''Ulmus ismaelis'' is a small tree discovered circa 1997 in southern Mexico by
Ismael Calzada in
riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
along the
Mixteco River system in northeastern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, where it grows among large boulders in the limestone canyons.
The tree has since been found in Honduras and El Salvador.
[Linares, J. L. (2005). First record of Ulmus ismaelis (Ulmaceae) in Central America. ''Rev. Mex. Biodiv.'' vol.76 no.1 México. Jun. 2005 (in Spanish)]
/ref> The tree is exceptional in its habitat: dry places, sometimes with <500 mm per annum precipitation, and comparatively low altitudes of 450–750 m.[
]
Description
Rarely growing to > 15 m in height, typically < 10 m with a trunk d.b.h., diameter of 30 cm; the tree has exfoliating orangish bark. The 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 ova ...
leaves are coriaceous, < 9.6 cm in length by 4.6 cm broad, acute at the apex, pinnately veined, on short (2–5 mm) petioles; the colour ranges from dull green to light brown. The apetalous
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...
flowers are arranged as short racemes on leafless twigs, sparsely clustered on < 7 mm peduncles. The samarae are < 22 × 13 mm, tapering at the base to a <8 mm stalk, with ciliate
The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a differen ...
margins, and are shed during June and July in Mexico;[ in Honduras and El Salvador the tree flowers at the time of foliage change, just before the fall of the leaves of the previous season during the months of February and March, and fructifies from March to the end of April, coinciding with the emergence of the new season's leaves.][
]
Pests and diseases
No information available.
Cultivation
The tree is extremely rare in cultivation; it was introduced to Europe in 2019 as seed sent to the 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) ...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, UK. Seedlings were later disseminated by the arboretum to Butterfly Conservation's main trials site, Great Fontley, Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, UK, and the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...
, Spain.
Etymology
The species is named for the Mexican botanist and collector Dr , who discovered the tree.
Accessions
Europe
* Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincs., UK. Seedlings germinated 2019.
* Butterfly Conservation elm trials plantation, Great Fontley, Hants., UK. One seedling, germinated 2019.
References
Elm species and varieties
Endemic flora of Mexico
Trees of Northern America
Trees of El Salvador
Trees of Honduras
Trees of Central America
Ulmus articles missing images
ismaelis
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