The Wych Elm cultivar ''Ulmus glabra'' 'Gigantea' was listed as ''U. montana'' var. ''gigantea'' Hort. by Kirchner (1864). An ''U. montana gigantea'' was distributed by the

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 Baumschulen ...

, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s. It did not appear in Späth's 1903 catalogue. A specimen at Kew was judged by Henry to be "not distinct enough to deserve a special name". Both Späth and the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, supplied it in the 1930s. Green gave a different clone, the Dutch Elm 'Major', as synonym of 'Gigantea'.

Description

The Kew specimen was a small tree with ascending branches. Herbarium leaf-specimens show a large orbicular wych elm leaf with a typically short petiole. Sheet described as ''U. montana gigantea'', RBGE specimen from

, 1902; Sheet described as ''U. montana gigantea'', RBGE specimen from

, 1902; Sheet described as ''U. montana'' With. ''gigantea'' Hort., 1903; Sheet labelled ''U. montana'' With. f. ''gigantea'' Hort.; Sheet labelled ''U. montana'' With. f. ''gigantea'' Hort., 1903

Pests and diseases

A cultivar of the Wych Elm, 'Gigantea' is susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.

Cultivation

One tree was planted in 1897 as ''U. montana gigantea'' 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 Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. Three specimens supplied by Späth to the

RBGE 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. montana gigantea'' may survive in Edinburgh, 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.

Accessions

None known.

References

{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed Ulmus Wych elm cultivar Ulmus articles missing images Missing elm cultivars Ulmus Edinburgh Spath 1902