The
Field Elm
''Ulmus minor'' Mill., the field elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor and Iran; its northern ...
cultivar ''Ulmus minor'' 'Cretensis'
from Crete">Crete.html" ;"title="from Crete">from Cretewas first mentioned by George Nicholson (horticulturalist)">Nicholson in ''Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs'' Vol.2 (1896), as ''Ulmus campestris'' var. ''cretensis'', without description.
A 1908 herbarium specimen at
Kew Gardens with an accompanying description
suggests that 'Cretensis' is not synonymous with
''Ulmus minor'' var. ''canescens'', also present on Crete.
['Canescens' in Crete, in the Ulmus canescens">''Ulmus minor'' var. ''canescens'', also present on Crete.]['Canescens' in Crete, in the Apokoronas region: George Sfikas, ''Trees and shrubs of Greece'' (Athens, 2nd ed. 2001) p.140]['Canescens' in Crete, in the Aghia Irene gorge in the Temenos, Greece">Temenos region: ''Natural Europe Project'', University of Crete, europeana.e]
/ref>
Description
On the Kew herbarium specimen Augustin Ley added the description: "All parts f the shoots and upper leaf-surfacevery glabrous and smooth; n the leaf undersideaxils and leaf-surface along mid-rib hairy; non glandular".[''Ulmus campestris'' var. ''cretensis'' herbarium specimen, Kew Gardens, herbariaunited.org specimen 289491 (1908; A. Ley)](_blank)
/ref> The specimen shows obovate leaves, 4 to 6 cm long by 3 to 5 wide, with a small tapering tip, biserrate or triserrate margin, and a 5 mm petiole.
Pests and diseases
See under '' Ulmus minor''.
Cultivation
It is not known whether 'Cretensis' remains in cultivation. An old field elm by the 11th-century Byzantine church of St Nicholas, Kyriakosellia, Apokoronas
Apokoronas ( el, Αποκόρωνας) is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the munici ...
, western Crete, is in the locality where 'Cretensis' herbarium specimens were collected in the early 20th century, [ Sheet labelled ''U. campestris'' (long-shoot specimen from ]Apokoronas
Apokoronas ( el, Αποκόρωνας) is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the munici ...
, Crete, 1915) and outside the small area in central Crete where 'Canescens' has been found.
References
{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed
Field elm cultivar
Ulmus articles missing images
Ulmus
Missing elm cultivars