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'' 'Sheyenne' was raised by the Northwest Nursery Company of

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

, before 1941, from a local elm in nearby Chautauqua Park.'Select list of hardy plants, trees, etc.', Northwest Nursery Co., Valley City, North Dakota, 1941, p.3
/ref>'Aristocrats of northern gardens : a selected list of the best up-to-date dependable varieties', Northwest Nursery Company, Valley City, North Dakota, 1944, p.8
/ref> 'Sheyenne' is not regarded as a valid cultivar by some authorities.

Description

Northwest Nursery described 'Sheyenne' as "an unusually fast growing, upright tree of great beauty" with "a fine spreading head and large dark green leaves". It reportedly made as large a tree in 10 years as the average American elm in 15. The Plumfield Nursery later called it "somewhat vase-shaped".

Cultivation

'Sheyenne' was propagated by grafting. Northwest Nursery considered it "an ideal tree for street and lawn planting". It was also marketed from 1957 by the Plumfield Nursery, Fremont,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

,Moffet, L. ''Plumfield Nursery Spring 1957 Wholesale Trade List''. Plumfield Nursery, Fremont, Nebraska. which ceased trading circa 1980. It is unlikely the tree remains in cultivation in North America or beyond. File:Elms1.JPG, Elm avenue planted mid-twentieth century, Fargo, North Dakota (2005) File:Elms in Fargo.JPG, Elms in University Avenue, planted mid-twentieth century, Fargo, North Dakota (2005)

Pests and diseases

No specific information.

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 ...

was first detected in North Dakota in 1969 and had spread to most of the State by 1975.

Etymology

The tree was named for the town of Sheyenne in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, itself named for the Great Plains tribe of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

. A second cultivar called 'Great Plains', cloned from a wild tree in that state, was released by the Oscar H. Wills nursery of Bismarck, North Dakota in 1942. North Dakota is at the western edge of the natural range of ''Ulmus americana''.''Ulmus americana'' range map, Forest Service, US Dept. of Agriculture, fs.usda.gov
/ref>

References

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