The

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

''Ulmus'' 'Monstrosa' "monstrous", "strange" a shrub-elm with fasciated branching, is believed to have originated in France, where it was first listed by Lavallée in ''Arboretum Segrezianum'' (1877) as a form of

Field Elm ''Ulmus minor'' Mill., the field elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor and Iran; its northern ...

, ''Ulmus campestris'' var. ''monstrosa'', but without description. Though its long slender 2 cm petiole (see herbarium specimens in 'External links') is not a feature of wych elm ''U. glabra'' Huds., and is even less likely in a shrub form of this species, the wych-cultivar error arose early, perhaps because the

Späth nursery The Späth (often spelt ''Spaeth'') family created one of the world's most notable plant nurseries of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The nursery had been founded in 1720 by Christoph Späth but removed to the erstwhile district of Baumschulen ...

of Berlin, using ''Ulmus montana'' both for some ''

Ulmus × hollandica ''Ulmus'' × ''hollandica'' Mill. , often known simply as Dutch elm, is a natural hybrid between Wych elm ''Ulmus glabra'' and field elm ''Ulmus minor'' which commonly occurs across Europe wherever the ranges of the parent species overlap. In Eng ...

'' cultivars and for wych varieties, listed it c.1890 as ''Ulmus montana monstrosa''. Hartwig in ''Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch'' (1892) followed with ''Ulmus scabra monstrosa'', an error repeated by Krüssman (1962) and by

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

(1964), with their ''U. glabra'' Huds. 'Monstrosa'. 'Monstrosa' was sometimes referred to as ''Ulmus scabra'' glabra Huds.f. ''nana monstrosa'' Schneid., leading to confusion with the more common (and still cultivated) dwarf elm ''Ulmus glabra'' 'Nana' (see 'Cultivation'). Späth in his late 19th and early 20th century catalogues listed and described ''Ulmus montana monstrosa'' separately from ''Ulmus montana nana''.Späth, L., Catalogue 79 (1890–91; Berlin), p.114
/ref>

Description

'Monstrosa' was described as a compact shrub, with branchlets often fasciated, and leaves 5–8 cm long, partly pitcher-shaped at the base, on slender stalks < 25 mm long. A herbarium specimen shows that "fasciated" in this context refers to bunched terminal shoots, not to the botanical phenomenon of

fasciation Fasciation (pronounced , from the Latin root meaning "band" or "stripe"), also known as cresting, is a relatively rare condition of abnormal growth in vascular plants in which the apical meristem (growing tip), which normally is concentrated aro ...

. This description of the cultivar as a compact shrub, however, dates from its early days in cultivation, and the ultimate size of 'Monstrosa', if it survives, is unknown.

Pests and diseases

The degree of the tree's susceptibility to

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

(DED) is unknown. It has been noted that shrub-elms are usually less prone to infection.

Cultivation

No specimens are known to survive. ''U. montana monstrosa'' was introduced to the

Dominion Arboretum The Dominion Arboretum (french: Arboretum du Dominion) is an arboretum part of the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally begun in 1889, the Arboretum covers about of rolling land ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada, probably from Späth, in 1899. A specimen obtained from Späth as ''U. montana monstrosa'' and planted in 1916, stood in the

Ryston Hall Ryston Hall, Ryston, Norfolk, England is a 17th-century country house built by Sir Roger Pratt for himself. The house was constructed between 1669 and 1672 in the Carolean style. In the late 18th century, John Soane made alterations to the hous ...

arboretum,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, in the early 20th century. There were specimens in

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...

, Massachusetts, and in Belmonte Arboretum,

Wageningen Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many t ...

, in the mid-20th century. The shrub elm sold in the Netherlands as 'Monstrosa' is the cultivar 'Nana'.Photographs of plant sold as 'Monstrosa' in Holland: Herman Geers Dwarf & Miniature Plant

/ref> 'Nana Monstrosa' was an old synonym of 'Monstrosa'.Krüssman, Gerd, ''Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs'' (1984 vol. 3)

Synonymy

*''Ulmus campestris'' var. ''monstrosa'': Lavallée
''Arboretum Segrezianum'' 235, 1877
*''Ulmos scabra'' var. ''monstrosa'', Hartwig, ''Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch'' ed. 2, 294, 1892. *''Ulmus scabra (: glabra)'' var. ''monstrosa'' Hort.; Johann Gerd Krüssmann, Krüssmann, ''Handbuch der Laubgehölze'' 2: 536, 1962, as a cultivar. *''Ulmus scabra (:glabra)'' f. ''nana monstrosa'' Schneid.

References

{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed Elm cultivars Ulmus articles missing images Ulmus