The putative Wych Elm

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 glabra'' 'Latifolia Nigricans' was first described, as ''Ulmus campestris latifolia nigricans'', by Pynaert in 1879. Pynaert, however, did not specify what species he meant by ''U. campestris''. The tree was supplied 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 ...

of Berlin in the late 19th century and early 20th as ''Ulmus montana latifolia nigricans''. Späth, like many of his contemporaries, used ''U. montana'' both for Wych Elm cultivars and for those of the ''U.'' × ''hollandica'' group.

Description

Pynaert described the tree as "very vigorous, the leaves being large and of a dark tint".

Cultivation

No specimens are known to survive. One tree, probably supplied by the

of Berlin, was planted as ''Ulmus montana latifolia nigricans'' in 1896 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 ...

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. Three specimens supplied by Späth to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902 as ''Ulmus montana latifolia nigricans'' may survive in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

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. ''U. latifolia nigricans'', a "dark, large-leaved elm", appeared in the 1902 catalogue of the Bobbink and Atkins nursery, Rutherford, New Jersey.

Putative specimens

Two vigorous, suckering hybrid elms (presumed ''U.'' × ''hollandica''), in the SW corner of

Inverleith Park Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity, Edinburgh, Trinity to the north an ...

, Edinburgh, near the Royal Botanic Garden, with broad leaves held dark-green till early December, match descriptions of Späth's ''U. montana latifolia nigricans'' and may be regrowth from one of the early 20th-century specimens from Berlin. File:AZ0074 Ulmus. Inverleith Park SW corner dark x holl Dec.jpg, Dark-leaved hybrid elm, early winter, SW corner of

, Edinburgh File:Ulmus (possibly x hollandica). South west corner of Inverleith Park, Edinburgh (1).jpg, Same, late summer File:Ulmus (possibly x hollandica). South west corner of Inverleith Park, Edinburgh (3).jpg, Leaves of same File:AZ0074 Ulmus. samarae East Fettes Avenue hybrid.jpg, Samarae

Synonymy

*''Ulmus scabra (: glabra) purpurea nigricans'': Dieck, (

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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), ''Haupt-catalog der Obst- und gehölzbaumschulen des ritterguts Zöschen bei Merseburg'' 1885, p. 82.

References

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