The American Elm

American Elm

Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can...

 Ulmus americana cultivar 'Littleford' is an older cultivar originally cloned from a tree in Hinsdale

Hinsdale, Illinois

Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...

 circa 1915 and first released in 1927.

Pests and diseases

The clone's resistance to Dutch Elm Disease

Dutch elm disease

Dutch 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...

 is not known, but the species is highly susceptible to the disease and Elm Yellows

Elm Yellows

Elm Yellows is a plant disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts. Elm Yellows, also known as Elm Phloem Necrosis, is very aggressive, with no known cure. Elm Yellows occurs in the Eastern United States and southern Ontario in Canada. It is caused by phytoplasmas which...

; it is also moderately preferred for feeding and reproduction by the adult Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola

Xanthogaleruca luteola

Xanthogaleruca luteola, commonly known as the Elm Leaf Beetle, is a serious pest of the elm. Indigenous to Europe, it was accidentally introduced to North America. Both the imagines and larvae feed on the emergent leaves of the elm...

http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/0022-0493%282001%29094%5B0162%3AROTCEU%5D2.0.CO%3B2, and highly preferred for feeding by the Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/0022-0493%282001%29094%5B0445%3APOTCEU%5D2.0.CO%3B2 http://www.sunshinenursery.com/survey.htm in the USA.
U. americana is also the most susceptible of all the elms to verticillium wilt

Verticillium wilt

Verticillium Wilt is a wilt disease of over 300 species of eudicot plants caused by one of two species of Verticillium fungus, V. dahliae and V. albo-atrum. Many economically important plants are susceptible including cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers and ornamentals, as well as others...

 .

Cultivation

'Littleford' was marketed by the Sherman Nursery, Charles City, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, as late as 1957, but is no longer listed by that emporium or any other. . The tree is not known to have been introduced to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 or Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

.

Synonymy

• Ulmus americana var. Littlefordii: Bailey & Bailey, Hortus Second, 746, 747, 1941.