Ulmus castaneifolia

Ulmus castaneifolia
Chestnut-leafed Elm aged 15 years, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Ulmaceae
Genus:	Ulmus
Species:	U. castaneifolia
Binomial name
Ulmus castaneifolia Hemsley
Synonyms
Ulmus ferruginea W. C. Cheng Ulmus multinervis W. C. Cheng

The Chestnut-leafed, or Multinerved, Elm Ulmus castaneifolia Hemsley is a small deciduous tree found across much of China in broadleaved forests at elevations of between 500 m and 1600 m.

Description

The tree can reach a height of 20 m with a trunk of about 0.5 m d.b.h. The bark is thick with a pronounced corky layer, and is longitudinally fissured. The branchlets are devoid of the corky wings common to many elms. The leaves are generally narrow, ranging from obovate to elliptic, < 15 cm long, and densely hirsute when young. The perfect wind-pollinated apetalous flowers are produced on second-year shoots in February; the samarae are mostly obovate < 30 mm × 16 mm. ^{[1] [2]}

Pests and diseases

Resistant to Dutch elm disease, and Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola [2].

Cultivation

The species is very rare in cultivation, but is currently (2006) being assessed for its horticultural potential at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois. In artificial freezing tests at the arboretum ^[3] the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was found to be - 26 °C. There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce beyond the USA.

Accessions

North America

• Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois. Planted in West Collections Area.
• Denver Botanic Gardens. Acc. details not available
• Morton Arboretum. Acc. no. 46-95. obtained from Yunnan Province, China.
• University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, Vancouver. Acc. no. 027099-0437-1989, (as U. multinervis).
• U S National Arboretum [3], Washington, D.C., USA. Acc. nos. 76219, 68914.

Europe

• Calderstones Park, Merseyside, UK. UK Champion, 13 m high, 45 cm d.b.h..
• Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincs. UK. Acc. no. 698.
• Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. no. 18149 (as U. multinervis W. C. Cheng), from Beijing.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Acc. no. 1973-11726
• Sir Harold Hillier Gardens. Acc. no. 1994.0327, area PC 700, origin not disclosed.
• Strona Arboretum, University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, (as Ulmus multinervis).

Nurseries

North America

• Sunshine Nursery [4], Clinton, Oklahoma

References

1. ^ Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002). Ulmaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) Flora of China, Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA. ISBN 1-930723-40-7 [1]
2. ^ White, J. & More, D. (2003). Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell's, London. ISBN 0-304-361192-5
3. ^ Shirazi, A. M. & Ware, G. H. (2004). Evaluation of New Elms from China for Cold Hardiness in Northern Latitudes. International Symposium on Asian Plant Diversity & Systematics 2004, Sakura, Japan.