Ulmus parvifolia 'A. Ross Central Park (selling name ) is a Chinese elm cultivar that is probably the hardiest in cultivation and was patented in 1989 by David F. Karnosky. The original tree, planted in 1865 by James Hogg,Garden and Forest, i. 231, 312 (1888)'Aross (sic) Central Park' Chinese Elm, by David F. Karnosky, HortScience 23(5):925-926, 1988 grew near the entrance to Central Park, at the junction of Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and died in the 1990s aged over 120 years. The cloning project was initiated in 1976 by the Arthur Ross Foundation, and executed by the School of Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan Technological University, Houghton.

Description is a medium-size tree rarely exceeding in height, with a broad, rounded crown. The leaves are glossy green, turning yellow in autumn. The mottled bark, its colour ranging from greyish orange to greyish brown, is considered comparatively dull by some.Grimshaw, J. & Bayton, R. (2009). New Trees - Recent Introductions to cultivation. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

Pests and diseases The species and its cultivars are highly resistant, but not immune, to Dutch elm disease, and completely unaffected by the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola.

Cultivation Karnosky reported in 1988 that 1000 saplings were being grown by the New York City Parks Departments for planting in the city parks, with a smaller number being distributed to nurseries in New Jersey and Michigan. is not known to be in cultivation beyond North America.

Synonymy 'Across Central Park': Dirr, M. A. & Richards, A. E. (1989), Amer. Nurseryman, 169 (3), 1989, in error. 'Aross Central Park'

Etymology The cultivar name is for Arthur Vining Ross.

Accessions North America Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois, US. No details available. New York Botanical Garden, US. Acc. nos. 301/92, 4732/95

Nurseries North America

Sun Valley Garden Centre , Eden Prairie, Minnesota, US.

References

External links http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/cultivars/ulmus_parvifolia.htm Ulmus parvifolia cultivar list. http://fletcher.ces.state.nc.us/programs/nursery/metria/metria11/warren/elm.htm Return of the Elm - the status of elms in the nursery industry in 2000. Warren, K., J. Frank Schmidt and Co.