Ulmus 'Myrtifolia'
| Ulmus 'Myrtifolia' | |
|---|---|
| Genus | Ulmus |
| Cultivar | 'Myrtifolia' |
| Origin | England? |
The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Myrtifolia', the Myrtle-leaved Elm, first appeared in nursery and horticultural lists from the 1830s, as Ulmus myrtifolia and Ulmus campestris myrtifolia,[1][2][3] the name Ulmus myrtifolia Volxem being used at Kew Gardens from 1880.[4] Lawson's nursery of Edinburgh appears to have been the earliest to list the tree.[1] 'Myrtifolia' was listed by Nicholson in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs (1896), but without description.[5] It was later listed as a cultivar and described by Rehder in 1939[4] and by Krüssmann in 1962.[6]
The specimen under this name in the Herb. Nicholson at Kew was considered by Melville to be a probable U. minor × Ulmus minor 'Plotii' hybrid.[7]
The cultivar 'Myrtifolia Purpurea', which has larger leaves, is not related to 'Myrtifolia'.[4]
Description
[edit]'Myrtifolia' was described as having leaves ovate or rhombic-ovate to oblong-ovate, 2–5 cm long with nearly simple teeth, loosely pilose on both sides. The petiole is 2 to 4 mm long, the samarae 12 to 15 mm long.
Cultivation
[edit]A 'Mytifolia' was present in North Road, Bath in 1902.[8] There were specimens at Arnold Arboretum in the mid-20th century, sourced in the 1920s from a tree in Cleveland, Ohio.[4]
The tree is not known to remain in cultivation.
Putative specimen
[edit]A small, slow-growing, dense-crowned old elm (15 m, girth 2 m), with very small narrow myrtle-like leaves, stands near 90 Lower Granton Rd, Edinburgh (2016), in a garden that was once part of the elm-planted grounds of Wardie House (demolished 1955).[9] Ulmus campestris myrtifolia appeared in the lists of the adjacent Wardie Nursery (Lawson Nursery group) in the late 19th century,[3] and Ulmus myrtifolia in the Lawson's of Edinburgh lists from the 1830s.[10] Its leaves, which flush and fall late,[11] are lance-shaped or oval (2–4.5 cm by 1.3–2 cm; petioles 0.5–1 cm). The tree, which has smooth branchlets, has been grafted on to a suberose U. minor stock.
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Lower Granton Road tree, Edinburgh, September -
Same, October (front tree; wych behind) -
Samarae and canopy long-shoot leaves -
Pressed short- and long-shoot canopy leaves -
Epicormic long shoot -
Epicormic foliage -
Bark -
Graft-mark
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Synonymy
[edit]- Ulmus campestris (: minor) var. myrtifolia Hort.: Nicholson, in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896.
- Ulmus buxifolia Hort.: Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896, in synonymy.
- Ulmus procera var. myrtifolia: Bean (1934)[12]
- Ulmus procera f. myrtifolia: Rehder (1939)[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis: or, A catalogue of plants ... cultivated in the gardens and grounds in the neighbourhood of London: with all their synonyms, including their French, German, and Italian names; ... To which are added ... hardy trees and shrubs in the principal nurseries of London and Edinburgh, and at Bollwyller in France, and in Hamburg (London, 1838), p.145
- ^ Report of the Board on behalf of United States Executive Departments at the International Exhibition held at Philadelphia 1876 (Washington 1884), vol 2, The Department of Agriculture: Horticultural and Propagating Division; p.311
- ^ a b The Lawson Company's List, no. IV, Forest Trees & Shrubs, Nov. 1874; Lawson Seed & Nursery Co., Edinburgh & London, p.25
- ^ a b c d e Rehder, Alfred (1939). "Rehder, new species, varieties and combinations". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 20: 87–88. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs, vol.2 (London 1896), p.135
- ^ Krüssmann, J. G., Handbuch der Laubgehölze 2: 540, 1962
- ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ Inman, T. Frederic (1905). "The Elm". Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10: 37. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour, accessdate: August 12, 2016
- ^ Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis (London, 1838), p.145-6
- ^ Google Maps: A901 - Google Maps, accessdate: August 12, 2016
- ^ Bean, W. J., Kew Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs, 1934, p.341