Ulmus 'Scampstoniensis'
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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 ...
''Ulmus'' 'Scampstoniensis', the Scampston Elm or Scampston Weeping Elm, is said to have come from
Scampston Hall Scampston Hall is a Grade II* listed country house in North Yorkshire, England, with a serpentine park designed by Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. It is located on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road, 4 miles (6 km) ea ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, England, before 1810. Loudon opined that a tree of the same name at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden in 1834, high at 8 years old "differed little from the species" (i.e. the smooth-leaved elm, his ''U. glabra'' ''Ulmus_minor''_.html"_;"title="Ulmus_minor.html"_;"title="''Ulmus_minor">''Ulmus_minor''_">Ulmus_minor.html"_;"title="''Ulmus_minor">''Ulmus_minor''_._
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_described_the_tree,_from_a_specimen_growing_in_Victoria_Park,_Bath">Victoria_Park_Victoria_Park_may_refer_to: __Places___Australia_ *_Victoria_Park_Nature_Reserve,_a_protected_area_in_Northern_Rivers_region,_New_South_Wales *_Victoria_Park,_Adelaide,_a_park_and_racecourse *_Victoria_Park,_Brisbane,_a_public_park_and_former_golf__...
,_Bath,_Somerset.html" ;"title="Victoria_Park,_Bath.html" "title="Augustine_Henry.html" "title="Ulmus_minor">''Ulmus_minor''_.html" ;"title="Ulmus_minor.html" ;"title="''Ulmus minor">''Ulmus minor'' ">Ulmus_minor.html" ;"title="''Ulmus minor">''Ulmus minor'' . Augustine Henry">Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
described the tree, from a specimen growing in Victoria Park, Bath">Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
, Bath, Somerset">Bath, as "a weeping form of ''U. nitens''" [:''Ulmus minor'' ]; however Green considered it "probably a form of ''Ulmus × hollandica''". Writing in 1831, Loudon said that the tree was supposed to have originated in America. ''U. minor'' is not, however, an American species, so if the tree was brought from America, it must originally have been taken there from Europe. There was (and is) an 'American Plantation' (or 'America Plantation') at Scampston, which may be related to this supposition. A number of old specimens of 'Scampstoniensis' in this plantation were blown down in a great gale of October 1881; younger specimens were still present at Scampston in 1911. Georg Dieck of the National Arboretum in
Zöschen Zöschen is a village and a former municipality in the district Saalekreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 31 December 2009, it is part of the town Leuna. Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Leuna {{Saalekreis-geo-stub ...
, Germany, considered 'Scampstoniensis' a synonym of ''Ulmus scabra Serpentina'' ''U.''_×_''hollandica''_'Serpentina'_.html" ;"title="Ulmus × hollandica 'Serpentina'">''U.'' × ''hollandica'' 'Serpentina' ">Ulmus × hollandica 'Serpentina'">''U.'' × ''hollandica'' 'Serpentina' a view rejected by Petzold, who in his ''Arboretum Muscaviense'' listed 'Scampstoniensis' separately, and by the
Hortus Botanicus Leiden The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Obs ...
, which had a specimen of 'Scampstoniensis' (see below). "From the Travemünder Nurseries we received an ''U. scampstoniensis'', an elm with a beautiful pendulous shape," wrote Petzold, "that we distinguish from our ''U. montana Pendula.''"


Description

'Scampstoniensis' was said to droop its branches very distinctly and regularly, giving the tree a symmetrical form, as though it had been regularly trained and trimmed, unlike 'Camperdownii', which had less of a tendency to regular drooping, and with less abundant foliage. A 1911 article in 'Historical Notes of Rillington and Scampston' described 'Scampstoniensis' as "remarkable for its size when mature, for its spreading habit, and its rough corky bark". Image:Scampston Weeping Elm.jpg, Scampston Weeping Elm, a drawing of 1868


Pests and diseases

'Scampstoniensis' is not noted to have any resistance to
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 Americas, America ...
.


Cultivation

Loudon described the Scampston Elm, in a letter of 1836 to the ''Newcastle Courant'', as "generally understood to have been extensively planted in Northumberland about 80 years ago". The Scampston Elm was in cultivation on both sides of the Atlantic in the 19th century and was occasionally referred to as ''Ulmus americana pendula''. (Other European elms described as 'American' by various nurseries include 'Vegeta', 'Lutescens', and 'Nana'.) The American horticulturalist Frank Jesup Scott in ''The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds of Small Extent'' (1870) described how two "Scampston elms" could be pruned and trained to form an archway of weeping elm. "A weeping variety of the Scampston Elm" was described at the
Royal Victoria Park, Bath Royal Victoria Park is located in Bath, England. It was opened in 1830 by the 11-year-old Princess Victoria seven years before her ascension to the throne and was the first park to carry her name, with an obelisk dedicated to her. It was priv ...
, in 1857 and 1902, where was listed as ''U. montana Glabra'' 'smooth'(-leaved)''microphylla pendula''.Hanham, F. (1857)
''A Manual for the Park''
(Royal Victoria Park, Bath). Longman, London.
One tree was planted in 1896 as ''U. glabra scampstoniensis'' at the
Dominion Arboretum The Dominion Arboretum (french: Arboretum du Dominion) is an arboretum part of the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally begun in 1889, the Arboretum covers about of rolling land ...
, Ottawa,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Three specimens supplied by the Späth nursery of Berlin to the
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...
in 1902 as ''U. glabra'' 'smooth'(-leaved)''Scampstoniensis'' may survive in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city (viz. the Wentworth Elm).The current list of Living Accessions held in the Garden ''per se'' does not list the plant. A specimen obtained from Späth before 1914 as ''U. glabra scampstoniensis'', and planted in 1916, stood in the Ryston Hall arboretum,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, in the early 20th century. Elwes saw the decayed stump of the original tree at
Scampston Hall Scampston Hall is a Grade II* listed country house in North Yorkshire, England, with a serpentine park designed by Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. It is located on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road, 4 miles (6 km) ea ...
, by which time (1913) the tree was no longer known to be in cultivation in nurseries in England. 'Scampstoniensis' continued to be distributed by the Späth nursery and the Hesse Nursery of
Weener Weener () is a town in the district of Leer, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Ems. The towns population is at 15,654, making it the largest town of the region Rheiderland. It has a railw ...
, Germany, into the 1930s. Possibly only two specimens now survive in the UK, as grafted trees, in Brighton, England; see 'Notable trees' below. Another possible specimen stands in Fort Street, Cambridge, Waikato, New Zealand.


Notable trees

A weeping elm in the
Hortus Botanicus Leiden The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Obs ...
was described there by the curator in 1890 in a ''Sempervirens'' article as an ''Ulmus americana Pendula'', one of the synonyms of 'Scampstoniensis'. It was carefully distinguished by him from two forms of weeping
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 ...
nearby, and was said to produce, in addition, vigorous ascending branches that needed regular pruning to maintain a tidy weeping shape. Three weeping elms were later photographed in the Hortus c.1920, two of them forms of weeping wych, the third a semi-weeping elm with smaller leaves and numerous long shoots, many ascending, that appears at one time to have been pruned: by process of elimination, the ''Ulmus americana Pendula'' ('Scampstoniensis') of the 1890 ''Sempervirens'' article. The c.1920 tree, though mature, closely resembles the 1859 illustration of a young 'Scampstoniensis' in New York, while a 1931 ''Ulmus americana pendula'' herbarium specimen from Leiden matches the 1902 Späth 'Scampstoniensis' specimens held in RBGE (see 'External links'). The 1890 article had expressed doubts about the name ''Ulmus americana Pendula''; the c.1920 photograph labels the tree ''U. scabra'' ur ''U. glabra''''pendula'', despite its differences from the two weeping wych clones. The herbarium of the
Naturalis Biodiversity Center Naturalis Biodiversity Center ( nl, Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit Naturalis) is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. ...
in Leiden holds leaf specimens labelled "''U. carpinifolia'' 'Pendula' (formerly called ''U. glabra'' Hudson 'Scampstoniensis')", from a tree in the Wageningen Arboretum. The possible UK Tree Register of the British Isles, TROBI Champions grow in Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton, perhaps planted in 1851; two grafted trees, survivors of some ten c.1980, measuring 26 m high by 73 cm diameter at breast height, d.b.h., and 22 m by 70 cm, in 2002. One of the two lost half its crown in a storm of 2016.Johnson, O. (2011). ''Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland'', p. 169. Kew Publishing, Kew, London. . Their leaves are a good match for herbarium leaf-specimens of 'Scampstoniensis' (Späth) held in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, RBGE, and their prolific long shoots match those of the Leiden tree. The cultivar does not, however, feature in the list of accessions of the National Elm Collection held by Brighton & Hove City Council File:Groote treuriep (Ulmus Scabra Pendula) in den Hortus te Leiden.jpg, A heavily pruned semi-weeping elm in the Hortus Botanicus Leiden (c.1920), possibly the ''U. americana Pendula'' [:'Scampstoniensis'] of the 'Three Weeping Elms' article, 1890 File:BH00070 Ulmus. Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton. (6).jpg, Woodvale Cemetery tree, Brighton (2005), showing prolific long shoots File:Ulmus x hollandica (unknown cultivar). Woodvale Crematorium, Lewes Road, Brighton (1).jpg, Leaves of Woodvale Cemetery tree, Brighton File:BH00070 Ulmus. Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton. (1).jpg, Long-shoot leaf-spray of same File:BH00070 Ulmus. Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton. (2).jpg, Underside File:BH00070 Ulmus. Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton. (5).jpg, Samara (fruit), Samarae of same File:Ulmus x hollandica (unknown cultivar). Woodvale Crematorium, Lewes Road, Brighton (2).jpg, Bole of same File:BH00070 Ulmus. Woodvale Cemetery, Brighton. (8).jpg, 'Scampstoniensis' bark, above the graft line File:Ulmus x hollandica (unknown cultivar). Branches in winer. Woodvale Crematorium, Lewes Road, Brighton.jpg, Pendulous branchlets


Synonymy

*''Ulmus glabra'' var. ''scampstoniensis'': Georg Kirchner, Kirchner

in Carl Edward Adolph Petzold, Petzold

& Kirchner
''Arboretum Muscaviense'' 560, 1864
*''Ulmus americana pendula'' *''Ulmus montana pendula nova''


Accessions


North America

*
Dominion Arboretum The Dominion Arboretum (french: Arboretum du Dominion) is an arboretum part of the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally begun in 1889, the Arboretum covers about of rolling land ...
, Ottawa, Canada. Accession no. 2594


Notes


References


External links

* Sheet labelled ''U. americana pendula'' [synonym of 'Scampstoniensis'] (Hortus Leiden, 1931) * Sheet labelled ''U. glabra scampstoniensis'', from Späth nursery, 1902 * Sheet labelled ''U. glabra scampstoniensis'', from Späth nursery, 1902 * Sheet labelled ''U. glabra scampstoniensis'', from Späth nursery, 1902 * Sheet labelled ''U. americana pendula'' [synonym of 'Scampstoniensis'] Hort. Audibert (Kew Gardens specimen) {{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed Elm cultivars Ulmus articles with images Ulmus Ulmus Edinburgh Spath 1902