Ulmus minor 'Viminalis' explained

Ulmus minor 'Viminalis'
Species:Ulmus minor
Cultivar:'Viminalis'
Origin:England

The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis' [1] (:'willow-like'), occasionally referred to as the twiggy field elm,[2] [3] was raised by Masters in 1817, and listed in 1831 as U. campestris viminalis, without description.[4] Loudon added a general description in 1838,[2] and the Cambridge University Herbarium acquired a leaf specimen of the tree in 1866. Moss, writing in 1912, said that the Ulmus campestris viminalis from Cambridge University Herbarium was the only elm he thought agreed with the original Plot's elm (not U. minor 'Plotii') as illustrated by Dr. Plot in 1677 from specimens growing in an avenue and coppice at Hanwell near Banbury.[5] Elwes and Henry (1913) also considered Loudon's Ulmus campestris viminalis to be Dr Plot's elm.[6] Its 19th-century name, U. campestris var. viminalis, led the cultivar to be classified for a time as a variety of English Elm.[7] On the Continent, 'Viminalis' was the Ulmus antarctica Hort., 'zierliche Ulme' [:'dainty elm'] of Kirchner's Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).

Melville considered 'Viminalis' one form, the 'type' cultivar,[8] of the natural, variable hybrid, U. minor × U. minor 'Plotii', which occurs in England where the two trees overlap, and which he called, believing U. plotii Druce a species, U. × viminalis.[9] He questioned, however, Henry's claim that 'Viminalis' was Dr Plot's elm. Writing in 1940 and referring to a pencil rubbing in Herb. Druce, vol. 113 of the Sloane Collection, he wrote "I can see no reason to doubt that this is Plot's plant," but "it is [not] U. × viminalis Lodd".[10] Boom (1959)[11] and Bean (1988)[12] listed 'Viminalis' as a cultivar and the 'type' clone of Melville's U. × viminalis.

Description

Wood (1851) described 'Viminalis' as "a neat-growing compact tree, with small foliage",[13] Henry (1913) as a "tree with ascending branches, pendulous branchlets, and sparse foliage",[6] and Bean (1981) as a "narrow-headed, rather slender tree".[8] 'Viminalis' is slow-growing; it can ultimately reach 20 m in height.[6] [14] Leaves vary from obovate-elliptic to narrowly elliptic; they are deeply serrated, < 5.0 cm long, tapering to a nearly symmetrical base and long-acuminate at the tip, with prominent white axil tufts on the undersides.[8] [6] [15] In his description of Ulmus antarctica Hort. (1864), Kirchner added that the leaves are more or less downward-curving, with longish petioles, and that the leaf-margins have numerous deep, double, hook-shaped teeth, "so that the leaves appear almost slit".

Loudon's sketch (below) suggests that a narrow leaf was fairly uniform on his tree. The Cambridge University Herbarium specimen of Loudon's Ulmus campestris viminalis[16] shows leaves resembling both Henry's 'Viminalis' drawing[17] and Schneider's 'Antarctica' drawing,[18] confirming the synonymy. 'Viminalis' has been likened to Zelkova × verschaffeltii.[19] Bean wrote in 1936, "I have never seen it bearing fruit, although it flowers." The old specimen in Lydiard Street, Ballarat, Victoria, however (see 'Notable trees'), produces abundant fruit, the seed being close to the marginal notch in somewhat broad samarae.

Pests and diseases

'Viminalis' is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease, as are the natural hybrids between field elm and plot elm (Melville's U. × viminalis), of which the type cultivar is usually considered an example.

Cultivation

'Viminalis' was valued for its ornamental qualities, Wood (1851) considering it "well adapted for the back part of shrubberies".[13] Bean (1936) called it "a charming small tree for gardens, very elegant and not growing fast",[20] while the catalogue of Hillier & Sons, Winchester, Hampshire, (1958) described it as "an extremely graceful, slender tree of slow growth, easily distinguished from all other elms by its narrow, fimbriated leaves".[21] Kirchner noted that the tree is not sensitive to frost. Specimens were present in many of the major UK collections, including Cambridge University Botanic Garden (see 'Notable trees' below), Kew Gardens (35 ft., 1913),[6] Westonbirt Arboretum (49 ft., 1927),[22] Royal Victoria Park, Bath (1857, 1905),[23] [24] and Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk (planted as U. antarctica, 1914).[25] [26] 'Viminalis' remained in the catalogues of the Hillier nursery, Winchester, till the 1960s.[27]

Introduced to North America, Ulmus viminalis, 'slender-twigged elm', was marketed by Hovey's nursery of Boston, Massachusetts, from the 1850s,[28] and by the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York, from c.1860.[29] In continental Europe, North America and Australasia a few specimens survive in arboreta and avenues. One tree 40feet in height, determined as U. × viminalis Loud. by Melville, stood by the lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, in 1953.[30] It may have been the Ulmus viminalis specimen present in the Gardens in 1877.[31] In the UK three mature trees survive in the Brighton and Hove area (2017).[32] The tree remains (2017) in cultivation in Australia.[33] [34]

Notable trees

Elwes and Henry list notable specimens "of this variety" (the type tree described and illustrated) in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (70 ft) and in Gisselfeld Park, Denmark (60 ft). Three trees labelled U. 'Viminalis', pollarded in 1984,[35] stand in Benalla Botanic Gardens, Australia.[36] [37] A specimen of the same cultivar, apparently unpollarded, stands in Lydiard Street, Ballarat, Victoria.[38] [39]

Cultivars

Cultivars include both sports of the type tree and elms similar enough to have been conjectured as related to it:

Synonymy

Accessions

North America

Europe

Australasia

Pseudo-'Viminalis' and 'Viminalis'-like elms

Not all clones named 'Viminalis' match the named cultivars above. Three specimens supplied by the Späth nursery to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902[63] as Ulmus campestris viminalis[64] were determined by Melville in 1958 as U. viminalis Lodd but "not the usual nothomorph".[65] [66] One stood in the Garden itself till the late 20th century;[66] the other two may survive in Edinburgh, as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city. An old cultivar with leaves that appear to match herbarium specimens of Späth's U. campestris viminalis [67] stands (2018) in the middle of North Walk, The Meadows, Edinburgh (see gallery); a second, possibly the same clone and age, in the grounds of Holyrood Palace (both trees lost their crowns in a 2016 gale and are regenerating).[68] The Ulmus campestris viminalis supplied by Späth and planted in 1897 at the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada, is likely to have been this clone (not to be confused with Späth's U. × hollandica 'Viminalis').[69] A number of old non-ornamental trees believed to belong to Melville's U. × viminalis group survive (2015) in a wood in Mepal, Cambridgeshire.[70]

Notes and References

  1. The name U. minor 'Viminalis' occurs in Hillier, J., and Coombes, A., The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs (Newton Abbot, 2002), p.371
  2. Book: Loudon, John Claudius. 3. 1838 . Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum. 1376.
  3. Inman . T. Frederic . 1905 . The Elm. Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10. 37 . 19 August 2016.
  4. Book: Masters, W. . Hortus Duroverni: Or, A Tabular and Descriptive Catalogue of Perennial Flower Roots, &c. Sold by W. Masters . 1831 . 66 . 2017-07-06.
  5. Book: Plot, Robert. The natural history of Oxford-shire. Robert Plot. 1677. 158, 212 (facing).
  6. Book: Elwes. Henry John. Henry John Elwes. Henry. Augustine. Augustine Henry. 1913. The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. 1906.
  7. Book: Elwes. Henry John. Henry John Elwes. Henry. Augustine. Augustine Henry. 1913. The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. 1906.
  8. Book: Bean, William Jackson. Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. 8. 1988. 659. Murray. London.
  9. Green . Peter Shaw . Peter Shaw Green . 1964 . Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia . 24. 41–80 . 6–8 . . 16 February 2017.
  10. Melville . Ronald . 1940 . Contributions to the study of British Elms:- III. The Plot Elm, Ulmus plotii Druce. The Journal of Botany . 78. 181–191 . 13 June 2016.
  11. Book: Boom, B.K. . Nederlandse dendrologie . 1959 . 158 . 1 .
  12. Book: Bean, William Jackson. Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. 8. 1988. 659. Murray. London.
  13. Wood . John Frederick . The Midland Florist and Suburban Horticulturist . Coppiceana . 6 . 1852 . 365 . London .
  14. Browne, D. J. (1846). The Trees of America. Harper & Brothers, New York.
  15. Sheet described U. campestris var. viminalis (Loud.) (Amsterdam specimen); Sheet described as U. procera Salisb. var. viminalis (Loud.) Rehd. (Hortus Leiden specimen); Sheet described as U. procera 'Viminalis' (Wageningen Arboretum specimen, 1962); Formerly Ulmus antarctica (Späth), 1925; Planted cultivar, Ibrahim Pasha Gardens, Beykoz, Istanbul (1961)
  16. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photograph_of_Ulmus_campestris_viminalis_specimen.jpg U. campestris viminalis leaves, Cambridge University Herbarium, labelled 'Herb. J. Lindley, Ph.D., Purchased in 1866'
  17. File:Leaf of U. 'Viminalis' from Elwes & Henry.jpg Leaf-drawing of Elwes & Henry's 'type' tree (1913)
  18. File:Illustriertes Handbuch der Laubholzkunde, page 215.jpg Schneider, Camillo Karl (1906), Illustriertes Handbuch der Laubholzkunde, p.215, Fig. "o": f. antarctica
  19. Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.
  20. Bean, W. J. (1936) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition, Murray, London, vol. 2, p.621
  21. Trees and Shrubs Catalogue, Hillier & Sons, 1958–1959, p.99
  22. Book: Jackson, A. Bruce. Catalogue of the Trees & Shrubs [at Westonbirt] in the Collection of the Late Lieut-Col. Sir George Lindsay Holford. 1927. London. 195.
  23. Hanham, F. (1857). A Manual for the Park (Royal Victoria Park, Bath). Longman, London.
  24. Inman . T. Frederic . 1905 . The Elm. Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10. 37 . 19 August 2016.
  25. http://www.rystonhall.co.uk/ rystonhall.co.uk/
  26. Book: Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue . c. 1920 . 13–14.
  27. Book: Catalogue of trees & shrubs. T & S 100 . 1964 . Hillier and sons . Winchester, England . 158–159.
  28. https://archive.org/details/catalogueofornam1855hove/page/4 Hovey & Co., Boston, Mass., Catalogue of ornamental trees & shrubs, evergreens and climbing plants, 1855, p.5
  29. https://archive.org/details/ellwangerbarrysd1868moun/page/8 Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1868), p.9
  30. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (France). Collection: Vascular plants (P). Specimen P06882554
  31. https://archive.org/details/AnnualreportonM00GuilA/page/38 Guilfoyle, W. R. (William Robert), Annual report on the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, Government House grounds and Domain, Melbourne, 1877; p.39
  32. In Withdean Park; in Longhill School, Rottingdean; and in Brighton University, Moulsecoomb.
  33. Web site: Significant Elms of South-Eastern Australia . Shaw . Phil . advancedtrees.com.au . 2017-06-19 .
  34. Web site: 1123 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat . Google Maps . 2017-06-19 .
  35. Web site: Victorian Heritage Database . vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au . 2008-06-16 . 2017-06-20 .
  36. benalla.vic.gov.au/Files/BRC_Gardens_DL.pdf
  37. https://trusttrees.org.au/tree/VIC/Benalla/Bridge_Street 'Viminalis' in Benalla Botanic Gardens, trusttrees.org.au
  38. Web site: Significant Elms of South-Eastern Australia . Shaw . Phil . advancedtrees.com.au . 2017-06-19 .
  39. Web site: 1123 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat . Google Maps . 2017-06-19 .
  40. Book: Petzold. Kirchner. 1864. Arboretum Muscaviense. 551.
  41. Book: Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm. 1899. 2. 74.
  42. Book: Dieck, Georg . Haupt-catalog der Obst- und gehölzbaumschulen des ritterguts Zöschen bei Merseburg . Georg Dieck . Zöschen . 1 . 1887.
  43. Book: Loddiges, Conrad . Catalogue . Hackney . 1836.
  44. Book: Loudon, John Claudius. 3. 1838 . Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum. 1376.
  45. http://www.botanicalcollections.be/specimen/BR0000010841105 Botanic Garden Meise, Herbarium specimen BR0000010841105
  46. Book: Hartwig . Julius . August Karl Julius Hartwig . Rümpler . Theodor . Karl Theodor Rümpler . Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch . 1875 . 580 . 6 July 2017.
  47. Web site: Bulletin de la Fédération des sociétés d'horticulture de Belgique . Wesmael . Alfred . Alfred Wesmael . 1862 . 389 . 2027/hvd.32044103102810?urlappend=%3Bseq=399 . 6 July 2017.
  48. Book: Audibert, Urbain . Urbain Audibert . Catalogue des végétaux de tous genres cultivés dans les jardins et pépinières du Sieur Audibert . 23 . 1817 . 6 July 2017.
  49. Book: Lavallée, Alphonse. Pierre Alphonse Martin Lavallée. 1877. Arboretum Segrezianum. 235.
  50. Boulger. George. George Edward Simmonds Boulger. 1879. British elms. The Gardener's Chronicle. 12. 298.
  51. Book: Petzold. Kirchner. 1864. Arboretum Muscaviense. 551.
  52. Book: Masters, W. . Hortus Duroverni: Or, A Tabular and Descriptive Catalogue of Perennial Flower Roots, &c. Sold by W. Masters . 1831 . 66 . 2017-07-06.
  53. Book: 1903. L. Beissner. Ludwig Beissner. E. Schelle. Ernst Schelle. H. Zabel. Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung. 85.
  54. Book: Dieck, Georg . Haupt-catalog der Obst- und gehölzbaumschulen des ritterguts Zöschen bei Merseburg . Georg Dieck . Zöschen . 82 . 1885.
  55. Book: Dippel . Illustriertes Handbuch der Laubholzkunde . 2 . 30 . 1892 .
  56. Book: Dieck, Georg . Haupt-catalog der Obst- und gehölzbaumschulen des ritterguts Zöschen bei Merseburg . Georg Dieck . Zöschen . 82 . 1885.
  57. Book: Petzold. Kirchner. 1864. Arboretum Muscaviense. 553.
  58. Krüssman, Gerd, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs (1984 vol. 3)
  59. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society of London . Trees and shrubs for large towns. 1891 . 13 . 90 . Masters . William . William Masters (botanist) .
  60. Web site: List of plants in the collection. Brighton & Hove City Council. 23 September 2016.
  61. Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, .
  62. Web site: National Trust - Hybrid Elm (Ulmus viminalis) . trusttrees.org.au . 2017-06-19 .
  63. Book: 1902. Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 45, 47.
  64. Späth's erroneous clone, data.rbge.org.uk E00824785, E00824787, E00824880
  65. Späth's U. campestris viminalis ("not the usual nothomorph"; RBGE tree C2706; 1958); Späth's U. campestris viminalis ("not the usual nothomorph"; 1902); Späth's U. campestris viminalis ("not the usual nothomorph"; 1902)
  66. Melville's 1958 annotations to the RBGE cultivated herbarium accessions book, tree C2706
  67. http://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/?cfg=fulldetails.cfg&specimen_num=838695 data.rbge.org.uk, specimen E00824785
  68. Web site: Field elm in Holyrood Palace gardens . Google Maps . June 2015. 2018-07-02 .
  69. 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.
  70. Wilkinson, Gerald, After the Elm (London 1978)

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