Ulmus × hollandica 'Smithii'
| Ulmus × hollandica | |
|---|---|
| Hybrid parentage | U. glabra × U. minor |
| Cultivar | 'Smithii' |
| Origin | Nottingham, England |
The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Smithii', commonly known as the Downton Elm, was one of a number of cultivars arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with the Field Elm U. minor. The tree was originally planted at Downton Castle[2] near Ludlow, as one of a batch raised at Smith's Nursery, Worcester, England, from seeds obtained from a tree in Nottingham in 1810. Some Victorian writers confused 'Smithii' with U. glabra 'Horizontalis' because both featured weeping branches.[1]
Contents
Description
'Smithii' made a small tree < 10 m high, with ascending branches bearing long pendulous shoots. The oval leaves are dark green and glabrous above, < 8.5 cm long by 4.0 cm wide, long acuminate at the apex.[2][3]
Cultivation
'Smithii' was grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and at the National Botanic Gardens [3], Glasnevin, Ireland, before the First World War, [4] but is now probably extinct.
Synonymy
- Ulmus campestris pendula: Masters Hort. Duroverni 66, 1831
- Ulmus campestris 'Pendula': Krüssmann [4], Handb. Laubgeh. 2, p. 53, 1831–32.
- Ulmus × hollandica var. pendula (Loudon) Rehder, Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ges. 24: 217 (1915 publ. 1916).
- Ulmus glabra var. pendula Loudon, Arb. Frut. Brit.: 1405 (1838).
- Ulmus montana var. Smithii Hort.: Kew
- Ulmus pendula: Masters Hort. Duroverni 66, 1831 (not Willdenow)
- Ulmus Smithii Henry: Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. 1913. Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Private publication.
References
- ↑ Hanham, F. (1857). A Manual for the Park (Royal Victoria Park, Bath). Longman, London.
- ↑ Green, P. S. (1964). Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus. Arnoldia, Vol. 24. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. [1]
- ↑ Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK.
- ↑ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108069380
