Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
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''Ulmus davidiana'' var. ''japonica'', the Japanese elm, is one of the larger and more graceful Asiatic elms, endemic to much of continental northeast Asia and Japan, where it grows in swamp forest on young alluvial soils, although much of this habitat has now been lost to intensive rice cultivation.Makita, H., Miyagi, T., Miura, O., and Kikuchi, T. (1979). A study of an alder forest and an elm forest with special reference to their geomorphological conditions in a small tributary basin. In: Vegetation und Lansdschaft Japans. ''Bull: Yokohama Phytosoc. Soc. Japan'' 16, 1979


Description

The size and shape of the Japanese elm is extremely variable, ranging from short and bearing a densely branched broad crown similar to the Wych elm to tall, single-stemmed, with narrow crown similar to the English elm. Augustine Henry described one of the latter outside Iwamigawa, Hokkaido, railway station as being 34 m tall, with a clean stem to a height of approximately 15 m.Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913).
The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland
'. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2014 Cambridge University Press,
The Morton Arboretum, Illinois, distinguishes a cork-barked form from China, ''U. propinqua'' var. ''suberosa''. Japanese elm is distinguished by the fawn colour of shoots at the end of their first season, the shoots often being roughened by minute tubercles or 'warts'. The young shoots often bear corky wings, similar to those of the European
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 ...
''U. minor'', to which it is closely related. The leaves are generally obovate, < 11 cm long, with a petiole about 10mm long. Hishiyama, C. (Ed.). (2018). ''A picture book of (Japanese) trees'',  p.79. (in Japanese). Seibidoshuppan, Japan. Like many of the European
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 ...
s, var. ''japonica'' retains its green foliage well into the autumn, before a late display of deep yellow.
Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
noted that the variety from western China, formerly known as ''U. wilsoniana'', has 16 to 22 pairs of leaf-veins, while the eastern type tree has not more than 16. The
perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * Perfect (1985 film), ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * Perfect (2018 f ...
, apetalous wind-pollinated flowers emerge in early spring, before the leaves. The
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 ...
, <15 mm long, is obovate to orbicular, occasionally hairy over its entire surface but more often glabrous,Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002). Ulmaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of China'', Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, US

/ref> the seed touching the notch, the inner margins of which are ciliate, the stigmas being slightly incurved. Trees grown from seed at Great Fontley in southern England first flowered aged 13 years.Brookes, A. H. (2020). ''Great Fontley Elm Trial, 2020 Report''. Butterfly Conservation, Lulworth, England. The species does not sucker from roots. File:Japanese elm.jpg, Japanese elm, showing pendulous habit of lower branchlets. SHHG, Romsey, UK File:Japanese elm leaves.jpg, Japanese Elm leaves File:David & Japanese elm leaves.jpg, David Elm (left) and Japanese Elm (right) leaves for comparison File:Seed Ulmus davidiana var. japonica.jpg, Samarae File:Bark of the Japanese Elm Ulmus davidiana var. japonica.jpg, Bark of 30-year-old tree


Pests and diseases

Natural populations of Japanese elm have a low to moderate resistance to Dutch elm disease. In trials in the Netherlands, susceptibility to disease was found to be commensurate with rate of growth, the more vigorous specimens exhibiting far more foliar damage after inoculation with the causal fungus. Careful selection in North America has produced a number of cultivars highly resistant to disease (see Hybrids, hybrid cultivars and cultivars below). The tree is resistant to the elm leaf beetle '' Xanthogaleruca luteola'' but is moderately susceptible to
elm yellows Elm yellows is a plant disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts."Elm Yellows." Elmcare.Com. 19 Mar. 2008 . Elm yellows, also known as elm phloem necrosis, is very aggressive, with no known cure. Elm yellows occurs in the ...
.


Cultivation

Japanese elm has been widely planted in northern Japan as a street tree. It was introduced to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
in 1890 as seed brought by William Smith Clark and planted at the University of Massachusetts. This was after years of his teaching from where later on Sapporo to the
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, whence two seedlings were donated to Kew Gardens, London, in 1897. 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 ...
, Berlin, marketed Japanese elm in Europe from 1900, Kew obtaining a third specimen from them in that year. Specimens were supplied by Späth to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1903 as ''U. campestris japonica'' and may survive in Edinburgh, as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city.RBGE Cultivated Herbarium Accessions Book: Oct. 1958 notes by Ronald Melville on specimen C2698 A specimen of ''U. campestris japonica'' obtained from Späth 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, in the early 20th century. The Arnold Arboretum specimens grew rapidly, and first flowered aged 12 years. A form from western China, for many years distinguished as ''U. wilsoniana'' Schneider, was introduced to the Arnold Arboretum in 1910. The Morton Arboretum, Illinois, has intermediate forms labelled ''U. japonica'' × ''U. wilsoniana''. Unlike many Asiatic species, Japanese elm is tolerant of a mild, maritime climate with heavy winter rainfall and was consequently considered of potential use in the Dutch elm breeding programme led by H. M. Heybroek at the Dorschkamp Research Institute at Wageningen. In 1977, Heybroek collected the tree in Japan, with the result that there is now a small forest of Japanese elm in southern
Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
, the largest plantation of the species beyond its native land.Heybroek, H. M., Goudzwaard, L, Kaljee, H. (2009). ''Iep of olm, karakterboom van de Lage Landen'' (:Elm, a tree with character of the Low Countries). KNNV, Uitgeverij. . Photograph of Japanese elm in the Netherland

/ref> The tree was briefly propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire from 1971 to 1977.Hillier & Sons (1977). ''Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs''. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.Hillier & Sons ''Sales inventory 1962 to 1977'' (unpublished). Specimens planted at the
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 ...
have grown very well on heavy clay in an open location, where they support colonies of the White-letter Hairstreak ''
Satyrium w-album The white-letter hairstreak (''Satyrium w-album'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Appearance and behaviour A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew, making it best observed thr ...
''. In trials elsewhere in Hampshire conducted by ''
Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation (BC) is a UK-wide nonprofit environmentalist organization and charity dedicated to conserving butterflies, moths, and the environment. The charity uses its research to provide advice on how to conserve and restore butterfly ...
'', the tree also proved tolerant of dry soils on chalk and soils waterlogged in winter, although growth has been comparatively slow and leaves are late to flush, rarely before mid-May. Leaves from the tree were eaten during the
Great Chinese Famine The Great Chinese Famine () was a period between 1959 and 1961 in the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC) characterized by widespread famine. Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. It is widely regarded as the dead ...
, but found to cause facial swelling.Baranov, A .L. (1962). On the economic use of wild plants in N. E. China. ''Quarterly Journal of the Taiwan Museum'', 15 (122), 1962, 107–115. File:Memorial Tree of Pioneer of Shintotsukawa Town.jpg, Japanese elm, Kikusui Park, Shintotsukawa (2019) File:Japanese Elm at Oyafuru.jpg, Japanese Elm at Oyafuru, Ishikari, Hokkaido (2020) File: Hitomi Elm.jpg, Japanese elm, Sapporo (2010) File:Hokkaido University - Library.jpg, Autumn colouring Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens, Sapporo File:131103 Hokkaido University Sapporo Hokkaido Japan10s5.jpg, Japanese elms, Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens File:131103 Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens Sapporo Hokkaido Japan04s3.jpg, Old tree in Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens, Sapporo File:WP Japanese elm late leafing mid May GFF 2.jpg, Japanese elm in early May before leaf flushing, Great Fontley, UK


Notable trees

In the UK, the TROBI Champion grows at the Royal Horticultural Society's Rosemoor garden in Devon, measuring 16 m tall in 2017. Another large tree grows at the
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, measuring 13 m tall by 42 cm
d.b.h. Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...
in 2003. A large specimen grows at
Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
, Falmer, Brighton, but may be the cultivar 'Jacan'.Johnson, O. (2011). ''Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland'',  p.168. Kew Publishing, Kew, London. . The oldest putative specimen in Edinburgh, possibly one of those supplied as ''U. campestris japonica'' by Späth in 1903, had a bole-girth of about 3.5 m (felled 2018).Bark of putative Japanese elm, Coronation Walk, The Meadows, Edinburgh, 1989
/ref>


Cultivars

Japanese elm was assessed in Canada as a substitute for native elms which had succumbed to Dutch elm disease. Six particularly hardy cultivars were released there in the 1980s; three were also raised in the United State

'Discovery', 'JFS-Bieberich' = (formerly treated under ''U. propinqua'' Koidz.), 'Freedom', 'Jacan', 'Mitsui Centennial', 'Prospector' (formerly treated under Wilson's elm ''U. wilsoniana'' C.K. Schneid.), 'Reseda', 'Thomson',
Validation Validation may refer to: * Data validation, in computer science, ensuring that data inserted into an application satisfies defined formats and other input criteria * Forecast verification, validating and verifying prognostic output from a numerica ...
However, most of the Canadian clones have now been withdrawn from commerce owing to the Canadian government's restrictions on the movement of elm within the country, adopted to prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease.


Hybrids and hybrid cultivars

* ''
Ulmus × mesocarpa ''Ulmus'' × ''mesocarpa'' M. Kim & S. Lee is a natural hybrid elm which is a cross of ''Ulmus macrocarpa'' with Japanese elm ''Ulmus davidiana'' var. ''japonica'' discovered on Seoraksan (Mount Sorak) near the city of Sokcho on the eastern coa ...
'', a natural hybrid of ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'' and ''
Ulmus macrocarpa ''Ulmus macrocarpa'' Hance, the large-fruited elm, is a deciduous tree or large shrub endemic to the Far East excluding Japan. It is notable for its tolerance of drought and extreme cold and is the predominant vegetation on the dunes of the Khorc ...
'' was discovered in South Korea in the 1980s.Kim, M., & Lee, S. (1989). ''Korean J. Pl. Taxon.'' 19(1) (1989) The Japanese elm was widely used in the US in hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum and University of Wisconsin,Santamour, J., Frank, S. & Bentz, S. (1995). Updated checklist of elm (Ulmus) cultivars for use in North America. ''Journal of Arboriculture'', 21:3 (May 1995), 121-131. International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, USSmalley, E. B. & Guries, R. P. (1993). Breeding Elms for Resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. ''Annual Review of Phytopathology'' Vol. 31 : 325-354. Palo Alto, California resulting in the release of the following cultivars: 'Cathedral', 'Morton' = , 'Morton Glossy' = , 'Morton Plainsman' = , 'Morton Red Tip' = , 'Morton Stalwart' = , 'New Horizon', 'Patriot', 'Rebona', 'Repura', 'Revera', and 'Sapporo Autumn Gold'. The species has also been crossed with Dutch hybrids by the Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante (IPP) in Florence, Italy. Two clones, 'FL 610' and 'FL 626' were evaluated in England, by ''
Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation (BC) is a UK-wide nonprofit environmentalist organization and charity dedicated to conserving butterflies, moths, and the environment. The charity uses its research to provide advice on how to conserve and restore butterfly ...
''.


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 ...
, US. Acc. nos. 4119 (from cult. material), 917-78, wild collected in Korea. *
Brenton Arboretum The Brenton Arboretum is a 141-acre arboretum and public garden in Dallas Center, Iowa, United States, established in 1997. The arboretum displays 175 native Iowa trees and shrubs suitable to the site, as well as many other tree species which can ...
, US. Listed as ''U. wilsoniana''; no details available. * Brooklyn Botanic Gardenbr>
New York City, New York, US. Acc. no. 780251 (listed as ''U. japonica''). * Chicago Botanic Garden, US. 1 tree in the West Collections Area, listed as ''U. propinqua'' var. ''suberosa''. *
Dawes Arboretum The Dawes Arboretum is a nonprofit arboretum located in Newark, Ohio. It includes nearly of plant collections, gardens and natural areas. The site includes approximately 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails and roadways for a four-mile (6&nbs ...
br>
US. 1 tree, no acc. details available. * Holden Arboretum, US. Acc. nos. 80-664 (unrecorded provenance), 97-126, wild collected in Korea. * Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. nos. 514-39, 679-62, 680-62, 354-U, 23-2008, 73-2011, also two others under the synonyms of ''U. propinqua'' Koidz. or cork bark elm (acc. no. 53-96), and ''U. propinqua'' Koidz. var. ''suberosa'', collected from the
Nei Mongol Zizhiqu Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border wit ...
Autonomous Region, China
(acc. no. 52-95)
* U S National Arboretum, Washington, D.C., US. Acc. no. 68998. Also (listed under synonym ''U. japonica''): 76253, 76254, 76227, and (listed under syn. ''U. propinqua''): 76249, 68985, and (listed under ''U. propinqua'' var. ''suberosa''): 76234, 76244, 76241. ;Europe *
Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
City Council, UK.
NCCPG Plant Heritage, formerly known as the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), is a botanical conservation organisation in the United Kingdom and a registered charity. It was founded in 1978 to combine the talents of b ...
Elm Collection. * Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincolnshire, UK. Listed as ''Ulmus japonica''; acc. no. 514 *Great Fontley,
Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...
, UK, ''
Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation (BC) is a UK-wide nonprofit environmentalist organization and charity dedicated to conserving butterflies, moths, and the environment. The charity uses its research to provide advice on how to conserve and restore butterfly ...
'' Elm Trials plantation, planted 2002, grown from seed collected from the Great Elm, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. *Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. nos. 18128,29,30,31. * Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Sweden, (as ''U. japonica''). Acc. no. 1998-1284, obtained from the Russian Federation, and 2001-1659, wild collected in South Kore

* Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Listed as ''U. japonica'', acc. no. 19031053.Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). ''List of Living Accessions: Ulmus'

/ref> * Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. Acc. nos. 1995-581, 1995-1305 * 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 and ...
, UK. Listed as ''U. japonica'', 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 nor ...
, UK. Listed as ''U. japonica'', acc. nos. 1977.5234, 1977.5972, 1977.6373, 1982.4019. * Tallinn Botanic Garden, Estonia

Listed as ''U. japonica'', no accession details available. *
Thenford Thenford is a village and civil parish about northwest of the market town of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England, and east of Banbury in nearby Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 74. At the 2011 Census the ...
House arboretum, Oxfordshire, UK, no details available. *
Wijdemeren City Council Wijdemeren () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, on the western border of the Gooi region. Wijdemeren contains many lakes. In the north(east) ''Spiegelplas'' and ''Ankeveense Plassen'', in the (south)west ''Loo ...
, Netherlands. Elm Arboretum, Brilhoek,
Nederhorst den Berg Nederhorst den Berg () is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It lies about 8 km northwest of Hilversum in the Vechtstreek area, near the Vecht river. Until 1 January 2002, it was a separate municipality; it is now part ...
, 2 planted in 2019 as U. propinqua.


Nurseries

;North America *Patmore Nurser

Brandon, Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada *Sun Valley Garden Centr

Eden Prairie Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...
, Minnesota, US ;Europe *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 a ...
, Belgium


References


External links


USDA Plant Guide: ''Ulmus davidiana''efloras.org: ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'' (illustrations 1 to 9)
* Sheet labelled ''U. davidiana'' Planch. var. ''japonica'' (Rehd.), Hokkaido specimen (new leaves and samarae), 1978 * Sheet described as ''U. campestris japonica'', RBGE specimen from
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 ...
, 1903 * From Chanyang, W. China (Wilson specimen, 1909) * From Hupeh, C. China (Wilson specimen, 1907) * From Szechuan, C. China (Schneider specimen, 1914) {{Taxonbar, from=Q844010 davidiana var. japonica Trees of China Flora of China Trees of Japan Flora of Japan Trees of Korea Flora of Korea Trees of Asia Ulmus articles with images Elm species and varieties