10. 37 . 19 August 2016.
8. Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour, accessdate: August 12, 2016
9. https://archive.org/stream/pinetumbeingsyno00gorduoft#page/n650/mode/1up The Lawson Company's List, no. IV, Forest Trees & Shrubs, Nov. 1874; Lawson Seed & Nursery Co., Edinburgh & London, p.25
10. https://archive.org/details/hortuslignosuslo00loudrich/page/144 Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis (London, 1838), p.145-6
11. Google Maps: A901 - Google Maps, accessdate: August 12, 2016
12. Bean, W. J., Kew Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs, 1934, p.341