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'' 'Littleford' was

cloned Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, ...

from a tree in

Hinsdale, Illinois Hinsdale is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,395 at the 2020 census, most of whom lived in DuPage County. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town ...

, circa 1915 by Littleford Nurseries of

Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I- ...

, and first released in 1927. It was marketed in the 1930s by nearby Hinsdale Nurseries, successor to Littleford Nurseries, as 'Littlefordii'. In their 1925 catalogue Littleford Nurseries had written of their selection: "The growing of the American elm is a specialty with us; we consider it the leading shade and ornamental tree. Our trees are a selected strain of the V-shaped type, a stock of 15 to 20 thousand, all 2 ins. and up in size, transplanted twice and in splendid vigor for planting".

Description

The tree is narrowly vase-shaped, without pendulous branchlets, and with larger and heavier leaves (see 'External links').

Pests and diseases

The clone's 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 ...

is not known, but the species as a whole is highly susceptible to the disease and

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

'Littleford' was also marketed from the 1930s by the Siebenthaler Company of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, and from the 1940s by Charles Fiore Nurseries of Prairie View, Illinois.Charles Fiore Nurseries, Prairie View, Illinois; 1948 Cat., p.9
/ref> The Sherman Nursery, Charles City,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, stocked it as late as 1957, but it is no longer listed by that emporium or any other. The tree is not known to have been introduced to

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

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 ecologi ...

Synonymy

*''Ulmus americana'' var. ''Littlefordii'': Bailey & Bailey, ''Hortus Second,'' 746, 747, 1941.

Accessions

;North America *

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 ...

, US. Acc. no. 862–43.

References

External links

* ''Ulmus americana'' var. 'Littlefordii' ( Arnold Arboretum specimen 1960; from Siebenthaler nursery) {{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed American elm cultivar Ulmus articles missing images Ulmus