Ulmus laciniata

''Ulmus laciniata'' (Trautv.) Mayr, known variously as the Manchurian, cut-leaf, or lobed elm, is a deciduous tree native to the humid ravine forests of Japan, Korea, northern China, eastern Siberia and Sakhalin, growing alongside ''Cercidiphyllum japonicum'', '' Aesculus turbinata'', and ''Pterocarya rhoifolia'',Sasaki, Y. (1979) Der Verband Pterocaryon rhoifoliae in Japan. In: Vegetation und Landschaft Japans. Eds: Miyawaki, A., and Okuda, S. ''Bull. Yokohama Phytosoc. Soc. Japan.'' 16, 1979. pp. 213-226Ohwi, J. (1984). Flora of Japan. Qian, H., Krestov, P., Fu, P.-Y., Wang, Q.-L., Song, J.-S. & Chourmouzis, C. Phytogeography of Northeast Asia. http://www.biosoil.ru/files/00000052.pdf at elevations of 700–2200 m, though sometimes lower in more northern latitudes, notably in Hokkaido.

The tree is similar to the Wych elm ''Ulmus glabra'', and was originally treated as such by Houtzagers and Henry, but later accorded species status of its own largely by reason of the enormous disjunction in their respective areas; ''U. glabra'' extending across Europe as far as the Urals, several thousand kilometres from ''U. laciniata'' in the Far East.

Description

''Ulmus laciniata'' is chiefly distinguished by its leaves, often regularly incised to form between three and seven apical lobes, giving rise to its common name, the cut-leaf elm

The tree can reach a height of 27 m, although the trunk rarely exceeds 0.5 m diameter at breast height, d.b.h. The bark of young trees is dark, grey-brown, exfoliating in flakes, but becomes shallowly fissured with maturity. The unwinged branchlets bear laciniate leaves usually obtriangular, < 18 cm in length. Hishiyama, C. (Ed.). (2011). ''A picture book of the 255 tree species found in Noyama (park in Tokyo) and surrounding areas'',  p.80. (in Japanese). Sebeidoshuppan, Japan. The perfect wind-pollinated apetalous flowers are produced on second-year shoots in April (March in England), followed in May by elliptic < 20 × 14 mm samarae lightly-notched at the apex.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, USA

/ref>Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. ''Journal of Arboriculture'', (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, US

White, J & More, D. (2003). ''Trees of Britain & Northern Europe''. Cassell's, London Growth is moderate; the trunk of one specimen planted on permanently damp, fertile soil in south Hampshire, UK, increased in diameter at diameter at breast height, breast height (d.b.h.) by a modest average of 1.7 cm per annum.Brookes, A. H. (2020). ''Great Fontley Elm Trial, 2020 Report''. Butterfly Conservation, Lulworth, UK.

Image:laciniata gff 001.jpg, 14-year-old tree at Great Fontley, UK, in spring
Image:Ulmus laciniata leaf.jpg, ''U. laciniata'' leaf in midsummer
Image:laciniata samara.jpg, ''U. laciniata'' samara
File:DMU.laciniata twigs.JPG, ''U. laciniata'' twigs
Image:Ulmus lacinata bark, 18-year old tree.jpg, Bark of 18-year-old tree

Pests and diseases

Natural populations of ''U. laciniata'' have only a marginal resistance to Dutch elm disease (DED), rated 2 out of 5,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. below that of the Japanese Elm. Moreover, in trials in Italy and the US, ''U. laciniata'' was severely damaged by elm leaf beetles ''Xanthogaleruca luteola'', indeed in Italy chemical controls were necessary to ensure the tree's survival, unlike its compatriots '' U. parvifolia'' and ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'' which survived unscathed. The species is also susceptible to Elm Yellows.

Cultivation

The species was introduced to the West in 1905, but remains uncommon in cultivation. A specimen, obtained from the Leon Chenault nursery in Orléans arboretum, Norfolk,rystonhall.co.uk/
/ref> in the early 20th century. The tree was comprehensively evaluated in the Netherlands in the 1950s as a potential source of anti-fungal genes for use in the Dutch elm hybridization programme, but was found intolerant of all but the most sheltered and humid conditions.
Trees planted in England at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (sole accession died 2007) and as part of ''Butterfly Conservation's'' elm trials at Great Fontley have confirmed the Dutch assessment Trees grown from seed commence flowering in their eighth year. The Dutch elm breeding programme revealed that the tree has a relatively high degree (39% seed viability) of self-fertility.Went, J. A. (1954). The Dutch elm disease – Summary of 15 years' hybridization and selection work (1937–1952). ''European Journal of Plant Pathology'', Vol 60, 2, March 1954. The species is very difficult to propagate from hardwood cuttings, even under mist, often rooting but failing to leaf. However, the tree was propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire, from 1948, but sales were very low, with only three sold from 1962 to 1977.Hillier & Sons (1977). ''Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs''. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.Hillier & Sons ''Sales inventory 1962 to 1977'' (unpublished).

There are no known cultivars of ''U. laciniata'', nor is it known to be in commerce.

Notable trees

Rarely grown in the West, and rather susceptible to DED, there are few, if any, notable trees in cultivation. The original TROBI Champion planted at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey, in 1982 died from DED 27 years later. The oldest known trees in the UK, planted in 1981, are at the Harcourt Arboretum in Oxfordshire.

Subspecies and varieties

A putative variety was recognized by Rehder: ''Ulmus laciniata'' var. ''nikkoensis'' - the Nikko Elm, discovered as a seedling near Lake Chūzenji, near Nikkō, Japan, and obtained by the Arnold Arboretum in 1905. The taxonomy of the tree remains a matter of contention, and has been considered possibly a hybrid of ''U. laciniata'' and ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica''. However, in crossability experiments at the Arnold Arboretum in the 1970s, ''U. laciniata'', a protogynous species, was found to be incompatible with ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'', which is protandrous.

Hybrid cultivars

Several hybrid cultivars were raised as part of the Dutch elm breeding programme at the Dorschkamp Research Institute for Forestry & Landscape Planning, Wageningen, crossing the species with hybrids of ''U. wallichiana'' and ''U. minor'' to produce Clone no. 560, which in turn was crossed with Clone 720 (itself a complex cross involving ''U. glabra'', ''U. minor'', ''U. wallichiana'', and ''U. pumila'') to produce Clone 1234. None of these clones have been commercially released.

Accessions

;North America
*Arnold Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 17909 wild collected, 250–2001 wild collected in Korea.
*Denver Botanic Gardens, US. Neither acc. no. nor origin disclosed.
*Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 50–95 wild collected, Liaoning Province, China.
*United States National Arboretum, Washington, D.C., US. Acc. nos.76252, 68989.
;Europe
*Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincolnshire, UK. Grafted tree, acc. no. 701.
*Great Fontley ''Butterfly Conservation'' Elm Trials plantation, Funtley, Hampshire, UK. From seed collected in 2001 from specimen on campus of Hokkaido University, Sapporo.
* Harcourt Arboretum, (University of Oxford Botanic Garden), UK. Acc. no. 19810611, from seed obtained from the Moscow Botanical Gardenbr>
in 1981. 5 specimens, all @ 3 m tall (2008), in Bluebell Wood.
*Hortus Botanicus Nationalis, Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. nos. 18132,3,4,5,8.
* Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Sweden. Acc. no. 2001–1660, obtained from South Korea.
*Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Acc. nos. 20022150, grown from seed sold by Lawyer Nursery, US; 20030906 and 20030907, both wild collected in South Korea.Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). ''List of Living Accessions: Ulmus'

/ref>
*Tallinn Botanic Garden, Estonia

No accession details available.

References

External links

*''Ulmus laciniata'' distribution map: linnaeus.nrm.s

* Incorrectly relabelled ''U. parvifolia''.
* Sheet labelled ''U. montana'' With. ''laciniata'' (Amur specimen, with samarae)

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4115140

Ulmus, laciniata
Trees of Asia
Trees of China
Trees of Japan
Trees of Korea
Trees of Russia
Trees of Sakhalin
Trees of Siberia
Ulmus articles with images
Elm species and varieties