The dwarf
wych elm
''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...
cultivar ''Ulmus glabra'' 'Nana', a very slow growing shrub that with time forms a small tree, is of unknown origin. It was listed in the Simon-Louis (
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...
,
France) 1869 catalogue as ''Ulmus montana nana''.
Henry (1913), referring his readers to an account of the
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
specimen in the journal ''Woods and Forests'', 1884, suggested that it may have originated from a
witch's broom
Witch's broom or witches' broom is a deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, with the resulting structure resembling a broom or a ...
. It is usually classified as a form of ''
Ulmus glabra
''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...
'' and is known widely as the 'Dwarf Wych Elm'. However, the ancestry of 'Nana' has been disputed in more recent years,
Melville considering the specimen once grown at
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
to have been a cultivar of ''
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 E ...
''.
[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.]
Not to be confused with
Loudon's ''U. campestris nana'' (1838), a dwarf
field elm "with small, narrow, rough leaves",
[, p.1378] or with
''Ulmus'' 'Monstrosa', a long-petioled dwarf field-elm cultivar sometimes referred to as 'Nana Monstrosa'.
Description
The tree rarely exceeds 5 m in height, but is often broader.
[White, J. & More, D. (2003) ''Trees of Britain & Northern Europe''. Cassell's, London.] The dark green leaves are smaller than the wych type, long, often with one or two cusp-like lobes either side of the apex.
[Krüssman, Gerd, ''Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs'' (1984 vol. 3)] The thick twigs, short petiole and diminutive samara with seed close to base, all point to ''U. glabra'' origin. A specimen at
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
was described by
Henry as 'a slow-growing hemispherical bush that has not increased appreciably in size for many years'.
Green describes 'Nana' as growing some in 10 to 12 years.
Image:U.glabra 'Nana'.jpg, 'Nana' in winter, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2012)
File:Ulmus 'Nana'. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (1).jpg, 'Nana' in late summer, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (2016)
File:Ulmus 'Nana'. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (2).jpg, Bole of same
File:AZ0043 Ulmus 'Nana'. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (02).jpg, Samarae
File:AZ0043 Ulmus 'Nana'. RBG Edinburgh (07).jpg, 'Nana' leaves, spring
Image:AB Ulmus glabra 'Nana' leaves.jpg, 'Nana' leaves, summer
Pests and diseases
The low height of the tree should ensure that it avoids
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
by
Scolytus
''Scolytus'' is a genus of bark beetles (subfamily Scolytinae). It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests. The Dutch elm disease is spread in North America by two species : the native elm bark beetle, ''Hylurgopinu ...
bark beetles and thus remain free of
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 America, Europe ...
. It has been noted that shrub-elms are usually less prone to infection.
Cultivation
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 Baumschulenw ...
of Berlin marketed ''U. montana nana'' in the late 19th century.
It 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 b ...
,
Ottawa,
Canada, in 1898.
''Ulmus montana nana'', 'Dwarf Scotch Elm', was introduced to the USA in the late 19th century, appearing as a "new variety" in the 1897 catalogue of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as
Ellwanger and
Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...
) of
Rochester, New York. A 'Nana' appeared as ''U. nana'', 'Dwarf American elm', a "very small" elm with compact habit, in Kelsey's 1904 catalogue, New York. (Other European elms described as 'American' by various nurseries include
'Vegeta',
'Scampstoniensis',
and
'Lutescens'.
) There was a well-grown specimen in
Missouri Botanical Garden in the mid 20th century. The tree is still occasionally found in arboreta and gardens in the
UK, Europe and North America. It is not known in
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
. 'Nana' remains in cultivation in Europe (see Nurseries).
A shrub elm sold in the Netherlands as ''U.'' 'Monstrosa' appeared from its leaf and short petiole to be 'Nana', while one cultivated in the
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the early 20th century as 'Nana' appears from its leaf and long petiole to have been 'Monstrosa'. The current RBGE 'Nana' is the authentic wych clone (2017).
File:Ulmus glabra 'Nana'.jpg, Pruned 'Nana', Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK (2008)
Image:Ulmus 'Nana'.jpg, Young 'Nana'
File:Alice in Wonderland (11984156).jpg, 'Nana' in flower, RBGE
Notable trees
The specimen of 'Nana' in the
University Parks (North Walk),
Oxford, UK, has attained a height of about 6 m (2017).
[parks.ox.ac.uk/tree/alpha.htm] Another grew in
Alexandra Park,
East Sussex, UK, measured 6 m high, 38 cm dia. at 1 m from ground in 1980 but is possibly now lost.
[Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). ''Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland''. Whittet Press, .]
File:Ulmus 'Nana'. Oxford University Parks.jpg, 'Nana' in Oxford University Parks (2017)
Synonymy
*''Ulmus scabra nana''
Dipp.
*''Ulmus glabra'' 'Bush': ''Plant Buyer's Guide'', ed. 5, 253, 1949, without description.
Accessions
;North America
*
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 ...
, UK. Acc. no. 448–88
;Europe
*
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Acc. no. 19021001, two trees in excellent condition (2004).
*
Royal Horticultural Society Gardens
Wisley
__NOTOC__
Wisley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England between Cobham and Woking, in the Borough of Guildford. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village and Ockham an ...
, UK. Two specimens, no details available.
*
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 north ...
,
Romsey,
Hampshire, UK. Acc. nos. 1978.1680, 1978.4729
*
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
Botanic Gardens, Denmark. No details available.
*
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, UK. Acc. no. 1128. Accessioned as ''U.'' 'Monstrosa'.
Nurseries
North America
None known
Europe
*A Touch of Gree
Amstelveen
Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villag ...
, Netherlands.
*Arboretum Waaslan
Nieuwkerken-Waas
Nieuwkerken-Waas is a village in the Belgian province East Flanders. Since 1977, it has been a subdivision (deelgemeente) of the municipality of Sint-Niklaas.
History
In comparison with towns bordering Sint-Niklaas such as Waasmunster, Belsele ...
, Belgium.
*H. Kolste
Boskoop
Boskoop () is a town in the province of South Holland. It was a separate municipality until it merged into Alphen aan den Rijn in 2014. The town had a population of 15,050 in 2012 and covers an area of of which is water. It's the world's bigge ...
, Netherlands.
*PlantenTuin Esvel
Netherlands.
*Szkółki Konieczk
Gogolin
Gogolin is a town in southern Poland, in Opole Voivodeship, in Krapkowice County. It has 6,682 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Gmina Gogolin.
Geology and palaeontology
Gogolin gives its name to the Gogolin Formation whose strata were fi ...
, Poland.
References
{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed
Wych elm cultivar
Ulmus articles with images
Ulmus