Ulmus glabra 'Gigantea'

Ulmus glabra 'Gigantea'
SpeciesUlmus glabra
Cultivar'Gigantea'
OriginEurope

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Gigantea' was listed as U. montana var. gigantea Hort. by Kirchner (1864).[1] An U. montana gigantea was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s. It did not appear in Späth's 1903 catalogue.[2] A specimen at Kew was judged by Henry to be "not distinct enough to deserve a special name".[3] Both Späth and the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, supplied it in the 1930s.[4][5]

Green gave a different clone, the Dutch Elm 'Major', as synonym of 'Gigantea'.[6]

Description

The Kew specimen was a small tree with ascending branches.[3] Herbarium leaf-specimens show a large orbicular wych elm leaf with a typically short petiole.[7]

Pests and diseases

A cultivar of the Wych Elm, 'Gigantea' is susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.

Cultivation

One tree was planted in 1897 as U. montana gigantea at the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada.[8] Three specimens supplied by Späth to the RBGE in 1902 as U. montana gigantea may survive in Edinburgh, as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city (viz. the Wentworth Elm);[9] the current list of Living Accessions held in the Garden per se does not list the plant.[10]

Accessions

None known.

References

  1. ^ Petzold; Kirchner (1864). Arboretum Muscaviense. p. 564.
  2. ^ Katalog (PDF). Vol. 108. Berlin, Germany: L. Späth Baumschulenweg. 1902–1903. pp. 132–133.
  3. ^ a b Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. 7. p. 1867.
  4. ^ Späth, Ludwig (1930). Späth-Buch, 1720-1930. Berlin: Self published. pp. 311–313, 351–352.
  5. ^ Hesse, Hermann Albert (1932). Preis- und Sortenliste. pp. 96–97. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Herbarium specimen - E00824762". Herbarium Catalogue. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Sheet described as U. montana gigantea, RBGE specimen from Späth nursery, 1902; "Herbarium specimen - E00824765". Herbarium Catalogue. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Sheet described as U. montana gigantea, RBGE specimen from Späth nursery, 1902; "Herbarium specimen - E00824763". Herbarium Catalogue. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Sheet described as U. montana With. gigantea Hort., 1903; "Herbarium specimen - L.1582068". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet labelled U. montana With. f. gigantea Hort.; "Herbarium specimen - L.1582067". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet labelled U. montana With. f. gigantea Hort., 1903
  8. ^ Saunders, William; Macoun, William Tyrrell (1899). Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm (2 ed.). pp. 74–75.
  9. ^ Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 1902. pp. 45, 47.
  10. ^ "List of Living Accessions: Ulmus". Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 21 September 2016.