Ulmus prunifolia W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu is a deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 tree endemic only to the province of Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

 in central eastern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where it is found at elevations of between 1000 m and 1500 m.

Description

The tree can reach < 30 m in height, its bark dark grey and distinctively smooth. The narrow leaves vary in shape from elliptic

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

 to lanceolate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

, < 14 cm in length, and borne on twigs devoid of corky wings or layers. The wind-pollinated apetalous flowers are produced on second-year shoots from February; the samarae

Samara (fruit)

A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...

 are oblong - obovate < 20 mm × 13 mm, and ripen in April - May.

Pests and diseases

U. prunifolia was found to be among the least suitable elms 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.sunshinenursery.com/survey.htm http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/0022-0493%282001%29094%5B0162%3AROTCEU%5D2.0.CO%3B2 and 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 in the USA.

Cultivation

All four trees grown at the Brenton Arboretum

Brenton Arboretum

The Brenton Arboretum 121 acres is a new arboretum and botanical garden in early stages of development, located at 2629 Palo Circle, Dallas Center, Iowa, USA. The Arboretum aims to display all Iowa native trees and shrubs suitable to the site, as well as many other tree species which can grow in...

, Dallas Center, 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...

, died for reasons unknown circa 2006; one specimen survives at the US National Arboretum. U. prunifolia has never been in commerce.

Accessions

North America

• U S National Arboretum
  United States National Arboretum
  The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
  
   http://www.usna.usda.gov/index.htm, Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
  
  , USA. Acc. no. 76240.