The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Gaujardii', one of a number of cultivars arising from the crossing of Wych Elm U. glabra with Field Elm U. minor, was raised by the Gaujard-Rome nursery of Châteauroux, France, in the 1890s as Ulmus Gaujardii and was described in the 1898 Kew Bulletin and Wiener illustrirte Garten-Zeitung. It won first prize in the International Horticultural Exhibition in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1899 and a silver medal in the Heemstede Exhibition, The Netherlands, in 1925. From the early 20th century it was distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin as Ulmus montana Gaujardi,Späth, L., Catalogue 130 (1908–09; Berlin), p.137 and in the interwar years by the Boccard nursery of Geneva as Ulmus campestris Gaujardi.Catalogue générale, automne 1936 – printemps 1937, Pépinières Boccard Frères, Geneva, 1936, p.30 It appeared in Unsere Freiland-Laubgehölze in 1913, but without description.
Description A tree of symmetrical upright growth and of great vigour, with the appearance of an arrow. The foliage was of medium size, oval and light green. Four photographs of 'Gaujardii' appear in Pépinières Gaujard-Rome et Cie (1930), where the nursery distinguished between medium- and large-leaved forms. Herbarium specimens suggest that more than one clone has been labelled 'Gaujardii'. Sheet labelled Ulmus Gaujardi (undated); Sheet labelled U. × hollandica 'Gaujardii', Arnold Arboretum (1960); Sheet labelled U. × hollandica 'Gaujardii', Arnold Arboretum (1960); long shoots; Sheet labelled U. hollandica Miller 'Gaujardii', Arnold Arboretum (1930)
Pests and diseases Elms of the U. × hollandica group are susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Cultivation 'Gaujardii' was produced at a rate of 30,000 trees per annum by 1930. It was present in The Hague and Utrecht in the 1930s,Christine Buisman, 'Verslag van de onderzoekingen over de iepenziekte, verricht in het phytopathologisch laboratorium Willie Commelin scholten te Baarn, gedurende 1932 (1)', Tijdschrift over Planteziekte, Vol 39 Iss 4, April 1933, pp.85-87 and there was a specimen at Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts, in the mid-20th century. No specimens are known to survive.
Putative specimen An old U. × hollandica with leaves (unusually for this group) light green all summer and matching the 'Gaujardii' herbarium specimen in The Hague, Sheet labelled U. × hollandica 'Gaujardii', The Hague (1932) stands (2019) by 35 Inverleith Terrace, Edinburgh, near the entrance to Royal Botanic Garden.Google Maps: Inverleith Terrace - Google Maps (May 2018), accessdate: August 13, 2019 An early 20th century photograph shows it fastigiate when young.edinphoto.org.uk, 35 Inverleith Terrace, Edinburgh Its leaf-shape, samarae, and light suckering confirm its hybridity.
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