Ulmus minor 'Cretensis'

Ulmus minor 'Cretensis'
SpeciesUlmus minor
Cultivar'Cretensis'
OriginCrete

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Cretensis' [:from Crete] was first mentioned by Nicholson in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs Vol.2 (1896), as Ulmus campestris var. cretensis, without description.[1][2] A 1908 herbarium specimen at Kew Gardens with an accompanying description[3] suggests that 'Cretensis' is not synonymous with Ulmus minor var. canescens, also present on Crete.[4][5]

Description

On the Kew Herbarium specimen Augustin Ley added the description: "All parts [of the shoots and upper leaf-surface] very glabrous and smooth; [on the leaf underside] axils and leaf-surface along mid-rib hairy; non glandular".[3] The specimen shows obovate leaves, 4 to 6 cm long by 3 to 5 wide, with a small tapering tip, biserrate or triserrate margin, and a 5 mm petiole.

Pests and diseases

See under Ulmus minor.

Cultivation

It is not known whether 'Cretensis' remains in cultivation. An old field elm by the 11th-century Byzantine church of St Nicholas, Kyriakosellia, Apokoronas, western Crete,[6] is in the locality where 'Cretensis' herbarium specimens were collected in the early 20th century, [7] and outside the small area in central Crete where 'Canescens' has been found.[5] Sfikas (2011), however, refers to 'Canescens' in the Apokoronas area.[4]

References

  1. ^ Nicholson, George (1896). Hand-list of trees and shrubs. Vol. 2. p. 135.
  2. ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b Ulmus campestris var. cretensis herbarium specimen, Kew Gardens, herbariaunited.org specimen 289491 (1908; A. Ley)
  4. ^ a b 'Canescens' in Crete, in the Apokoronas region: George Sfikas, Trees and shrubs of Greece (Athens, 2nd ed. 2001) p.140
  5. ^ a b 'Canescens' in Crete, in the Aghia Irene gorge in the Temenos region: Natural Europe Project, University of Crete, europeana.eu [1] [2] [3]
  6. ^ "Field elm by Church of St. Nicholas, Kyriakosellia (Kiriakosellia), Crete". Google Maps. September 2011. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  7. ^ "Specimen - P06883116". Collection: Vascular plants (P). Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (France). Sheet labelled U. campestris (long-shoot specimen from Apokoronas, Crete, 1915)