The

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 ...

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 americana'' 'Burgoyne' stood at the Arnold Arboretum until removed in 1988. Grown for the town of

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, the tree was raised in 1965 by Dr.

Donald Wyman Donald Wyman (1904 — 6 December 1993) was an American horticulturist, the head of horticulture at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum from 1935 to 1970. He took a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Pennsylvania State College (1926) and a m ...

, retired head horticulturist of Arnold Arboretum (and himself of Weston), from seeds of the historic Burgoyne Elm, that stood for c.300 years at 626 Boston Post Road, Weston, before being felled in 1967 (bole girth 25 ft.'Our historic Burgoyne elm and its memories', ''Weston Historical Society Bulletin'', Oct. 1971, Vol.8 No.1
/ref>) In October 1777 a contingent of British prisoners-of-war from

General Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

's defeated army, captured by General Gates, bivouacked under the original tree, then nearly a century old, on their way to prison in Somerville. The name of the tree was first noted in records of the Plant Sciences Data Center of the

American Horticultural Society The American Horticultural Society (AHS) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that promotes excellence in American horticulture. It is headquartered at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia. History Established in 1922, the AHS is one of ...

, but is not formally recognized as a valid cultivar.

Description

The original tree in Weston was broad at the top with irregular ascending branches.

Pests and diseases

The Weston tree succumbed 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 ...

. The species as a whole is highly susceptible to

Elm Yellows Elm yellows is a plant disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts."Elm Yellows." Elmcare.Com. 19 Mar. 2008 . Elm yellows, also known as elm phloem necrosis, is very aggressive, with no known cure. Elm yellows occurs in th ...

; it is also moderately preferred for feeding and reproduction by the adult 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 ...

'', and highly preferred for feeding by the Japanese Beetle '' Popillia japonica'' in the United States. ''U. americana'' is also the most susceptible of all the elms to

verticillium wilt Verticillium wilt is a wilt disease affecting over 350 species of eudicot plants. It is caused by six species of '' Verticillium'' fungi: ''V. dahliae'', ''V. albo-atrum'', ''V. longisporum'', ''V. nubilum'', ''V. theobromae'' and ''V. tricorp ...

.Pegg, G. F. & Brady, B. L. (2002). ''Verticillium Wilts''. CABI Publishing.

Cultivation

Four scions of the Burgoyne elm were also planted near the parent tree in Weston in 1965.''Weston Historical Society Bulletin'', March 1970, Vol.6 No.3
/ref> These eventually succumbed to DED and were replaced in 2021 by a disease-resistant strain of American elm.''Weston Town Crier'', 3 June 2021
/ref> It is not known whether 'Burgoyne' remains in cultivation elsewhere.

References

{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed American elm cultivar Ulmus articles missing images Ulmus