Ulmus × hollandica Mill.Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
, often known simply as
Dutch Elm, is a natural hybrid between
Wych ElmUlmus glabra, the Wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese in Greece; it is also found in Iran...
Ulmus glabra and
Field ElmUlmus minor Mill., the Field Elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor; its northern outposts are the Baltic islands of Öland and Gotland, although it...
Ulmus minor which commonly occurs across Europe wherever the ranges of the two parent species overlap. In England, according to the field-studies of R. H. Richens, "The largest area [of hybridization] is a band extending across
EssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
from the
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
border to southern
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The next largest is in northern
BedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
and adjoining parts of
NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. Comparable zones occur in
PicardyThis article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
and Cotentin in northern France".
F1 hybridF1 hybrid is a term used in genetics and selective breeding. F1 stands for Filial 1, the first filial generation seeds/plants or animal offspring resulting from a cross mating of distinctly different parental types....
s between Wych and Field Elm are fully fertile, but produce widely variant progeny. Many also inherit the suckering habit of their Field Elm parent. Both Richens and
RackhamOliver Rackham OBE is a Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He is also Keeper of theCollege Silver.An acknowledged authority on the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture, Rackham has written a number of well-known books, including The History of the...
noted that examples in the East Anglian hybridization zone were sometimes pendulous in form. A surviving mature
U. × hollandica at Actons Farm,
SawbridgeworthSawbridgeworth is a small, mainly residential, town and also a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.- Location :Sawbridgeworth is four miles south of Bishop's Stortford, twelve miles east of Hertford and nine miles north of Epping. It lies on the A1184 and has a railway station that links to...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
- if it was not, as has been suggested, a seedling of Vegeta (Huntingdon Elm) from the local Rivers Nursery (see under
Vegeta) - is a case in point.
U. × hollandica hybrids, natural and artificial, have been widely planted elsewhere by man.
.
Pests and diseases
Some examples of the hybrid possess a moderate resistance to
Dutch elm diseaseDutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
.
Notable trees
With a girth of 22 in 6 in (6.86 m) and a height of 40 metres, the
Ulmus x hollandica hybrid elm on Great Saling Green, Great Saling, near
BraintreeBraintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
,
EssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, was reputedly the largest elm in England, before succumbing to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1980s. A photograph of the tree can be found (plate 402) in Elwes & Henry's
Trees of Great Britain & Ireland http://fax.libs.uga.edu/QK488xE4/1f/trees_of_britain_and_ireland_vol_7.pdf published in 1913, wherein it is identified as
U. nitens (
U. minor subsp.
minor).
Examples of mature survivors in the East Anglian hybridisation zone include the elms at the River Can weir, at the western end of Admiral's Park,
ChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
,
EssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and those near
RoystonRoyston is the name of several places:* Royston, South Yorkshire, England* Royston, British Columbia, Canada* Royston, Hertfordshire England** Royston Town F.C., an English football club* Royston, Glasgow, a district of Glasgow, Scotland...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, designated 'Elm of the Year, 2004' by
Das Ulmen Büro.
Many old trees still survive in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, notably in
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, the finest considered to be the specimen found outside the
Ellerslie RacecourseEllerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand for thoroughbred racehorses. It is an undulating, grass circuit of approximately 1,900 m.-History:The first race meeting was held at Ellerslie on 25 May 1874...
.
The hybrid elm in art
The elms in the
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
landscape-paintings and drawings of
John ConstableJohn Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
were "most probably East Anglian hybrid elms ... such as still grow in the same hedges" in
Dedham ValeDedham Vale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex-Suffolk border in east England. It comprises the area around the River Stour between Manningtree and Bures, including the village of Dedham in Essex. It is part of the area known since the artist's lifetime as Constable...
,
FlatfordFlatford is a small hamlet close to East Bergholt in Suffolk. It is most famous for Flatford Mill, Willy Lott's Cottage and Bridge Cottage, immortalised in the paintings of John Constable.-Access by Road:...
and
East BergholtEast Bergholt is a village in the south of Suffolk, England, just north of the Essex border. It is "twinned" with the village of Barbizon, France....
.
Elm trees in Old Hall Park, East Bergholt http://www.john-constable.org/Elm-trees-in-Old-Hall-Park,-East-Bergholt,-1817-large.html is often considered the finest of Constable's elm-studies.
Cultivars
At least 30 cultivars have been recorded, although over half have now been lost to cultivation because of Dutch elm disease:
Alba, Angustifolia, Belgica (Belgian Elm), Cinerea, Dampieri, Dauvessei, Daveyi (Davey Elm), Dumont, Elegantissima, Eleganto-Variegata, Fjerrestad, Fulva, Gaujardii, Groeneveld, Haarlemensis, Hillieri, Jacqueline Hillier, Major (Dutch Elm), Macrophylla Aurea, Microphylla, Modiolina, Muscaviensis, Pioneer, Serpentina, Smithii (Downton Elm), Superba (Canterbury Elm), Tricolor, Vegeta (Huntingdon Elm) / Vegeta (Chichester Elm), Virens (Kidbrook Elm), Viscosa, Wredei (Golden Elm), Ypreau.
North America
- Arnold Arboretum. Acc. nos. 325-81, 7614, 92-38
- Bartlett Tree Experts. Acc. nos. 1245, 1246
- New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
. Acc. no. 508/79
- Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. Acc. no. 940414
Australasia
- Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill is the national arboretum of New Zealand. It covers and is located 35 km northwest of Gisborne, in the hill country of Ngatapa. It was founded in 1910 by William Douglas Cook...
http://www.eastwoodhill.org.nz/gardens--collection/collection.aspx?Type=&G=Ulmus, Gisborne-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. 24 trees, details not known.
- Waite Arboretum http://www.waite.adelaide.edu.au/arboretum/, University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Acc. nos. 368, 339
Europe
Australasia
- Fleming's Nursery http://www.flemings.com.au/, Monbulk, Victoria, Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...