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'' 'Viminalis Gracilis'
'slender'is a form of
''U. minor'' 'Viminalis'. Cultivars listed as ''Ulmus gracilis''
Hort. by Kirchner (1864),
and as ''U. scabra viminalis gracilis''
Hort. by
Dieck (1885), were considered by
Green to be forms of
Melville's ''U.'' × ''viminalis''.
A 1929 herbarium specimen held at the
Hortus Botanicus Leiden
The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Obs ...
is labelled ''U. campestris'' var. ''viminalis'' f. ''gracilis'', implying a cultivar that differed from the 'type' tree.
[ Sheet labelled ''U. viminalis gracilis'' (Leiden specimen)]
Description
The epithet 'gracilis' usually refers to the slender habit of a cultivar.
Dippel (1892), who treated the 'Viminalis' group as a form of ''U. montana'' (sometimes used for hybrids in his day), described ''viminalis'' f. ''gracilis'' as a small to medium-sized tree, with even finer, more hanging branches than type-
'Viminalis', and smaller, narrower, almost slit-edged leaves.
[ Sheet labelled ''U. campestris'' var. ''viminalis'' f. ''gracilis'' (Leiden specimen); Sheet labelled ''U. montana'' Sm. var. ''viminalis'' Koch f. ''gracilis'' (1901); Sheet labelled ''U. montana'' Sm. var. ''viminalis'' f. ''gracilis'' = ''U. procera f. viminalis'' ''U. minor'' 'Viminalis ">Ulmus minor 'Viminalis'">''U. minor'' 'Viminalis /ref> The Leiden herbarium specimen shows a leaf with narrow, almost hair-like, scarcely double teeth.]Alfred Rehder
Alfred Rehder (4 September 1863 in Waldenburg, Saxony – 25 July 1949 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts) was a German-American botanical taxonomist and dendrologist who worked at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. He is generally reg ...
wrote (1919), "The form named 'gracilis' has been distinguished from 'Viminalis' by the more deeply incised usually obovate leaves, but the two forms of leaves pass gradually into each other and may be found even on the same plant."
Pests and diseases
Trees of the ''U. minor'' 'Viminalis' group are very susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Cultivation
No specimens are known to survive.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmus minor 'Viminalis Gracilis'
Field elm cultivar
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Ulmus