Ulmus glabra 'Concavaefolia'

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Concavaefolia' (Fontaine, 1968),[1] a form with up-curling leaves, was listed in Beissner's Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (1903) as Ulmus montana cucullata Hort. [:'hooded', the leaf],[2] a synonym of the Ulmus scabra Mill. [:glabra Huds.] var. concavaefolia of herbarium specimens.[3] An Ulmus campestris cucullata, of uncertain species, had appeared in Loddiges' 1823 list,[4] but Loudon's brief description (1838) of concave- and hooded-leaved elms[5] was insufficient for later botanists to distinguish them.[6] The earliest unambiguous description appears to be that of Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).[7]

Ulmus glabra 'Concavaefolia'
'Concavaefolia' leaves
SpeciesUlmus glabra
Cultivar'Concavaefolia'
OriginEurope

Not to be confused with the field elm cultivar 'Webbiana', which also has longitudinally-folded, up-curling leaves (though smaller, shallower-toothed, and with longer petiole), or with concave-leaved field elms with down-curling leaves (see U. minor 'Concavaefolia' and U. minor 'Cucullata').

Description

Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864) described the leaves of their Ulmus campestris cucullata as rough, up-curving, and bicorne-shaped, being longer and more "closed" than those of their Ulmus campestris concavaefolia (the description of which matches 'Webbiana'). The twigs had scattered hairs.[7] The Kissena nurseries (Parsons & Sons) of New York (1903) described the leaves of their Ulmus campestris cucullata as "deeply curled like a hood, and sharply notched along the edges".[8] Both descriptions match the U. glabra Huds. 'Concavaefolia' of Fontaine (1968), with its leaf folded lengthwise along the midrib, making it more or less tubular.[1] Herbarium specimens (see 'External links') show an up-curling wych leaf with a shorter petiole, more deeply toothed margin, and more acuminate apex than 'Webbiana'. The samara was confirmed by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2017 as U. glabra Huds..[9]

  • 'Concavaefolia', East Preston Street Cemetery, Edinburgh, October 2016 (after upper right ascending branch removed because of DED infection)
  • Bole
  • Samarae
  • New leaves
  • Branchlets
  • Leaves of 'Concavaefolia', one unfolded, the others pressed in curled state (Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh, September, 2016)

Pests and diseases

The tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

Though once cultivated in Europe and North America, only one specimen of 'Concavaefolia' is now known to survive (see 'Notable trees'). The cultivar was marketed as Ulmus montana cucullata Hort. by the van Houtte nursery of Ghent in the late 19th century,[10] the name used for the specimen at Kew Gardens.[11] 'Concavaefolia' may have been the Ulmus campestris cucullata distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th century (to go by Späth's description of hooded grey leaves)[12][13] and supplied by him to the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada (one tree, 1897),[14] to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (three trees, 1902),[15] and to the Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk (one tree, 1916).[16][17] The tree was introduced to the USA c.1871, appearing as Ulmus campestris cucullata in the catalogues of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York,[18] the name by which it was marketed by the Kissena nurseries, N.Y.[8] It is not known to have been introduced to Australia or New Zealand.

Notable trees

A specimen stood till 2017 (girth 2.8 m) in East Preston Street Cemetery, Edinburgh, before succumbing to DED.[19][20] A second, decayed old tree in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh, is the remains (2019) of an Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis' grafted at 2 m on a stock of 'Concavaefolia'.[note 1] The stock, now 3 m in girth (2016), flushes before the scion on a few ascending branches and bole shoots. It produces no suckers.

  • Bole-shoots of 'Concavaefolia', Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh
  • 'Concavaefolia' foliage silhouette, Warriston Cemetery

Synonymy
  • Ulmus campestris L. cucullata Hort.[8]
  • Ulmus montana cucullata: van Houtte[10][21]
  • Ulmus scabra Mill. [:glabra Huds.] var. concavaefolia.[3]

Notes
  1. By the west wall, middle level, of Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh .

References
  1. F. J., Fontaine (1968). "Ulmus". Dendroflora. 5: 37–55. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  2. Beissner, Ludwig, Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (Berlin 1903), p.86
  3. naturalis.nl, specimen WAG.1853027
  4. Loddiges, Conrad (1823). Catalogue of plants, in the collection of Conrad Loddiges & Sons, nurserymen, at Hackney, near London. 13. p. 35.
  5. Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, 3: 1378, 1838
  6. Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. p. 1895.
  7. Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (Gotha, 1864), p.557
  8. Kissena Nurseries, N.Y., 1903 catalogue, p.34
  9. Correspondence with RBGE, 2017
  10. Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre, Catalogue de Louis van Houtte, 1881-2, p.303
  11. Hand-list of trees and shrubs, excluding Coniferae, grown in Arboretum Kew Gardens (London, 1902), p.621
  12. Späth, L., cat. 79, Berlin 1890-91, p.113
  13. Späth, L., cat. 158, Berlin 1913-14, p.143
  14. 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.
  15. Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 1902. pp. 45, 47.
  16. rystonhall.co.uk/
  17. Ryston Hall Arboretum catalogue. c. 1920. pp. 13–14.
  18. 'Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees & Shrubs', no.2, Mount Hope Nursery, Rochester, 1871; p.6
  19. Google Maps: Dalkeith Road - Google Maps (Aug 2012), accessdate: October 11, 2016
  20. Google Maps: Dalkeith Road - Google Maps (Aug 2014), accessdate: October 11, 2016
  21. bioportal.naturalis.nl, specimen L.1586967
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