Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Aurea' explained

Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Aurea'
Species:	Ulmus minor
Cultivar:	'Viminalis Aurea'
Origin:	Louvain, Belgium

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Aurea', probably a "golden" form of Ulmus minor 'Viminalis',^[1] was raised before 1866 by Egide Rosseels of Louvain,^[2] who was known to have supplied 'Viminalis'.^[3]

Description

The tree is distinguished by its 'Viminalis'-type leaves (4–7 cm x 3 cm) suffused golden yellow in early summer, greening as the season progresses.^{[4] [5] [6]} Clibran's of Altrincham (see 'Cultivation') described the coloration as "golden-bronze". Rehder noted that 'Viminalis Aurea' has been distinguished from 'Viminalis' by the more deeply incised usually obovate leaves, but the two forms of leaves pass gradually into each other and may be found even on the same plant.^{[7] [8]}

Pests and diseases

'Viminalis Aurea' is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

One tree supplied by the Späth nursery of Berlin was planted in 1899 at the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada, as U. campestris antarctica aurea.^[9] Three specimens were supplied by Späth to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902 as U. antarctica aurea, and may survive in Edinburgh as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city (viz. the Wentworth Elm).^[10] The current list of Living Accessions held in the Garden per se does not list the plant. In England the tree was supplied by Clibrans' nursery of Altrincham, Cheshire, as Ulmus campestris aurea Rosseelsii.^{[11] [12]} Only two specimens are known (2016) to survive in the UK, a stunted tree at Borde Hill, West Sussex.^[13] and a small tree (2016) at Grange Farm Arboretum (see Accessions). Others are known in Europe and Australasia^[14] (see Accessions).

Synonymy

• Ulmus antarctica aurea: Späth nursery^{[15] [16]}
• Ulmus campestris var. antarctica aurea: Nicholson, Kew Hand List Trees & Shrubs, ii, 613, 1902.
• Ulmus campestris var. aurea: Morren: La Belgique horticole, p. 356, 1866, (coloured plate), and Lemaire: horticole t 513, 1867.
• Ulmus campestris var. Rosscelsii: Schelle, in Beissner et al., Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung 83. 1903, = misspelling of Rosseelsii.
• Ulmus rosseelsii: Koch, Dendrologie; Bäume, Sträucher und Halbsträucher, welche in Mittel- und Nord- Europa im Freien kultivirt werden 2 (1): 412, 1872, in synonymy.

Accessions

North AmericaNone known.

Europe

• Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath, UK. Acc. no. 47334 (As Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Aurea').^[17]
• Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK. Acc. no. 1102.
• University of Copenhagen Botanic Garden, Denmark. As Ulmus procera 'Viminalis Aurea'.

Australasia

• Waite Arboretum http://www.waite.adelaide.edu.au/arboretum/, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia^[18]

Nurseries

North America

• ForestFarm Nurseries http://www.forestfarm.com/search/search.asp?aPage=1&index=genus&field-keywords=ulmus&Go.x=7&Go.y=6, Williams, Oregon, US.

Europe

• Arboretum Waasland http://www.arboretum-waasland.be/English.htm, Nieuwkerken-Waas, Belgium.
• Czeczot Krzewy http://www.czeczot-krzewy.pl, Bogumiłowice, Poland.
• Szkółka Krzewów Ozdobnych http://www.walaszczyk.pl, Bielsko-Biała, Poland.
• Szkółki Konieczko http://www.drzewa.com.pl, Gogolin, Poland.

Notes and References

1. Book: Bean, William Jackson. Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. 8th. 1988. 659. Murray. London.
2. Green . Peter Shaw . Peter Shaw Green . 1964 . Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia . 24. 41–80 . 6–8 . . 16 February 2017.
3. Book: Witte, H. . Algemeene tentoonstelling van voortbrengselen van tuinbouw te Amsterdam. 1 . 1865 . nl . 10 July 2017.
4. Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.
5. Bean, W. J. (1980) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. 8th edition. Murray's, London.
6. Krüssman, Gerd, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs (1984 vol. 3)
7. Rehder . Alfred . 1919 . Rehder, new species, varieties and combinations. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum . 1. 140–141 . 10 July 2017.
8. Sheet described as U. procera Rosseelsii (Den Haag specimen, 1931); Sheet labelled U. viminalis aurea (Hillier, Winchester, 1952)
9. Book: Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm. 1899. 2nd. 74.
10. Book: 1902. Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 45, 47.
11. https://archive.org/details/ClibransLtdmate00ClibM/page/26 Clibrans Ltd., Ornamental Trees Shrubs & Climbers, cat. 269, Altrincham, 1908-09, p.27
12. Book: Clibrans Ltd.. Ornamental Trees Shrubs & Climbers. 1921. Clibrans. Altrincham, Cheshire, UK. Season: 1921-22. 15.
13. Johnson, O. (ed.). (2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. p. 171. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.
14. https://trusttrees.org.au/tree/VIC/Benalla/Bridge_Street 'Viminalis Aurea' in the Waite Arboretum, trusttrees.org.au
15. Book: 1902–1903. Katalog. L. Späth Baumschulenweg. Berlin, Germany. 108. 132–133.
16. Späth, Ludwig (1930). Späth-Buch, 1720-1930. Berlin: Self published. pp. 311–313, 351–352
17. Web site: Champion Trees - Borde Hill Garden . Borde Hill Garden . 2017-07-09 .
18. Book: Spencer, R.. Hawker, J.. Lumley, P.. amp. Elms in Australia. Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Australia . 1991. 0-7241-9962-4.