Ulmus 'Androssowii'

The hybrid cultivar ''Ulmus'' 'Androssowii' R. Kam. (or 'Androsowii'), an elm of Uzbekistan and TajikistanForestry Commission, ''Report on Forest Research for the year ended March 1987'', Edinburgh 1987; p.45 sometimes referred to in old travel books as 'Turkestan Elm' or as 'karagach' black tree, = elm its local name, is probably an artificial hybrid. According to Lozina-Lozinskaia the tree is unknown in the wild in Uzbekistan,Sokolov (1951). '' ''Trees & Shrubs in the U.S.S.R'''' (in Russian), 2: 506. and apparently arose from a crossing of ''U. densa'' var. ''bubyriana'' Litv. (now ''Ulmus minor'' 'Umbraculifera'), which it resembles (see the disputed species ''Ulmus densa''), and the Siberian Elm ''Ulmus pumila''. It is sometimes listed as ''Ulmus'' × ''androssowii'' (see below).

Not to be confused with the Ulmus 'Turkestanica' distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin.

For so-called ''Ulmus androssowii'' var. ''subhirsuta'' C. K. Schneid. and ''Ulmus androssowii'' var. ''virgata'' (Planch.) Grudz. , see '' Ulmus chumlia''.

Description

The tree grows to a height of and is distinguished by its very dense spherical crown and pubescent leaves.
Rehder noted (1939) that though similar in habit to 'Umbraculifera', 'Androssowi' could be "easily distinguished" by the grayish-brown bark of its twigs with conspicuous corky wings on older branches, by the pubescent winter-buds, by the mostly shallow- and single-toothed leaves, pubescent beneath, and by the near-orbicular fruit 10-13 mm in diameter, with the seed slightly above the middle. In 'Umbraculifera', by contrast, the twigs are red-brown and never corky, the leaves are more clearly and sharply double-toothed, only slightly pubescent beneath when young and soon smooth, and the obovate fruit is wedge-shaped at base and about 1.5 cm long, with the seed close to the notch.
The compact branch structure of 'Androssowii' helps the tree conserve moisture.

File:Ulmus 'Androssowii' (ex-Moscow) - Grange Farm arboretum. 2017-08-12 (47).jpg, 'Androssowii', Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincolnshire
File:Ulmus 'Androssowii' (ex-Moscow) - Grange Farm arboretum. 2017-08-12 (48).jpg, Leaves of same

Pests and diseases

Not known. In 1987, according to a Forestry Commission study of the Dushanbe area, Tajikistan, elms including 'Androssowii' "were plentiful in the city, pastures and roadside plantations, but no symptoms of Dutch elm disease, foliar or internal, were found. Breeding galleries of a Scolytus species close to Scolytus multistriatus were present in stressed or dying trees but no Ophiostoma ulmi was obtained from the galleries." The report concluded that, to date, the region may have escaped Dutch elm disease through geographical isolation.

Cultivation

The hybrid has been widely planted in southern and western areas of the former Soviet Union, notably along the streets of Samarkand. In western Europe it was distributed by Hesse's Nurseries, Weener, Germany, in the 1930s. A specimen was present at Kew Gardens in the 1930s. Cold-hardy, it prefers a rich soil and moderate humidity.

File:Ulmus x androssowi.jpg, 'Androssowii' left, ''U. Bubyriana'' ''Ulmus minor'' 'Umbraculifera'right, Samarkand (1903)
File:Gorskii 21791u.jpg, Turkestan Elm near Samarkand, early 20th century
File:Aziatskaya Rossiya. Vol 2. p. 136. 'Karagach'. Samarkand Oblast.jpg, Turkestan Elm near Samarkand, early 20th century
File:Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera'.jpg, Photo captioned 'Umbraculifera' but possibly 'Androssowii', Bukhara, Uzbekistan (c.1910)

Synonymy

*''Ulmus Androssowi'': Litv. in ''Schedae ad Herbarium Florae Rossicae'' 8: 23, no. 2445, ''t''.2, 1922.
*''Ulmus pumila'' f. ''androssowii'' (Litv.) Rehd.

Accessions

;North America
*Morton Arboretum, Illinois, US. Acc. no. 353-72 (received as ''U. pumila'' f. ''androssowii'' (Litv.) Rehder).
;Europe
*Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK. Grafted cuttings acquired 2013. Acc. nos. 1095, 1096.
*Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. nos. 18165, 18166 (as ''U. pumila'' f. ''androssowii'', both from Moscow).
*Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey, UK. Acc. nos. 2016.0355, 2016.0356.

Nurseries

;Europe
*Pan-global Plant

Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, UK.

''Ulmus'' × ''androssowii''

As the protologue (the first name used) for a hybrid of the ''U. minor'' × ''U. pumila'' group, ''Ulmus'' × ''androssowii'' is a valid group name for other crossings of these two species, whether wild or cultivated. The apparent uniformity of the cultivar 'Androssowii' makes it likely to be a single clone, ''Ulmus'' × ''androssowii'' 'Androssowii' ( Richens called the cultivar 'Major' ''Ulmus'' × ''hollandica'' 'Hollandica'). In addition to the native range of this hybrid group in Central Asia, spontaneous hybridization of field elm and Siberian elm also occurs in Spain and Italy, where Siberian elm is naturalised. Cultivars include:
* 'Fiorente'
* 'Fuente Umbria'
* 'Karagatch'
* 'Recerta'
* 'Toledo'
*Morton Arboretum's ''U. carpinifolia'' x ''U. pumila'', acc. 1946-24*1Hybrid elm, ''U. carpinifolia'' x ''U. pumila'', acc. 1946-24*1, Morton Arboretum
/ref>
Kew, however, currently states (2025) that "The hybrid formula is ''U. minor'' × ''U. pumila''", without citing a group name.
Kew, Plants of the World Online, ''Ulmus'' × ''androssowii'' Litv.
/ref>

References

External links

Photographs of and information on 'karagach' in Uzbekistan, World Digital Library

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4130195

Ulmus
Hybrid elm cultivar
Ulmus articles with images