The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Myrtifolia', the Myrtle-leaved Elm, first appeared in nursery and horticultural lists in the 1830s, as Ulmus myrtifolia and Ulmus campestris myrtifolia,Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis: or, A catalogue of plants ... cultivated in the gardens and grounds in the neighbourhood of London: with all their synonyms, including their French, German, and Italian names; ... To which are added ... hardy trees and shrubs in the principal nurseries of London and Edinburgh, and at Bollwyller in France, and in Hamburg (London, 1838), p.145Report of the Board on behalf of United States Executive Departments at the International Exhibition held at Philadelphia 1876 (Washington 1884), vol 2, The Department of Agriculture: Horticultural and Propagating Division; p.311The Lawson Company's List, no. IV, Forest Trees & Shrubs, Nov. 1874; Lawson Seed & Nursery Co., Edinburgh & London, p.25 the name Ulmus myrtifolia Volxem being used at Kew Gardens from 1880. Lawson's nursery of Edinburgh appears to have been the earliest to list the tree. 'Myrtifolia' was listed by Nicholson in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs (1896), but without description.Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs, vol.2 (London 1896), p.135 It was later listed as a cultivar and described by Rehder in 1939 and by Krüssmann in 1962.Krüssmann, J. G., Handbuch der Laubgehölze 2: 540, 1962
The specimen under this name in the Herb. Nicholson at Kew was considered by Melville to be a probable U. minor × Ulmus minor 'Plotii' hybrid.
The cultivar 'Myrtifolia Purpurea', which has larger leaves, is not related to 'Myrtifolia'.
Description 'Myrtifolia' was described as having leaves ovate or rhombic-ovate to oblong-ovate, 2–5 cm long with nearly simple teeth, loosely pilose on both sides. The petiole is 2 to 4 mm long, and the samara is 12 to 15 mm long.
Cultivation A 'Mytifolia' was present in North Road, Bath in 1902. There were specimens at Arnold Arboretum in the mid-20th century, sourced in the 1920s from a tree in Cleveland, Ohio.
The tree is not known to remain in cultivation.
Synonymy Ulmus campestris (: minor) var. myrtifolia Hort.: Nicholson, in Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896. Ulmus buxifolia Hort.: Nicholson, Kew Hand-List Trees & Shrubs 2: 135, 1896, in synonymy. Ulmus procera var. myrtifolia: Bean (1934)Bean, W. J., Kew Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs, 1934, p.341 Ulmus procera f. myrtifolia: Rehder (1939)
References
External links Ulmus Myrtifolia, systematics.mortonarb.org