The
Field Elm cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
''Ulmus minor'' 'Argenteo-Variegata' or simply 'Variegata', known in Australasia and North America as Silver Elm or Tartan Elm, is said to have been cultivated in France from 1772.
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
noted that variegated forms of Field Elm "arise frequently, and several clones may have been known under this name".
(1802) listed an ''U. campestris'' var. ''glabra variegata'',
(1838) an ''U. nitens'' var. ''variegata'', and
Wesmael (1863) an ''U. campestris'' var. ''nuda microphylla variegata''.
'Variegata' is not to be confused with the variegated
English Elm cultivar,
''U. minor'' 'Atinia Variegata', which has the broader, almost orbicular leaves of the type.
Description
The tree's foliage is randomly blotched and speckled with creamy white, the colour of the leaves on the same tree ranging from almost completely cream to totally green.
[''Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs''. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.] In 1915 the horticulturalist
E. A. Bowles described "a tall Silver Elm" at
Myddleton House, his lifelong home at
Bulls Cross in
Enfield,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
:
:"In some seasons it is an absolutely silver pillar from top to toe, with more than half of every leaf pure milky white. Another year it will hardly show the variegation, and in yet another it may be spangled with minute silver specks all over the leaves, but with no large pure white markings. It turns to fine gold in some Novembers. I believe that it is in the seasons that it is greenest that it turns the finest autumn yellow.
Mr. Elwes tells me that it is a very fine specimen of a variegated elm, and should have been figured for his great book
[Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. p.1895] if he had seen it in time, and also that it is unusual in being on its own roots, whereas most of them are grafted. This one suckers up all over the lawn and in the adjacent flower beds, and reproduces all its vagaries of variegation in its offspring."
Bowles' photograph and the name "Silver Elm" suggest that the Myddleton House tree was ''U. minor'' 'Variegata', rather than
Variegated English Elm.
Image:Ulmus minor 'Variegata'.jpg, ''U. minor'' 'Variegata' foliage
Etymology
As the blotching and margination of the foliage may appear more silver than cream, the cultivar is sometimes listed as ''U. minor'' 'Argenteo-Variegata'.
Pests and diseases
The cultivar is as susceptible to
Dutch elm disease as the species.
Cultivation
Henry cited Loudon's report that 'Variegata' was cultivated in
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
in the early 19th century. The
Späth nursery of Berlin supplied the
Dominion Arboretum,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, with an ''U. campestris variegata argentea'' (1893) and an ''U. campestris fol. argenteis variegatis'' (1899), which may have been Silver Elm or Tartan Elm, as well as an ''U. campestris fol. argenteis marginatis'' (1897), possibly
variegated English Elm.
An ''U. fol. argent.'' var. ''minor'', a "small, silver, variegated variety", appeared in the 1902 catalogue of the Bobbink and Atkins nursery,
Rutherford, New Jersey.
An ''Ulmus medio argentea variegata'', "a pretty silver-variegated variety", probably Silver Elm, appeared in early 20th-century nursery catalogues in Australia. Silver Elm remains in commercial cultivation in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and is commonly cultivated in Australasia and North America, where a number of mature specimens survive (see under Accessions).
File:Ulmus campestris 'ARGENTEOVARIEGATA'.jpg, ''U. minor'' 'Variegata' grafted on to Ulmus glabra rootstock (photo Mihailo Grbić)
File:Sarphatipark @ De Pijp @ Amsterdam (21965799505).jpg, ''U. minor'' 'Variegata' in Sarphatipark, Amsterdam (2015)
Notable trees
In the Netherlands, a 25m tall specimen known as the Rococo Iep (:Elm), planted in 1916, grows at
Houten, next to the old church. A group of 5 grows along a canal in
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...
, on the Kwerenbolwerk, just after the bridge. In Australia, several trees planted in 1897 stand in
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
Botanic Gardens,
Victoria. 'Atinia Variegata' is also found among the elms lining the
Avenue of Honour at
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria.
Within mo ...
, while approximately 50 trees grow at The Nook,
Sunbury, Victoria. There are two mature trees in the
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens,
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
. In the United States, a specimen in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, has been designated a 'Heritage Tree'.
File:NH kerk Houten-01.JPG, 110 year-old 'Variegata' in background, to left of door, by the old church at Houten (2020)
Synonymy
*''Ulmus folio glabro, eleganter variegato'': Miller
''The Gardeners Dictionary'' ed. 2. 1735 ''Ulmus'' no. 7.
*?''Ulmus campestris foliis argenteis'':
Baudriller, (
Angers
Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
)
Catalogue 43, p. 116, 1880
*''Ulmus campestris foliis variegatis'':
Loddiges, (
Hackney,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
), Catalogue 1820, p. 35, and by
Loudon in ''Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum'', 3: 1395, 1838.
*''Ulmus campestris punctata'': Simon-Louis Nurseries, (
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
), Catalogue, 1886–87, p. 60.
*''Ulmus campestris'' var. ''suberosa variegata''
Hort.:
Hartwig &
Rümpler''Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch'' 581, 1875
Accessions
North America
*
Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. nos. 450-48, 588-54
Europe
*
Dubrava Arboretum, Lithuania. As ''U. carpinifolia'' 'Variegata'. No details available.
*
Grange Farm Arboretumbr>
Sutton St. James,
Spalding,
Lincs., UK. Acc. no. 1083.
*Hortus Botanicus Nationalis,
Salaspils, Latvia. Acc. no. 18143 (acknowledged as possibly ''U. minor'' 'Albo-dentata').
*Netherlands Plant Collection Ulmus,
Wijdemeren, Netherlands, planted 2019 location Dekkerplantsoen, Frans Halslaan,
Loosdrecht as Ulmus minor ‘Argenteovariegata’ website: https://wijdemeren.cobra360.nl/index.php?@iepen
Australasia
*
Benalla Botanic Gardens,
Victoria, Australia. Accession details not known.
*
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (Melbourne), Australia.
[RBGV (Melbourne) Elm list] Accession details not known.
*
Eastwoodhill Arboretumbr>
Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, New Zealand. Acc. details not known.
* Geelong Botanic Gardens,
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
,
Victoria, Australia. Acc. details not known.
*
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens,
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, Australia. Two trees on Playground Lawn.
Nurseries
North America
None known.
Europe
*Noordplant Nursery, Glimmen, Netherlands
Australasia
*ETT, Wandin East, Victoria, Australia
*Fleming's Nurser
Monbulk,
Victoria, Australia. (as 'Silver Elm').
*Metro Trees, Fairfield, Victoria, Australia
*Mount William, Lancefield, Victoria, Australia
Notes
References
External links
* http://www.rhs.org.uk/RHSPlantFinder/Plantfinder2.asp?crit=ulmus&page=2&genus=Ulmus RHS Plant Finder, UK
{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed
Field elm cultivar
Ulmus articles with images
Ulmus