The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera Gracilis' was obtained as a sport of the Central Asian variety 'Umbraculifera' by the Späth nursery of Berlin c.1897.Späth, L., Catalogue 104 (1899–1900; Berlin), p.133kiki.huh.harvard.edu, It was marketed by the Späth nursery in the early 20th century, and by the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, in the 1930s.

Description The tree is distinguished by its long oval crown, but with thinner branches and smaller leaves than 'Umbraculifera'. Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. f. 'Gracilis' var. (Späth) Rehd. (Amsterdam specimen)

Pests and diseases The cultivar is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation The only known surviving specimens are in the United States and Scotland (see 'Accessions' and 'Notable trees'). Henry (1913) mentions no example at Kew, though a specimen had been planted there by 1902.Hand-list of trees and shrubs, excluding Coniferae, grown in Arboretum Kew Gardens (London, 1902), p.615 A specimen obtained from Späth stood in the Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk, in the early 20th century. 'Umbraculifera Gracilis' has been included in the propagation programme (2017) of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.Dr Max Coleman, 'Strange fruit offer lifeline to rare elms', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; stories.rbge.org.uk

Putative specimen A slow-growing, dense-crowned old elm (15 m, girth 2 m), with leaves resembling those of 'Umbraculifera Gracilis', stood near Lower Granton Rd, Edinburgh till 2025, in a garden that was once part of the grounds of Wardie House (demolished 1955). It was assumed to have been grown from a cutting from one of Edinburgh's three original specimens.Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour Around Edinburgh - Lower Granton Road and Wardie from Granton Harbour, accessdate: August 12, 2016

Notable trees Three trees supplied by Späth to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) in 1902 as U. campestris umbraculifera gracilis Sheet described as U. campestris umbraculifera gracilis (RBGE specimen, 1902); Sheet described as U. campestris umbraculifera gracilis (RBGE specimen, 1902); Sheet described as U. campestris umbraculifera gracilis (RBGE specimen, 1902) survive in Edinburgh (2019). The two oldest, planted in the Garden itself (one of which is base-grafted), were long known by an updated version of Melville's name for them, U. plotii × U. carpinifolia Sheet described as U. campestris umbraculifera (RBGE specimen C2717); renamed U. plotii × U. carpinifolia by Melville Cultivar name not given (RBGE specimen C2714); renamed U. plotii × U. carpinifolia by Melville; Cultivar name not given (RBGE specimen C2714); renamed U. plotii × U. carpinifolia by Melville (:U. minor 'Plotii' × U. minor). Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. f. 'Gracilis' var. (Späth) Rehd. (Amsterdam specimen) It is known that Melville renamed some of Späth's trees at RBGE in 1958.RBGE Cultivated Herbarium Accessions Book: October 1958 notes by Ronald Melville on elm specimens on Azalea Lawn These two were, according to one RBGE herbarium sheet, formerly called U. campestris umbraculifera, the name of the parent tree (not present in RBGE) of 'Umbraculifera Gracilis'. A herbarium specimen from Amsterdam labelled U. carpinifolia Gled. f. 'Gracilis' var. (Späth) Rehd. matches the Edinburgh trees.Other herbarium leaf-specimens labelled U. carpinifolia Gled. cv. 'Gracilis' var. Späth, however, from Haarlem and Dahlem, appear to show a clone different from the Amsterdam specimen: Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. var. 'Gracilis' var. (Späth) Rehd.; formerly named U. scabra Mill. × U. campestris var. umbraculifera and as U. umbraculifera gracilis (Haarlem specimen); Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. cv. 'Gracilis' var. Späth; formerly known as 'U. montana umbraculifera gracilis' (Dahlem Hortus specimen, 1925). Taken together, the evidence suggested that the three Edinburgh trees (the third, with smaller bole-girth, is on Bruntsfield Links) were the clone Späth supplied as U. campestris 'Umbraculifera Gracilis', an identification confirmed in 2016 by RBGE. It is not known why Melville was permitted to disregard the trees' documented Central Asian provenance, and pronounce them hybrids of Plot Elm, a local variety of English field elm.

Synonymy Ulmus carpinifolia var. gracilis: Krüssmann , Handbuch der Laubgehölze 2: 534, 1962. Ulmus camp. umbraculifera nova

Accessions

North America

Holden Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 60-164

Europe

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Acc. nos. 19699358, 19699365

Nurseries

Europe Centrum voor Botanische Verrijking vzw, Kampenhout, Belgium. ('Umbraculifera' listed separately to 'Umbraculifera Gracilis').Centrum voor Botanische Verrijking vzw: Voorraadlijst , accessdate: November 2, 2016 Baumschulen Bauch GbR, Rheinbach, Germany.Baumschulen Bauch GbR: Sortimentsliste 2016-17, accessdate: November 2, 2016

References