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 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 minor'' 'Dehesa de Amaniel' was raised from seed collected in 1999 from a tree growing in the Dehesa de la Villa park (), within the

Moncloa-Aravaca Moncloa-Aravaca is a district of the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, spanning across both banks of the Manzanares. It is made up of the neighborhoods of Aravaca, Argüelles, Casa de Campo, Ciud ...

district of north-west Madrid by researchers at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes,

Universidad Politėcnica de Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...

. 'Dehesa de Amaniel' is one of a number of Spanish ''Ulmus minor'' found to have a very high resistance to Dutch Elm Disease, on a par with, if not greater than, the

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

'Sapporo Autumn Gold'. 'Dehesa de Amaniel' was introduced to the UK in 2015, by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Branch, Butterfly Conservation, as part of an assessment of DED-resistant cultivars as potential hosts of the endangered

White-letter Hairstreak The white-letter hairstreak (''Satyrium w-album'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Appearance and behaviour A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew (secretion), honeydew, making ...

.Brookes, A. H. (2020). ''Great Fontley Elm Trial, 2020 Report''. Butterfly Conservation,

Lulworth Lulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However, there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal f ...

, England.

Description

'Dehesa de Amaniel' grew at a comparatively fast rate of 90 cm per annum at the Puerta de Hierro nursery in Madrid. The spreading branches, which have corky tissue, form an irregular crown. The leaves, on 2.5 mm petioles, are round, typically acuminate at the apex, the average length and width 39 × 30 mm, the margins triple-serrate. The leaves are relatively sparsely distributed along the branchlets, and suffused dark-red on emergence, distinguishing them from the other selected Madrid clones. Foliar density relative to 'Sapporo Autumn Gold' is described as 'high'. However, in the Madrid study, the appearance of the tree was rated 3 / 5, the lowest score of all the trialled cultivars. The tree is weak-wooded, and where planted in exposed locations has suffered extensive branch breakage. File:Ulmus minor 'Dehesa de Amaniel' leaf.jpg, 'Dehesa de Amaniel' leaf File:Ulmus minor Dehesa de Amaniel emergent foliage.jpg, Emergent foliage colour File:U. minor 'Dehesa de Amaniel' corky bark.jpg, Corky bark File:U. minor 'Dehesa de Amaniel' storm damage to branches.jpg, Storm damage, UK

Pests and diseases

'Dehesa de Amaniel' was the most resistant of the Spanish ''U. minor'' clones 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 ...

, with wilting values below 5% during the two consecutive inoculation trials performed in Madrid. However, in inoculation trials in England in 2019 by the late Dr David Herling, the tree exhibited 40% defoliation after three months.

Cultivation

'Dehesa de Amaniel' is undergoing further trials in other, different, environments in Spain, where it was tested by inoculation in 2016. If the performance of the cultivar remains satisfactory, the tree will be released to commerce under licence. 'Dehesa de Amaniel' was also being assessed as part of Butterfly Conservation's elm trials in southern

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England, but was withdrawn owing to severe storm damage.

Accessions

Grange Farm Arboretum The Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam.Ostler, J. (2009) ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, UK. Acc. no 1132. One small whip planted 2015.

Etymology

The tree's name commemorates the former owner of Dehesa (:'grassland') de la Villa, Lope de Amaniel, ballestero of Henry II of Castile.

References

{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed Field elm cultivar Ulmus articles with images Ulmus Technical University of Madrid elm clones