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Elms are
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, ...
and
semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spe ...
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s comprising the
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family
Ulmaceae The Ulmaceae () are a family of flowering plants that includes the elms (genus ''Ulmus''), and the zelkovas (genus ''Zelkova''). Members of the family are widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone, and have a scattered distribution ...
. They are distributed over most of the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, inhabiting the
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
and
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
-
montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...
regions of
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 th ...
and
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...
, presently ranging southward in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
to
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,Flora of Israel Online
Ulmus minor Mill. , Flora of Israel Online
accessdate: July 28, 2020
and across the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...
in the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...
into
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
.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.
Elms are components of many kinds of natural
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' ...
s. Moreover, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, many species and
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 were also planted as ornamental street, garden, and park trees in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, North America, and parts of the Southern Hemisphere, notably
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 ecologic ...
. Some individual elms reached great size and age. However, in recent decades, most mature elms of European or North American origin have died from
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 ...
, caused by a
microfungus Microfungi or micromycetes are fungi—eukaryotic organisms such as molds, mildews and rusts—which have microscopic spore-producing structures. They exhibit tube tip-growth and have cell walls composed of chitin, a polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosa ...
dispersed by
bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...
s. In response, disease-resistant cultivars have been developed, capable of restoring the elm to forestry and
landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...
.


Description

The genus is
hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have s ...
, having
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 ...
perfect flower Plant reproductive morphology is the study of the physical form and structure (the morphology) of those parts of plants directly or indirectly concerned with sexual reproduction. Among all living organisms, flowers, which are the reproductive s ...
s which are wind-pollinated. Elm
leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
are alternate, with simple, single- or, most commonly,
doubly serrate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
margins, usually asymmetric at the base and
acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
at the
apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex, ...
. The fruit is a round wind-dispersed
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 rivers, with a population ...
flushed with
chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to ...
, facilitating photosynthesis before the leaves emerge.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. The samarae are very light, those of British elms numbering around 50,000 to the pound (454 g).Edlin, H. L. (1947). ''British Woodland Trees'',  p.26. 3rd. edition. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd. (Very rarely anomalous samarae occur with more than two wings.) All species are tolerant of a wide range of soils and pH levels but, with few exceptions, demand good drainage. The elm tree can grow to great height, often with a forked trunk creating a vase profile. Image: Sapporo Autumn Gold, Florence.jpg, 'Sapporo Autumn Gold', Antella,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
Image:Ulmus glabra.jpg, Wych elm (''Ulmus glabra'') leaves and seeds Image:Ulmus_rubra_leaf.jpg, Asymmetry of leaf, slippery elm ''U. rubra'' Image:Mature Ulmus rubra bark.jpg, Mature bark, slippery elm ''U. rubra'' Image:Columella flowers.jpg, Flowers of the hybrid elm cultivar 'Columella' Image:Winged_Elm_Ulmus_alata_2009-05-10.jpg, Corky wings, winged elm ''U. alata'' Image:laciniata samara.jpg, ''U. laciniata'' samara Image:Lovers' Elm, Gwynne estate, Dufferin Street.jpg, ''U. americana'', Dufferin St., Toronto, c. 1914 File:榔榆 Ulmus parvifolia 20210908101019 02.jpg, ''
Ulmus parvifolia ''Ulmus parvifolia'', commonly known as the Chinese elm or lacebark elm, is a species native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002)Ulmaceae in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of ...
'' bark


Taxonomy

There are about 30 to 40
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
of ''Ulmus'' (elm); the ambiguity in number results from difficulty in delineating species, owing to the ease of
hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...
between them and the development of local seed-sterile vegetatively propagated
microspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
in some areas, mainly in the Ulmus field elm (''
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 ...
'') group.
Oliver Rackham Oliver Rackham (17 October 1939 – 12 February 2015) was an academic at the University of Cambridge who studied the ecology, management and development of the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture. His books inc ...
Rackham, Oliver Oliver Rackham (17 October 1939 – 12 February 2015) was an academic at the University of Cambridge who studied the ecology, management and development of the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture. His books inc ...
(1980). ''Ancient woodland: its history, vegetation and uses''. Edward Arnold, London
describes ''Ulmus'' as the most critical genus in the entire British flora, adding that 'species and varieties are a distinction in the human mind rather than a measured degree of genetic variation'. Eight species are endemic to North America and three to Europe, but the greatest diversity is in Asia with approximately two dozen species. The oldest fossils of ''
Ulmus Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
'' are leaves dating
Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...
, found across the Northern Hemisphere. The classification adopted in the List of elm species is largely based on that established by Brummitt.Brummitt, R. K. (1992). ''Vascular Plant Families & Genera''. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London, UK. A large number of synonyms have accumulated over the last three centuries; their currently accepted names can be found in the list of
Elm synonyms and accepted names Synonym References {{Reflist *Bean, W. J. (1981). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain'', 7th edition. Murray, London. *Brummitt, R. K. (1992). ''Vascular Plant Families & Genera''. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London, UK. *Elwes, H. J. & Henry ...
. Botanists who study elms and argue over elm identification and classification are called "pteleologists", from the Greek πτελέα (elm). As part of the suborder urticalean rosids, they are distantly related to
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
,
mulberries ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
,
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
s,
hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to w ...
, and
nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" includ ...
s.


Ecology


Propagation

Elm propagation methods vary according to elm type and location, and the plantsman's needs. Native species may be propagated by seed. In their natural setting, native species, such as
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 ...
and European white elm in central and northern Europe and field elm in southern Europe, set viable seed in "favourable" seasons. Optimal conditions occur after a late warm spring.Richens, R. H. (1983). ''Elm''. Cambridge University Press. After pollination, seeds of spring-flowering elms ripen and fall at the start of summer (June); they remain viable for only a few days. They are planted in sandy potting soil at a depth of 1 cm, and germinate in three weeks. Slow-germinating
American elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to F ...
will remain dormant until the second season.forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/qt/seed_elm.htm Seeds from autumn-flowering elms ripen in the fall and germinate in the spring. Since elms may hybridize within and between species, seed propagation entails a hybridisation risk. In unfavourable seasons, elm seeds are usually sterile. Elms outside their natural range, such as English elm ''U. minor'' 'Atinia', and elms unable to pollinate because pollen sources are genetically identical, are sterile and are propagated by
vegetative reproduction Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spe ...
. Vegetative reproduction is also used to produce genetically identical elms (clones). Methods include the winter transplanting of root suckers; taking hardwood cuttings from vigorous one-year-old shoots in late winter, taking root cuttings in early spring; taking softwood cuttings in early summer;
grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
; ground and air layering; and
micropropagation Micropropagation or tissue culture is the practice of rapidly multiplying plant stock material to produce many progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods. Micropropagation is used to multiply a wide variety of plants, such as th ...
. A bottom heat of 18 °C and humid conditions are maintained for hard- and softwood cuttings. The transplanting of root suckers remains the easiest most and commont propagation method for European field elm and its hybrids. For specimen urban elms, grafting to wych-elm rootstock may be used to eliminate suckering or to ensure stronger root growth. The mutant-elm cultivars are usually grafted, the "weeping" elms 'Camperdown' and 'Horizontalis' at , the dwarf cultivars 'Nana' and 'Jacqueline Hillier' at ground level. Since the
Siberian elm ''Ulmus pumila'', the Siberian elm, is a tree native to Asia. It is also known as the Asiatic elm and dwarf elm, but sometimes miscalled the 'Chinese Elm' (''Ulmus parvifolia''). ''U. pumila'' has been widely cultivated throughout Asia, Nor ...
is drought tolerant, in dry countries, new varieties of elm are often root-grafted onto this species.Clouston, B., Stansfield, K., eds., ''After the Elm'' (London, 1979) Image:Ulmus minor MHNT.BOT.2010.12.3.jpg, Ripe samarae of field elm Image:Rock Elm seedling.JPG,
Rock elm ''Ulmus thomasii'', the rock elm or cork elm (or orme liège in Québec), is a deciduous tree native primarily to the Midwestern United States. The tree ranges from southern Ontario and Quebec, south to Tennessee, west to northeastern Kansas, ...
''Ulmus thomasii'' germinating Image:Klijavac ulmus glabra goc 0427.jpg, Seedling of wych elm ''U. glabra'' Image:Ulmus minor 14.jpg, Root-suckers spreading from field elm ''U. minor'' Image:Root cuttings of Ulmus 'Dodoens'.jpg, Root cuttings of ''U.'' 'Dodoens' Image:Elm clone rooted hardwood cutting Faculty of Forestry Belgrade 1983.09.01.jpg, Rooted hardwood elm cutting Image:Rooting of softwood cuttings of elm under the mist propagation system.jpg, Rooting of softwood cuttings under mist Image:Ulmus campestris 'ARGENTEOVARIEGATA'.jpg, Mutant variegated smooth-leafed elm graft Image:Air layering of Ulmus pumila Faculty of Forestry Belgrade 7.6.1986.jpg, Air
layering Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...
of ''U. pumila'' File:Ulmus chenmoui in vitro.jpg, In vitro propagation of ''U. chenmoui'' by bud
meristem The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
File:Ulmus (unknown cultivar). Royal Terrace, Edinburgh (5).jpg,
Aerial root Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (''Fic ...
s, hybrid elm cultivar


Associated organisms

File:20130702Ulme Saarbruecken1.jpg, Pouch leaf galls on a wych elm (
aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...
''Tetraneura ulmi''), Germany File:Tetraneura ulmi (Aphididae sp.) gall, Elst (Gld), the Netherlands.jpg, Pouch leaf gall on elm leaf (aphid ''T. ulmi''), the Netherlands File:Colopha compressa 1 beentree.jpg, Cockscomb leaf galls (aphid ''Colopha compressa''), Poland File:Eriosoma lanuginosum 1.JPG, Bladder leaf galls on elm leaves (aphid ''Eriosoma lanuginosum''), Italy File:Eriosoma lanuginosum 2.JPG, Bladder leaf galls on a narrow-leaved elm (aphid '' E. lanuginosum''), Italy File:Colopha compressa 4 beentree.jpg, Aphids in leaf gall, Poland File:Ulmus-minor---Eriophyes-ulmicola-agallas.jpg, Pimple leaf galls on a field elm (
mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...
''Eriophyes ulmi''), Spain File:WLH Julita.JPG, 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 ...
'', on , Sweden: The larvae feed only on elm. File:Satyrium w-album egg1.jpg, Egg of ''Satyrium w-album'' near flower-bud of an elm File:01a Scolytus multistriatus Imago 20fach rechte Seite.jpg, Elm-bark beetle ''Scolytus multistriatus'' (size: 2–3 mm), a vector for Dutch elm disease File:04 Scolytus multistriatus Fraßbild.jpg, ''Scolytus multistriatus'' galleries under elm bark File:Xanthogaleruca luteola 1.JPG, Elm-leaf beetle ''
Xanthogaleruca luteola ''Xanthogaleruca luteola'', commonly known as the elm-leaf beetle, is a beetle species in the family Chrysomelidae that is native to Europe but invasive in other parts of the world.http://cisr.ucr.edu/elm_leaf_beetle.html - Center for Invasive Sp ...
'', which causes serious damage to elm foliage File:Xanthogaleruca luteola 20060905 525 part.jpg, ''Xanthogaleruca luteola'' caterpillar on elm leaf, Germany File:Xanthogaleruca luteola 20060905 530.jpg, Elm-leaf damage caused by ''X. luteola'', Germany File:Slime flux on Camperdown elm.png, Bacterial infection ''Erwinia carotovora'' of elm sap, which causes slime flux (wetwood) and staining of the trunk (here on a 'Camperdown' elm)


Pests and diseases


Dutch elm disease

Dutch elm disease (DED) devastated elms throughout Europe and much of North America in the second half of the 20th century. It derives its name "Dutch" from the first description of the disease and its cause in the 1920s by Dutch botanists Bea Schwarz and Christina Johanna Buisman. Owing to its geographical isolation and effective quarantine enforcement, Australia has so far remained unaffected by DED, as have the provinces of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
and
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
in
western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...
. DED is caused by a micro
fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...
transmitted by two species of ''
Scolytus ''Scolytus'' is a genus of bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true wee ...
'' elm-bark
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, which act as vectors. The disease affects all species of elms native to North America and Europe, but many Asiatic species have evolved antifungal genes and are resistant. Fungal spores, introduced into wounds in the tree caused by the beetles, invade the
xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. The word ''xylem'' is derived from ...
or vascular system. The tree responds by producing tyloses, effectively blocking the flow from roots to leaves. Woodland trees in North America are not quite as susceptible to the disease because they usually lack the root grafting of the urban elms and are somewhat more isolated from each other. In France, inoculation with the fungus of over 300 clones of the European species failed to find a single variety that possessed of any significant resistance. The first, less aggressive strain of the disease fungus, '' Ophiostoma ulmi'', arrived in Europe from Asia in 1910, and was accidentally introduced to North America in 1928. It was steadily weakened by viruses in Europe and had all but disappeared by the 1940s. However, the disease had a much greater and longer-lasting impact in North America, owing to the greater susceptibility of the American elm, ''Ulmus americana'', which masked the emergence of the second, far more virulent strain of the disease ''
Ophiostoma novo-ulmi ''Ophiostoma'' is a genus of fungi within the family Ophiostomataceae. It was circumscribed in 1919 by mycologists Hans Sydow and Paul Sydow. Species *'' Ophiostoma adjuncti'' *'' Ophiostoma ainoae'' *'' Ophiostoma allantosporum'' *'' Ophiost ...
''. It appeared in the United States sometime in the 1940s, and was originally believed to be a mutation of ''O. ulmi''. Limited gene flow from ''O. ulmi'' to ''O. novo-ulmi'' was probably responsible for the creation of the North American subspecies ''O. novo-ulmi'' subsp. ''americana''. It was first recognized in Britain in the early 1970s, believed to have been introduced via a cargo of Canadian rock elm destined for the boatbuilding industry, and rapidly eradicated most of the mature elms from western Europe. A second subspecies, ''O. novo-ulmi'' subsp. ''novo-ulmi'', caused similar devastation in Eastern Europe and Central This subspecies, which was introduced to North America, and like ''O. ulmi'', is thought to have originated in Asia. The two subspecies have now hybridized in Europe where their ranges have overlapped.Webber, J. (2019). What have we learned from 100 years of Dutch Elm Disease? ''Quarterly Journal of Forestry''. October 2019, Vol. 113, No.4,  p.264-268. Royal Forestry Society, UK. The hypothesis that ''O. novo-ulmi'' arose from a hybrid of the original ''O. ulmi'' and another strain endemic to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
, ''
Ophiostoma himal-ulmi ''Ophiostoma himal-ulmi'' is a species of fungus in the family Ophiostomataceae. It is one of the causative agents of Dutch elm disease. It was first isolated around breeding galleries of scolytid beetles in the bark of ''Ulmus wallichiana'' (t ...
'', is now discredited.Brasier, C. M. & Mehotra, M. D. (1995). Ophiostoma himal-ulmi sp. nov., a new species of Dutch elm disease fungus endemic to the Himalayas. ''Mycological Research'' 1995, vol. 99 (2), 205–215 (44 ref.) . Elsevier, Oxford, UK. No sign indicates the current pandemic is waning, and no evidence has been found of a susceptibility of the fungus to a disease of its own caused by d-factors: naturally occurring virus-like agents that severely debilitated the original ''O. ulmi'' and reduced its sporulation.Brasier, C. M. (1996). New horizons in Dutch elm disease control. Pages 20-28 in:
Report on Forest Research
'', 1996. Forestry Commission. HMSO, London, UK.


Elm phloem necrosis

Elm phloem necrosis (elm yellows) is a
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts.Elm Yellows
". Elmcare.Com. 19 March 2008.
This very aggressive disease, with no known cure, occurs in the
Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
, southern
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
in Canada, and Europe. It is caused by
phytoplasmas Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-lik ...
that infect the phloem (inner bark) of the tree.Price, Terry.
Wilt Diseases
". Forestpests.Org. 23 March 2005. 19 March 2008.
Infection and death of the
phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is c ...
effectively girdles the tree and stops the flow of water and nutrients. The disease affects both wild-growing and cultivated trees. Occasionally, cutting the infected tree before the disease completely establishes itself and cleanup and prompt disposal of infected matter has resulted in the plant's survival via stump sprouts.


Insects

Most serious of the elm pests is the
elm leaf beetle ''Xanthogaleruca luteola'', commonly known as the elm-leaf beetle, is a beetle species in the family Chrysomelidae that is native to Europe but invasive in other parts of the world.http://cisr.ucr.edu/elm_leaf_beetle.html - Center for Invasive Sp ...
''Xanthogaleruca luteola'', which can decimate foliage, although rarely with fatal results. The beetle was accidentally introduced to North America from Europe. Another unwelcome immigrant to North America is the
Japanese beetle The Japanese beetle (''Popillia japonica'') is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures in length and in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan (where it is control ...
''Popillia japonica''. In both instances, the beetles cause far more damage in North America owing to the absence of the predators in their native lands. In Australia, introduced elm trees are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid
moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s of the genus '' Aenetus''. These burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Circa 2000, the Asian Zig-zag sawfly '' Aproceros leucopoda'' appeared in Europe and North America, although in England, its impact has been minimal and it is no longer monitored.Elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda)
/ref>


Birds

Sapsucker The sapsuckers are species of North American woodpeckers in the genus ''Sphyrapicus''. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Sphyrapicus'' was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker (''Sphyr ...
woodpeckers have a great love of young elm trees.


Cultivation

One of the earliest of ornamental elms was the ball-headed graft narvan elm, ''Ulmus minor'' 'Umbraculifera', cultivated from time immemorial in
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
as a shade tree and widely planted in cities through much of south-west and central Asia. From the 18th century to the early 20th century, elms, whether species, hybrids, or
cultivars 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, ...
, were among the most widely planted ornamental trees in both Europe and North America. They were particularly popular as a street tree in avenue plantings in towns and cities, creating high-tunnelled effects. Their quick growth and variety of foliage and forms,Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913).
The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland
''. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press,
their tolerance of air-pollution, and the comparatively rapid decomposition of their leaf litter in the fall were further advantages. In North America, the species most commonly planted was the American elm (''U. americana''), which had unique properties that made it ideal for such use - rapid growth, adaptation to a broad range of
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
s and soils, strong wood, resistance to wind damage, and vase-like growth habit requiring minimal
pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...
. In Europe, the wych elm (''U. glabra'') and the field elm (''U. minor'') were the most widely planted in the countryside, the former in northern areas including Scandinavia and northern
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, the latter further south. The hybrid between these two, Dutch elm (''U. × hollandica''), occurs naturally and was also commonly planted. In much of England, the
English elm The field elm (''Ulmus minor'') cultivar 'Atinia' , commonly known as the English elm, formerly common elm and horse may, Republished 1978 by EP Publishing, Wakefield. and more lately the Atinian elm was, before the spread of Dutch elm disea ...
later came to dominate the horticultural landscape. Most commonly planted in hedgerows, it sometimes occurred in densities over 1000/km2. In south-eastern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and New Zealand, large numbers of English and Dutch elms, as well as other species and cultivars, were planted as ornamentals following their introduction in the 19th century, while in northern Japan Japanese elm (''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'') was widely planted as a street tree. From about 1850 to 1920, the most prized small ornamental elm in parks and gardens was the 'Camperdown' elm (''U. glabra'' 'Camperdownii'), a contorted, weeping
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 ...
of the wych elm grafted on to a nonweeping elm trunk to give a wide, spreading, and weeping fountain shape in large garden spaces. In northern Europe, elms were, moreover, among the few trees tolerant of saline deposits from sea spray, which can cause "salt-burning" and die-back. This tolerance made elms reliable both as shelterbelt trees exposed to sea wind, in particular along the coastlines of southern and western Britain and in the Low Countries, and as trees for coastal towns and cities. This ''
belle époque Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania ...
'' lasted until the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, when as a consequence of hostilities, notably in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, whence at least 40 cultivars originated, and of the outbreak at about the same time of the early strain of DED, '' Ophiostoma ulmi'', the elm began its slide into horticultural decline. The devastation caused by the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, and the demise in 1944 of the huge
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 ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, only accelerated the process. The outbreak of the new, three times more virulent, strain of DED ''
Ophiostoma novo-ulmi ''Ophiostoma'' is a genus of fungi within the family Ophiostomataceae. It was circumscribed in 1919 by mycologists Hans Sydow and Paul Sydow. Species *'' Ophiostoma adjuncti'' *'' Ophiostoma ainoae'' *'' Ophiostoma allantosporum'' *'' Ophiost ...
'' in the late 1960s, brought the tree to its nadir. Since around 1990, the elm has enjoyed a renaissance through the successful development in North America and Europe of cultivars highly resistant to DED. Consequently, the total number of named cultivars, ancient and modern, now exceeds 300, although many of the older clones, possibly over 120, have been lost to cultivation. Some of the latter, however, were by today's standards inadequately described or illustrated before the pandemic, and a number may survive, or have regenerated, unrecognised. Enthusiasm for the newer clones often remains low owing to the poor performance of earlier, supposedly disease-resistant Dutch trees released in the 1960s and 1970s. In the Netherlands, sales of elm cultivars slumped from over 56,000 in 1989 to just 6,800 in 2004, whilst in the UK, only four of the new American and European releases were commercially available in 2008. Efforts to develop DED-resistant cultivars began in the Netherlands in 1928 and continued, uninterrupted by World War II, until 1992. Similar programmes were initiated in North America (1937), Italy (1978), and Spain (1986). Research has followed two paths:


Species and species cultivars

In North America, careful selection has produced a number of trees resistant not only to DED, but also to the droughts and cold winters that occur within the continent. Research in the United States has concentrated on the American elm (''U. americana''), resulting in the release of DED-resistant clones, notably the
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 'Valley Forge' and 'Jefferson'. Much work has also been done into the selection of disease-resistant Asiatic species and cultivars.Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities.
Journal of Arboriculture
'', (November 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, US.
Biggerstaffe, C., Iles, J. K., & Gleason, M. L. (1999). ''Sustainable urban landscapes: Dutch elm disease and disease-resistant elms''. SUL-4, Iowa State University In 1993, Mariam B. Sticklen and James L. Sherald reported the results of experiments funded by the U.S.
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
and conducted at
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
in
East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...
that were designed to apply genetic engineering techniques to the development of DED-resistant strains of American elm trees. In 2007, A. E. Newhouse and F. Schrodt of the
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is a public research university in Syracuse, New York focused on the environment and natural resources. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) sys ...
in
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...
reported that young
transgenic A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...
American elm trees had shown reduced DED symptoms and normal
mycorrhiza   A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plan ...
l colonization. In Europe, the European white elm (''U. laevis'') has received much attention. While this elm has little innate resistance to DED, it is not favoured by the vector bark beetles, thus only becomes colonized and infected when no other elms are available, a rare situation in western Europe. Research in Spain has suggested that it may be the presence of a
triterpene Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squa ...
,
alnulin Taraxasterol (anthesterin) is a triterpene derived from the mevalonate pathway and is found in dandelions. Biosynthesis The precursor for the biosynthesis of taraxasterol is squalene. In the first step of this formation squalene is cyclized ...
, which makes the tree bark unattractive to the beetle species that spread the disease.Martín-Benito D., Concepción García-Vallejo M., Pajares J. A., López D. 2005.
Triterpenes in elms in Spain
". ''Can. J. For. Res.'' 35: 199–205 (2005).
This possibility, though, has not been conclusively proven.Pajares, J. A., García, S., Díez, J. J., Martín, D. & García-Vallejo, M. C. 2004.
Feeding responses by Scolytus scolytus to twig bark extracts from elms
". ''Invest Agrar: Sist Recur For.'' 13: 217–225.
More recently, field elms ''Ulmus minor'' highly resistant to DED have been discovered in Spain, and form the basis of a major breeding programme.


Hybrid cultivars

Owing to their innate resistance to DED, Asiatic species have been crossed with European species, or with other Asiatic elms, to produce trees that are both highly resistant to disease and tolerant of native climates. After a number of false dawns in the 1970s, this approach has produced a range of reliable hybrid cultivars now commercially available in North America and Europe.Santini A., Fagnani A., Ferrini F., Mittempergher L., Brunetti M., Crivellaro A., Macchioni N.,
Elm breeding for DED resistance, the Italian clones and their wood properties
". ''Invest Agrar: Sist. Recur. For'' (2004) 13 (1), 179–184. 2004.
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 Disease resistance is invariably carried by the female parent.Martin, J., Sobrina-Plata, J., Rodriguez-Calcerrada, J., Collada, C., and Gil, L. (2018). Breeding and scientific advances in the fight against Dutch elm disease: Will they allow the use of elms in forest restoration? ''New Forests'', 1-33. Springer Nature 2018

/ref> Some of these cultivars, notably those with the Siberian elm ('' Ulmus pumila'') in their ancestry, lack the forms for which the iconic American elm and English elm were prized. Moreover, several exported to northwestern Europe have proven unsuited to the
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
conditions there, notably because of their intolerance of anoxic conditions resulting from ponding on poorly drained soils in winter. Dutch hybridizations invariably included the Himalayan elm (''
Ulmus wallichiana ''Ulmus wallichiana'' Planch., the Himalayan elm, also known as the Kashmir elm and Bhutan elm, is a mountain tree ranging from central Nuristan in Afghanistan, through northern Pakistan and northern India to western Nepal at elevations of 800& ...
'') as a source of antifungal genes and have proven more tolerant of wet ground; they should also ultimately reach a greater size. However, the susceptibility of the cultivar 'Lobel', used as a control in Italian trials, to elm yellows has now (2014) raised a question mark over all the Dutch clones.Mittempergher, L., (2000). Elm Yellows in Europe. In: ''The Elms, Conservation and Disease Management.'' pp. 103-119. Dunn C.P., ed. Kluwer Academic Press Publishers, Boston, USA. Several highly resistant ''Ulmus'' cultivars have been released since 2000 by the Institute of Plant Protection in Florence, most commonly featuring crosses of the Dutch cultivar 'Plantijn' with the Siberian elm to produce resistant trees better adapted to the Mediterranean climate.


Cautions regarding novel cultivars

Elms take many decades to grow to maturity, and as the introduction of these disease-resistant cultivars is relatively recent, their long-term performance and ultimate size and form cannot be predicted with certainty. The
National Elm Trial The National Elm Trial was an American volunteer effort to evaluate a range of newly developed elm cultivars as replacements for elms destroyed by Dutch elm disease. The Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences coordinated the tr ...
in North America, begun in 2005, is a nationwide trial to assess strengths and weaknesses of the 19 leading cultivars raised in the US over a 10-year period; European cultivars have been excluded. Meanwhile, in Europe, American and European cultivars are being assessed in field trials started in 2000 by the UK charity
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 ...
.Brookes, A. H. (2013). ''Disease-resistant elm cultivars, Butterfly Conservation trials report, 2nd revision, 2013.'' Butterfly Conservation, Hants & IoW Branch, England.


Landscaped parks


Central Park

New York City's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
is home to about 1,200 American elm trees, which constitute over half of all trees in the park. The oldest of these elms were planted during the 1860s by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
, making them among the oldest stands of American elms in the world. The trees are particularly noteworthy along the Mall and Literary Walk, where four lines of American elms stretch over the walkway forming a cathedral-like covering. A part of New York City's
urban ecology Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in an urban environment. An urban environment refers to environments dominated by high-density residential and commercial building ...
, the elms improve air and water quality, reduce erosion and flooding, and decrease air temperatures during warm days. While the stand is still vulnerable to DED, in the 1980s the
Central Park Conservancy The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...
undertook aggressive countermeasures such as heavy pruning and removal of extensively diseased trees. These efforts have largely been successful in saving the majority of the trees, although several are still lost each year. Younger American elms that have been planted in Central Park since the outbreak are of the DED-resistant 'Princeton' and 'Valley Forge' cultivars.


National Mall

Several rows of American elm trees that the National Park Service (NPS) first planted during the 1930s line much of the 1.9-mile-length (3 km) of the
National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...
in Washington, DC. DED first appeared on the trees during the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1970s. The NPS used a number of methods to control the
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...
, including
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
,
pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...
, injecting trees with
fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality ...
, and replanting with DED-resistant cultivars. The NPS combated the disease's local insect
vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...
, the smaller European elm bark beetle (''
Scolytus multistriatus ''Scolytus multistriatus'', the European elm bark beetle or smaller European elm bark beetle, is a bark beetle species in the genus ''Scolytus''. In Europe, while ''S. multistriatus'' acts as vector of the Dutch elm disease, caused by the Ascomyc ...
''), by trapping and by spraying with
insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed t ...
s. As a result, the population of American elms planted on the Mall and its surrounding areas has remained intact for more than 80 years.


Uses


Wood

Elm
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
is valued for its interlocking grain, and consequent resistance to splitting, with significant uses in
wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
-wheel hubs,
chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
seats, and
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for j ...
s. The bodies of Japanese ''
Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...
'' drums are often cut from the wood of old elm trees, as the wood's resistance to splitting is highly desired for nailing the skins to them, and a set of three or more is often cut from the same tree. The elm's wood bends well and distorts easily. The often long, straight trunks were favoured as a source of timber for
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
s in ship construction. Elm is also prized by
bowyer A bowyer is a master-craftsman who makes bows. Though this was once a widespread profession, the importance of bowyers and of bows was diminished by the introduction of gunpowder weaponry. However, the trade has survived and many bowyers conti ...
s; of the ancient bows found in Europe, a large portion are elm. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, elm was also used to make
longbows A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...
if
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
were unavailable. The first written references to elm occur in the
Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
lists of military equipment at
Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
in the
Mycenaean period Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...
. Several of the chariots are of elm (" πτε-ρε-ϝα ", ''pte-re-wa''), and the lists twice mention wheels of elmwood.
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
says that ploughs in Ancient Greece were also made partly of elm. The density of elm wood varies between species, but averages around 560 kg/m3.Elm
. Niche Timbers. Accessed 19-08-2009.
Elm wood is also resistant to decay when permanently wet, and hollowed trunks were widely used as water pipes during the medieval period in Europe. Elm was also used as piers in the construction of the original
London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...
, but this resistance to decay in water does not extend to ground contact.


Viticulture

The Romans, and more recently the Italians, planted elms in vineyards as supports for vines. Lopped at 3 m, the elms' quick growth, twiggy lateral branches, light shade, and root suckering made them ideal trees for this purpose. The lopped branches were used for fodder and firewood.
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
in his ''Amores'' characterizes the elm as "loving the vine": ''ulmus amat vitem, vitis non deserit ulmum'' (the elm loves the vine, the vine does not desert the elm), and the ancients spoke of the "marriage" between elm and vine.


Medicinal products

The
mucilaginous Mucilage is a thick, gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion. The direction of their movement is always opposite to that of the secretion of ...
inner bark of the slippery elm ('' Ulmus rubra'') has long been used as a
demulcent A demulcent (derived from the la, demulcere "caress") is a mucilaginous or oleaginous preparation that forms a soothing protective film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane. However, they generally help fo ...
, and is still produced commercially for this purpose in the U.S. with approval for sale as a
nutritional supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
by the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
.


Fodder

Elms also have a long history of cultivation for
fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (includ ...
, with the leafy branches cut to feed
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
. The practice continues today in the Himalaya, where it contributes to serious deforestation.Maunder, M. (1988). Plants in Peril, 3. Ulmus wallichiana (Ulmaceae). ''Kew Magazine''. 5(3): 137-140. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London.


Biomass

As
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...
resources diminish, increasing attention is being paid to trees as sources of energy. In Italy, the
Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante The Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante (IPP), or 'Institute of Plant Protection', is part of the Food Department of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR; "Italian National Research Council"), an Italian government organization with the ...
is (2012) in the process of releasing to commerce very fast-growing elm cultivars, able to increase in height by more than 2 m (6 ft) per year.Santini, A., Pecori, F., Pepori, A. L., Ferrini, F., Ghelardini, L. (In press). Genotype × environment interaction and growth stability of several elm clones resistant to Dutch elm disease. ''Forest Ecology and Management''. Elsevier B. V., Netherlands.


Food

Elm bark, cut into strips and boiled, sustained much of the rural population of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
during the great famine of 1812. The seeds are particularly nutritious, containing 45% crude protein, and less than 7% fibre by dry mass.Osborne, P. (1983). The influence of Dutch elm disease on bird population trends. ''Bird Study'', 1983: 27-38.


Alternative medicine

Elm has been listed as one of the 38 substances that are used to prepare
Bach flower remedies Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains t ...
, a kind of
alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...
.


Bonsai

Chinese elm (''
Ulmus parvifolia ''Ulmus parvifolia'', commonly known as the Chinese elm or lacebark elm, is a species native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002)Ulmaceae in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of ...
'') is a popular choice for
bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of '' penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produc ...
owing to its tolerance of severe pruning.


Genetic resource conservation

In 1997, a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
elm project was initiated, its aim to coordinate the conservation of all the elm genetic resources of the member states and, among other things, to assess their resistance to Dutch elm disease. Accordingly, over 300 clones were selected and propagated for testing.Solla, A., Bohnens, J., Collin, E., Diamandis, S., Franke, A., Gil, L., Burón, M., Santini, A., Mittempergher, L., Pinon, J., and Vanden Broeck, A. (2005). Screening European Elms for Resistance to Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. ''Forest Science'' 51(2) 2005. Society of American Foresters, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.Pinon J., Husson C., Collin E. (2005). Susceptibility of native French elm clones to Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. ''Annals of Forest Science'' 62: 1–8Collin, E. (2001). Elm. In Teissier du Cros (Ed.) (2001) ''Forest Genetic Resources Management and Conservation. France as a case study.'' Min. Agriculture, Bureau des Ressources Genetiques CRGF, INRA-DIC, Paris: 38–39.


Culture


Notable elm trees

Many elm trees of various kinds have attained great size or otherwise become particularly noteworthy.


In art

Many artists have admired elms for the ease and grace of their branching and foliage, and have painted them with sensitivity. Elms are a recurring element in the landscapes and studies of, for example,
John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...
,
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (; 15 January 1793 – 23 August 1865) was an Austrian painter and writer. Waldmüller was one of the most important Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period. Career In 1807, Waldmüller attended the Academy o ...
, Frederick Childe Hassam, Karel Klinkenberg, and
George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...
. File:Constable - Elm trees in Old Hall Park, East Bergholt, 320-1891.jpg, John Constable, ''Elm trees in Old Hall Park, East Bergholt''
817 __NOTOC__ Year 817 ( DCCCXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Louis I issues an ''Ordinatio Imperii'', an imperial d ...
(''Ulmus × hollandica'') File:Constable - Study of an Elm Tree - c1821.jpeg, John Constable, ''Study of an Elm Tree''
821 __NOTOC__ Year 821 ( DCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine general Thomas the Slav leads a revolt, and secures control ...
File:John Constable 008.jpg, John Constable, ''The Cornfield'' 826(''Ulmus × hollandica'') File: John Constable 017.jpg, Constable, ''Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden''
823 version 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of ...
(''Ulmus × hollandica'') File:Jacob George Strutt elms.jpg, Jacob George Strutt, ''Elms at Mongewell, Oxfordshire'' 830(''U. minor'' 'Atinia') File:Waldmüller - Partie aus dem Prater1.jpeg, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, ''Alte Ulmen im Prater'' (''Old Elms in
Prater The Prater () is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The Wurstelprater, an amusement park that is often simply called "Prater", lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Name The ...
'')
831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominio ...
Image:James Duffield Harding - The Great Exhibition of 1851 - Google Art Project.jpg, James Duffield Harding, ''The Great Exhibition of 1851'' (''U. minor'' 'Atinia', centre) File:Arthur Hughes - Back from Sea.jpg, Arthur Hughes, ''Home from Sea''
862 __NOTOC__ Year 862 ( DCCCLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Varangians (called Rus'), under the leadership of Rurik, a Viking chiefta ...
(''U. minor'' 'Atinia') File:Ford Madox Brown - Work - artchive.com.jpg,
Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painti ...
, ''Work'' 863(''U. minor'' 'Atinia') File:AmCyc Elm - American Elm (tree).jpg, nknown artist''The American Elm'' 879(''U. americana'') File:Glaspalast München 1890 165.jpg, Johannes Karel Christiaan Klinkenberg, ''Amsterdam''
890 __NOTOC__ Year 890 ( DCCCXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Frankish nobles, who have ruled Provence in anarchy (since 887), declare Lo ...
(''Ulmus x hollandica '' ‘Belgica' '' '') File:Childe Hassam - Champs Elysées, Paris.JPG, Frederick Childe Hassam, ''Champs Elysées, Paris''
889 __NOTOC__ Year 889 ( DCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Guy III, duke of Spoleto, defeats the Lombard king Berengar I at the ...
(''Ulmus × hollandica'', 'orme femelle') File:Hassam Washington Arch Spring.jpg, Frederick Childe Hassam, ''Washington Arch, Spring'' 893(''U. americana'') File:Church at Old Lyme Childe Hassam.jpeg, Frederick Childe Hassam, ''Church at Old Lyme''
905 __NOTOC__ Year 905 ( CMV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – King Berengar I of Italy arranges a truce with the Hungarians, on p ...
(''U. americana'') File:Childe Hassam's 1920 oil, The East Hampton Elms in May.jpg, Frederick Childe Hassam, ''The East Hampton Elms in May'' 920(''U. americana'') File:GeorgeInnessOldElmAtMedfield.jpg, George Inness, ''Old Elm at Medfield'' (''U. americana'') File:PSM V65 D491 The cam near trinity college cambridge university.png, Unknown artist, ''The Cam near Trinity College, Cambridge'', England (''U. atinia'')


In mythology and literature

In Greek mythology, the nymph Ptelea (Πτελέα, Elm) was one of the eight
hamadryad A hamadryad (; grc, αμαδρυάδα, hamadryáda) is a Greek mythological being that lives in trees. It is a particular type of dryad which, in turn, is a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a certain tree. Some maintain ...
s, nymphs of the forest and daughters of Oxylos and Hamadryas. In his ''Hymn to Artemis'', poet
Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...
(third century BC) tells how, at the age of three, the infant goddess
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...
practised her newly acquired silver bow and arrows, made for her by
Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...
and the
Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
, by shooting first at an elm, then at an oak, before turning her aim on a wild animal: :πρῶτον ἐπὶ πτελέην, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον ἧκας ἐπὶ δρῦν, τὸ τρίτον αὖτ᾽ ἐπὶ θῆρα. The first reference in literature to elms occurs in the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...
''. When
Eetion In Greek mythology, Eëtion or Eetion (; grc, Ἠετίων ''Ēetíōn'' ) was the king of the Cilician Thebe. Family Eetion was the father of Andromache, wife of Hector, and of seven sons, including Podes. Mythology In Book 6 of the '' ...
, father of
Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...
, is killed by
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
during the
Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans ( Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
, the mountain nymphs plant elms on his tomb ("περί δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες, κoῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχoιo"). Also in the ''Iliad'', when the River
Scamander Scamander (; also Skamandros ( grc, Σκάμανδρος) or Xanthos () was a river god in Greek mythology. Etymology The meaning of this name is uncertain. The second element looks like it is derived from Greek () meaning 'of a man', but t ...
, indignant at the sight of so many corpses in his water, overflows and threatens to drown Achilles, the latter grasps a branch of a great elm in an attempt to save himself ("ὁ δὲ πτελέην ἕλε χερσὶν εὐφυέα μεγάλην". The nymphs also planted elms on the tomb in the
Thracian Chersonese The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
of "great-hearted
Protesilaus In Greek mythology, Protesilaus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεσίλᾱος ''Prōtesilāos'') was a hero in the '' Iliad'' who was venerated at cult sites in Thessaly and Thrace. Protesilaus was the son of Iphiclus, a "lord of many sheep"; ...
" ("μεγάθυμου Πρωτεσιλάου"), the first Greek to fall in the Trojan War. These elms grew to be the tallest in the known world, but when their topmost branches saw far off the ruins of Troy, they immediately withered, so great still was the bitterness of the hero buried below, who had been loved by
Laodamia In Greek mythology, the name Laodamia (Ancient Greek: Λαοδάμεια ''Laodámeia'') referred to: * Laodamia (or Hippodamia), a Lycian princess as the daughter of Bellerophon and Philonoe, daughter of King Iobates. Her mother was also known A ...
and slain by
Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
. The story is the subject of a poem by
Antiphilus of Byzantium Antiphilus of Byzantium ( grc, Ἀντίφιλος ὁ Βυζάντιος) was a writer of epigrams who lived about the time of the Roman emperor Nero, as appears from one of his epigrams in which he mentions the favor conferred by that emperor upon ...
(first century AD) in the
Palatine Anthology The ''Palatine Anthology'' (or ''Anthologia Palatina''), sometimes abbreviated ''AP'', is the collection of Greek poems and epigrams discovered in 1606 in the Palatine Library in Heidelberg. It is based on the lost collection of Constantinus Cep ...
: :Θεσσαλὲ Πρωτεσίλαε, σὲ μὲν πολὺς ᾄσεται αἰών, :Tρoίᾳ ὀφειλoμένoυ πτώματος ἀρξάμενoν• :σᾶμα δὲ τοι πτελέῃσι συνηρεφὲς ἀμφικoμεῦση :Nύμφαι, ἀπεχθoμένης Ἰλίoυ ἀντιπέρας. :Δένδρα δὲ δυσμήνιτα, καὶ ἤν ποτε τεῖχoς ἴδωσι :Tρώϊον, αὐαλέην φυλλοχoεῦντι κόμην. :ὅσσoς ἐν ἡρώεσσι τότ᾽ ἦν χόλoς, oὗ μέρoς ἀκμὴν :ἐχθρὸν ἐν ἀψύχoις σώζεται ἀκρέμoσιν. :[:Thessalian Protesilaos, a long age shall sing your praises, :Of the destined dead at Troy the first; :Your tomb with thick-foliaged elms they covered, :The nymphs, across the water from hated Ilion. :Trees full of anger; and whenever that wall they see, :Of Troy, the leaves in their upper crown wither and fall. :So great in the heroes was the bitterness then, some of which still :Remembers, hostile, in the soulless upper branches.] Protesilaus had been king of Pteleos () in Thessaly, which took its name from the abundant elms () in the region. Elms occur often in Pastoral, pastoral poetry, where they symbolise the idyllic life, their shade being mentioned as a place of special coolness and peace. In the first Idyll of
Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from h ...
(third century BC), for example, the goatherd invites the shepherd to sit "here beneath the elm" ("δεῦρ' ὑπὸ τὰν πτελέαν") and sing. Beside elms, Theocritus places "the sacred water" ("") of the Springs of the Nymphs and the shrines to the nymphs. Aside from references literal and metaphorical to the elm and vine theme, the tree occurs in Latin literature in the Elm of Dreams in the
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
. When the Sibyl of Cumae leads
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
down to the
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...
, one of the sights is the Stygian Elm: :In medio ramos annosaque bracchia pandit :ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem somnia vulgo :uana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent. : Spreads in the midst her boughs and agéd arms :an elm, huge, shadowy, where vain dreams, 'tis said, :are wont to roost them, under every leaf close-clinging.
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
refers to a Roman superstition (''vulgo'') that elms were trees of ill-omen because their fruit seemed to be of no value. It has been noted that two elm-motifs have arisen from classical literature: (1) the 'Paradisal Elm' motif, arising from pastoral idylls and the elm-and-vine theme, and (2) the 'Elm and Death' motif, perhaps arising from Homer's commemorative elms and Virgil's Stygian Elm. Many references to elm in European literature from the Renaissance onwards fit into one or other of these categories. There are two examples of ''pteleogenesis'' (:birth from elms) in world myths. In Germanic and Scandinavian mythology the first woman,
Embla In Norse mythology, Ask and Embla ( non, Askr ok Embla )—male and female respectively—were the first two humans, created by the gods. The pair are attested in both the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional s ...
, was fashioned from an elm, while in Japanese mythology
Kamuy Fuchi Kamuy-huci (カムイフチ, ''Kamui Fuchi'') is the Ainu ''kamuy'' (''goddess'') of the hearth. Her full name is Apemerukoyan-mat Unamerukoyan-mat (''Rising Fire Sparks Woman/ Rising Cinder Sparks Woman''), and she is also known as Iresu Kamuy ('' ...
, the chief goddess of the
Ainu people The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Ya ...
, "was born from an elm impregnated by the Possessor of the Heavens".Wilkinson, Gerald, ''Epitaph for the Elm'' (London, 1978), p.87 The elm occurs frequently in English literature, one of the best known instances being in Shakespeare's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...
'', where Titania, Queen of the Fairies, addresses her beloved Nick Bottom using an elm-simile. Here, as often in the elm-and-vine motif, the elm is a masculine symbol: :Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. :... the female Ivy so :Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm. :O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee! Another of the most famous kisses in English literature, that of Paul and Helen at the start of Forster's ''
Howards End ''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'', is stolen beneath a great wych elm. The elm tree is also referenced in children's literature. ''An Elm Tree and Three Sisters'' by Norma Sommerdorf is a children's book about three young sisters who plant a small elm tree in their backyard.


In politics

The
cutting of the elm The cutting of the elm was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of France and England in 1188, during which an elm tree near Gisors in Normandy was felled. Diplomatic significance In the 12th century, the tree marked the traditional place o ...
was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of France and England in 1188, during which an elm tree near Gisors in Normandy was felled. In politics, the elm is associated with revolutions. In England after the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
of 1688, the final victory of parliamentarians over monarchists, and the arrival from Holland, with William III and
Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife A ...
, of the Dutch elm hybrid, planting of this cultivar became a fashion among enthusiasts of the new political order.Rackham, O. (1976). ''Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape'' J. M. Dent, London. In the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, the Liberty Tree was an American white elm in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, in front of which, from 1765, the first resistance meetings were held against British attempts to tax the American colonists without democratic representation. When the British, knowing that the tree was a symbol of rebellion, felled it in 1775, the Americans took to widespread Liberty Elm planting, and sewed elm symbols on to their revolutionary flags.Richens, ''Elm'' (Cambridge, 1983) Elm planting by American Presidents later became something of a tradition. In the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, too, ''Les arbres de la liberté'' (Liberty Trees), often elms, were planted as symbols of revolutionary hopes, the first in Vienne, Isère, in 1790, by a priest inspired by the Boston elm. ''L'Orme de La Madeleine'' (:the Elm of La Madeleine), Faycelles, Département de Lot, planted around 1790 and surviving to this day, was a case in point. By contrast, a famous Parisian elm associated with the ''Ancien Régime'', ''L'Orme de Saint-Gervais'' in the Place St-Gervais, was ''felled'' by the revolutionaries; church authorities planted a new elm in its place in 1846, and an early 20th-century elm stands on the site today.''L'Orme de St-Gervais: biographie d'un arbre'', www.paris.fr
Premier
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
, obliged by tradition to plant a tree in the garden of the
Hôtel Matignon The Hôtel Matignon or Hôtel de Matignon () is the official residence of the Prime Minister of France. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, at 57 Rue de Varenne. "Matignon" is often used as a metonym for the governmental action o ...
, the official residence and workplace of Prime Ministers of France, insisted on planting an elm, so-called 'tree of the Left', choosing the new disease-resistant hybrid 'Clone 762' ( ''Ulmus'' 'Wanoux' = ). In the French Republican Calendar, in use from 1792 to 1806, the 12th day of the month
Ventôse Ventôse (; also ''Ventose'') was the sixth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word ''ventosus'', which means ''windy''. Ventôse was the third month of the winter quarter (''mois d'hiver''). It start ...
(= 2 March) was officially named "jour de l'Orme", Day of the Elm. Liberty Elms were also planted in other countries in Europe to celebrate their revolutions, an example being ''L'Olmo di Montepaone, L'Albero della Libertà'' (:the Elm of Montepaone, Liberty Tree) in
Montepaone Montepaone ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' of the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Montepaone sits on the Italian Ionian sea in the Gulf of Squillace. Soverato, Gasperina Gasperina is a town ...
,
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, planted in 1799 to commemorate the founding of the democratic
Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...
, and surviving until it was brought down by a recent storm (it has since been cloned and 'replanted'). After the
Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted b ...
of 1821–32, a thousand young elms were brought to Athens from Missolonghi, "Sacred City of the Struggle" against the Turks and scene of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
's death, and planted in 1839–40 in the National Garden. In an ironic development, feral elms have spread and invaded the grounds of the abandoned Greek royal summer palace at
Tatoi Tatoi ( el, Τατόι, ) was the summer palace and estate of the former Greek royal family. The area is a densely wooded southeast-facing slope of Mount Parnitha, and its ancient and current official name is Dekeleia. It is located  from t ...
in
Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...
. In a chance event linking elms and revolution, on the morning of his execution (30 January 1649), walking to the scaffold at the
Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. ...
, King Charles I turned to his guards and pointed out, with evident emotion, an elm near the entrance to
Spring Gardens Spring Gardens is a dead-end street at the south east extreme of St. James's, London, England, that crosses the east end of The Mall between Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square. Part of the old liberty of Westminster and the current City of W ...
that had been planted by his
brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-famili ...
in happier days. The tree was said to be still standing in the 1860s. File:LibertyTreePlanting.jpg, Planting a Liberty Tree (''un arbre de la liberté'') during the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
.
Jean-Baptiste Lesueur Jean-Baptiste Cicéron Lesueur (5 October 1794, Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines - 25 December 1883, Paris) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Paris City Hall (Hôtel de Ville). Biography In 1811, he entered the École des Be ...
, 1790 File:Balcony St-Gervais.jpg, Balcony with elm symbol, overlooking the 'Crossroads of the Elm', Place Saint-Gervais, Paris File:President George W. Bush and Laura Bush take part in the planting of three elm trees.jpg, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush planting a disease-resistant 'Jefferson' Elm before the White House, 2006 File:TATOI PALACE.JPG, Elm suckers spreading before the abandoned summer royal palace in Tatoi, Greece, Μarch 2008


In local history and place names

The name of what is now the London neighborhood of Seven Sisters is derived from seven elms which stood there at the time when it was a rural area, planted a circle with a
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
tree at their centre, and traceable on maps back to 1619.Tottenham: Growth before 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976)


See also

* Elm Conflict *
List of elm trees Many elm (''Ulmus'') trees of various kinds have attained great size or otherwise become particularly noteworthy; among these are the following. American Elm ''Ulmus americana'' Most of North America's notable elms are ''Ulmus americana'', a fast ...
* List of Elm cultivars, hybrids and hybrid cultivars * List of Elm species and varieties by scientific name * List of Lepidoptera that feed on elms * Fab Tree Hab


References


Monographs

* A scientific, historical and cultural study, with a thesis on elm-classification, followed by a systematic survey of elms in England, region by region. Illustrated. * 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. . A history of elm planting in the Netherlands, concluding with a 40 – page illustrated review of all the DED – resistant cultivars in commerce in 2009.


Further reading

* A general introduction, with a history of Dutch elm disease and proposals for re-landscaping in the aftermath of the pandemic. Illustrated. * A study of the species, with particular reference to the wych elm in Scotland and its use by craftsmen. * * A photographic and pictorial celebration and general introduction.


External links

*
Tree Family Ulmaceae
Diagnostic photos of Elm species at the
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 ...
* * * * {{Authority control Medicinal plants