''Ulmus minor'' subsp. ''canescens'' is a small

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree occasionally known by the common names grey elm, grey-leafed elm, and hoary elm. Its natural range extends through the lands of the central and eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, from southern Italy, the islands of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Malta,Plant: Ulmus canescens (Hoary Elm)
Wild Plants of Malta & Gozo - Plant: Ulmus canescens (Hoary Elm)
accessdate: October 27, 2016

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

Flore of Rhodes
Ulmus canescens - Flore of Rhodes
accessdate: October 27, 2016 and Cyprus, to Turkey, and as far south as Israel, where it is now considered rare and endangered in the wild.Flora of Israel Online
Ulmus minor Mill. , Flora of Israel Online
accessdate: October 27, 2016 The tree is typically found amidst the comparatively humid coastal woodlands and scrublands.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the tree remains a matter of contention; Melville originally treated the tree as a species in its own right, ''U. canescens'',Melville, R. (1978). On the discrimination of species in hybrid swarms with special reference to ''Ulmus'' and the nomenclature of ''U. minor'' (Mill.) and ''U. carpinifolia'' (Gled.). ''Taxon'' 27: 345-351 while others, notably Richens, and Browicz & Ziel., sank it as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

Ulmus minor ''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 ...

''.

Description

The tree is comparatively small, < 20 m high; the slender trunk, its bark coarsely fissured, supporting a rounded crown. The leaves are

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

, bluntly toothed, and densely downy on the underside when mature, imbuing them with a distinctive greyish hue. The young shoots also have a whitish-grey down.Diagnostic photographs of 'Canescens' in Malta
''Hoary elm'', maltawildplants.com The tree flowers in February and March, the round

samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

e, < 15 mm diameter, deeply notched at the outer end, ripen in April.Bean, W. J. (1980). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain''. 8th edition. Murray, UK.Melville, R. (1957)
"Ulmus canescens: an eastern Mediterranean elm."
''Kew Bulletin'': 499-502, 1957 File:U. canescens bark.jpg, Bark and young leaves, Antal Ben Shaddad,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Image:U. canescens seeds.jpg, Samarae, Plain of Esdraelon, Israel File:Ulmus canescens kz3.jpg, Samarae, Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus File:Ulmus canescens kz6.jpg, Bark, Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus File:Ulmus canescens kz2.jpg, New leaves of same

Pests and diseases

''Ulmus minor'' subsp. ''canescens'' is highly susceptible 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 ...

Cultivation

''Ulmus minor'' subsp. ''canescens'' is occasionally planted as a street tree in Israel, notably in

near the

Damascus Gate The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a highway leading out to Nablus, which in the Hebrew Bible was called Shechem or Sichem, and from the ...

along the Prophets Road and Antal Ben Shaddad street. In

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, a line of mature trees is found along the road leading to the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. It is also planted in Jordan, especially

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

. There are no known

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, ...

s of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce.

Accessions

;North America *

Morton Arboretum The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, United States, is a public garden, and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research including the Center for Tree Science. Its grounds, covering 1,700 acres (6.9 square kilometres ...

, US. Acc. no. 395-76 ;Europe * Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus. Acc. details not known. *

Grange Farm Arboretum The Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam.Ostler, J. (2009) ' ...

Sutton St James Sutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about south-west of Long Sutton. Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of the 1086 ''Domesday Book''. Su ...

, Spalding, Lincs., UK. Acc. no. 826. *

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

, UK. Labelled ''Ulmus canescens''. Acc. no. 20090690. From seed wild collected in Israel.Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). ''List of Living Accessions: Ulmus'

/ref> *

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares (180 acres) accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron. The Gardens are located nor ...

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

, UK. Acc. no. 2009.0334. From seed wild collected in Israel.

References

External links

Euforgen: elms
* * * * Sheet labelled ''Ulmus canescens'' Melville; specimen from

Phaselis Phaselis ( grc, Φασηλίς) or Faselis ( tr, Faselis) was a Greek and Roman city on the coast of ancient Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya Province in Turkey. It lies between th ...

* Sheet labelled ''U. minor'' Mill. subsp. ''canescens'' Melville; specimen from

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

, 1959 {{Taxonbar, from=Q7879426 minor subsp. canescens Trees of Europe Trees of Mediterranean climate Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Flora of Greece Trees of Asia Flora of Crete Flora of Sicily Flora of Cyprus Vulnerable plants Ulmus articles with images Controversial elm taxa