The field elm (Ulmus minor) cultivar 'Atinia' , commonly known as the English elm, formerly common elm and horse may, Republished 1978 by EP Publishing, Wakefield. and more lately the Atinian elm, was, before the spread of Dutch elm disease, the most common field elm in central southern England, though not native there, and one of the largest and fastest-growing deciduous trees in Europe. R. H. Richens noted that elm populations exist in north-west Spain, northern Portugal, and on the Mediterranean coast of France that "closely resemble the English elm" and appear to be "trees of long standing" in those regions rather than recent introductions.Richens, R. H., Elm (Cambridge, 1983), p.18, p.90 Augustine Henry had earlier noted that the supposed English elms planted extensively in the Royal Park at Aranjuez from the late 16th century onwards, specimens said to have been introduced from England by Philip IIRichens, R. H., Elm (Cambridge, 1983), p.276 and "differing in no respects from the English elm in England", behaved as native trees in Spain. He suggested that the tree "may be a true native of Spain, indigenous in the alluvial plains of the great rivers, now almost completely deforested".Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland . Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press,
Richens believed that English elm was a particular clone of the variable species Ulmus minor, referring to it as Ulmus minor var. vulgaris.Richens, R. H., Elm, Cambridge University Press, 1983 A 2004 survey of genetic diversity in Spain, Italy, and the UK confirmed that English elms are indeed genetically identical, clones of a single tree, said to be Columella's 'Atinian elm',. once widely used for training vines, and assumed to have been brought to the British Isles by Romans for that purpose.Tree News, Spring/Summer 2005, Publisher Felix Press Thus, despite its name, the origin of the tree is widely believed to be Atina, Lazio, in Italy, the home town of Columella, whence he imported it to his vineyards in Cádiz,Tovar, A. (1975). Columella y el vino de Jerez. in: Homenaje nacional a Lucio Junio Moderato Columela Asociación de Publicistas y Escritores Agrarios Españoles, Cádiz. 93-99. although the clone is no longer found in Atina and has not yet been identified further east.Heybroek, Hans M, 'The elm, tree of milk and wine' (2013), sisef.it/iforest/contents/?id=ifor1244-007
Max Coleman of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh writes: "The advent of DNA fingerprinting has shed considerable light on the question. A number of studies have now shown that the distinctive forms that Melville elevated to species and Richens lumped together as field elm are single clones, all genetically identical, that have been propagated by vegetative means such as cuttings or root suckers, as the flowers are completely sterile. This means that enigmatic British elms such as ... English elm have turned out to be single clones of field elm."Max Coleman, ed.: Wych Elm (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh publication, 2009; ); p. 22 Most flora and field guides, however, do not list English elm as a form of U. minor, but rather as U. procera .
The variable field elms of East Anglia and eastern Kent, Ulmus minor subsp. minor, are sometimes incorrectly labelled "English elm".James, 'The disease-busting hybrids that could bring back the majestic English elm', The Guardian, 14 April 2024 Ulmus minor subsp. minor of Tonge Mill, east Kent, in hybridisation trials, incorrectly described as "English elm"Mark Seddon and David Shreeve, Great British Elms (Kew Gardens, 2024), p.149 & 153, East Anglian elm at Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, incorrectly labelled 'Atinia', "English elm"Trees of North America, Europe, the UK & Ireland (Pan Macmillan, London, 2026; updated edition of Roger Phillips's guidebook) Ulmus minor subsp. minor of Sellindge, east Kent, incorrectly labelled "U. procera, English elm", p.279 East Anglian elm near Witham, Essex, incorrectly identified by King & Co. nursery as "U. procera, English elm", corrected by Kew Gardens to U. minor, accession no. 2010-1089 (King) As Richens noted (1955), ornamental plantings aside, "U. procera hardly occurs east of a line running from Peterborough to Waltham".Richens, R. H., 'Studies on Ulmus 1. The Range of Variation of East Anglian Elms', Watsonia 3: 138–153 (1955); bsbi.org, p.152
Synonyms (chronological)
Ulmus sativa Mill. Ulmus campestris L. var. vulgaris Aiton Ulmus procera Salisb. Ulmus atinia J. Walker Ulmus surculosa Stokes [Ulmus suberosa Smith, Loudon, Lindley - disputed] Ulmus minor Mill. var. vulgaris (Aiton) Richens Ulmus minor Mill. subsp. procera (Salisb.) Franco. Ulmus procera 'Atinia'
Description The tree often exceeded 40 m (about 130 ft) in height with a trunk less than 2 m (6.5 ft) in diameter at breast height (dbh).Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain. Murray, London. The largest specimen ever recorded in England, at Forthampton Court, near Tewkesbury, was 46 m (151 ft) tall. While the upper branches form a fan-shaped crown, heavy, more horizontal boughs low on the bole often give the tree a distinctive 'figure-of-eight' silhouette. The small, reddish-purple hermaphrodite apetalous flowers appear in early spring before the leaves. The samara is nearly circular.Fruit of English elm (U. procera), Kew herbarium specimen from Hunsdon, Hertfordshire; bioportal.naturalis.nl specimen L.4214471 The leaves are dark green, almost orbicular, < 10 cm long, without the pronounced acuminate tip at the apex typical of the genus. Samara of U. procera, Hunsdon (Kew Herbarium specimen) They flush a lighter green in April, about a month earlier than most field elms. Since the tree does not produce long shoots in the canopy, it does not develop the markedly pendulous habit of some field elms. The bark of old trees was described by Richens as "scaly rather than longitudinally grooved".Richens, R.H., Elm (Cambridge 1983), p.90 The bark of English elm suckers, like that of Dutch elm suckers and of some field elm, can be corky, but Dutch elm suckers may be distinguished from English by their straighter, stouter twigs, bolder 'herringbone' pattern, and later flushing.
The tree is both female- and male-sterile, natural regeneration being entirely by root suckers.White, J. & More, D. (2002). Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell, London Seed production in England was often unknown in any case. By the late 19th century, urban specimens in Britain were often grafted on to wych elm rootstock to eliminate suckering; Henry noted that this method of propagation seldom produced good specimens.
Pests and diseases Owing to its homogeneity, the tree has proven particularly susceptible to Dutch elm disease, but immature trees remain a common feature in the English countryside courtesy of the ability to sucker from roots. After about 20 years, these suckers, too, become infected by the fungus and killed back to ground level. English elm was the first elm to be genetically engineered to resist disease, at the University of Abertay Dundee. It was an ideal subject for such an experiment, as its sterility meant no danger exists for its introgression into the countryside.
In the United States, English elm was found to be one of the most preferred elms for feeding by the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica.Miller, F., Ware, G. and Jackson, J. (2001). Preference of Temperate Chinese Elms (Ulmuss spp.) for the Feeding of the Japanese Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 94 (2). pp 445-448. 2001. Entom. Soc.of America.
The leaves of the English elm in the UK are mined by Stigmella ulmivora.
Uses
... He liked to be alone, feeling his soul heavy with its own fate. He would sit for hours watching the elm trees standing in rows like giants, like warriors across the country. The Earl had told him that the Romans had brought these elms to Britain. And he seemed to see the spirit of the Romans in them still. Sitting there alone in the spring sunshine, in the solitude of the roof, he saw the glamour of this England of hedgerows and elm trees, and the labourers with slow horses slowly drilling the sod, crossing the brown furrow, and the chequer of fields away to the distance. – From D. H. Lawrence, The Ladybird (1923).D. H. Lawrence, The Ladybird (Penguin edition, 1960, p.69)
The English elm was once valued for many purposes, notably as water pipes from hollowed trunks, owing to its resistance to rot in saturated conditions. It is also very resilient to crushing damage, and these two properties led to its widespread use in the construction of jetties, timber piers, lock gates, etc. It was used to a degree in furniture manufacture, but not to the same extent as oak, because of its greater tendency to shrink, swell, and split, which also rendered it unsuitable as the major timber component in shipbuilding and building construction. The wood has a density around 560 kg/m3.Elm . Niche Timbers. Accessed 19-08-2009.
However, English elm is chiefly remembered today for its aesthetic contribution to the English countryside. In 1913, Henry Elwes wrote, "Its true value as a landscape tree may be best estimated by looking down from an eminence in almost any part of the valley of the Thames, or of the Severn below Worcester, during the latter half of November, when the bright golden colour of the lines of elms in the hedgerows is one of the most striking scenes that England can produce".
Cultivation The introduction of the Atinian elm to Spain from Italy is recorded by the Roman agronomist Columella.Columella, Lucius Junius Moderadus (c.A D 50) De re rustica, v.6 It has also been identified by Heybroek as the elm grown in the vineyards of the Valais, or Wallis, canton of Switzerland. Although no record has been found of its introduction to Britain from Spain,Loudon, John Claudius, Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum; or, The trees and shrubs of Britain, Vol. 3 (1838) the tree has been long believed to have arrived with the Romans, a hypothesis supported by the discovery of pollen in an excavated Roman vineyard. Pliny, however, in his Natural History pointed out that the Atinian elm was not considered suitable for vineyards on account of its dense foliage.Pliny, Naturalis historia, Loeb, vol 4, p.434-435Johns, C. A.; ed. Cook, E. T. and Dallimore, W.: British Trees: including the finer shrubs for garden and woodland (Routledge, London, c.1912) The tree was used as a source of leaf hay. Elms said to be English Elm, and reputedly brought to Spain from England by Philip II, were planted extensively in the Royal Park at Aranjuez and the Retiro Park, Madrid, from the late 16th century onwards.Elwes, H. J., & Henry, A., The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland (Private publication, Edinburgh, 1913), Vol. VII, p.1908 Richens noted that samples from Aranjuez and Mondoñedo in the Cambridge Herbarium were indistinguishable from English material.Richens, R. H., 'Studies on Ulmus 1. The Range of Variation of East Anglian Elms', p.152 Watsonia 3: 138–153 (1955); bsbi.org