Ulmus wallichiana
| Himalayan Elm | |
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| File:STA72378.JPG | |
| U. wallichiana, Withdean Park, Brighton. | |
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| Species: | U. wallichiana
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| Binomial name | |
| Ulmus wallichiana | |
| Synonyms | |
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Kashmir Elm: Anon. Ulmus erosa sensu Wall. Ulmus wallichiana Brandis, Hooker | |
The Himalayan Elm Ulmus wallichiana Planch., also known as the Kashmir Elm, is a mountain tree ranging from central Nuristan in Afghanistan, through northern Pakistan and the Kashmir, to western Nepal at elevations from 800 m to 3000 m. Although dissimilar in appearance, its common name is occasionally used in error for the Cherry Bark Elm Ulmus villosa, which is also endemic to the Kashmir, but inhabits the valleys, not the mountain slopes. The Himalayan Elm grows to 30 m tall, with a broad crown featuring several ascending branches. The bark of the trunk is greyish brown and longitudinally furrowed. The leaves are elliptic-acuminate, up to 13 cm long and 6 cm broad on petioles between 5 mm and 10 mm long. The samarae are usually orbicular, up to 13 mm in diameter.
There are two subspecies, wallichiana and xanthoderma, and a variety tomentosa, distinguished largely by variations in pubescence of the leaves and young stems. The species is closely related to the Wych Elm U. glabra, but has a high resistance to the fungus Ophiostoma himal-ulmi endemic to the Himalaya and the cause of Dutch elm disease there. Consequently the tree was investigated as a suitable source of anti-fungal genes for use in the Dutch hybridization programme, with the result that a frost-resistant variety was selected for propagation and breeding in the Netherlands.
Endemic to an impoverished region with no fossil fuel resources, U. wallichiana is heavily lopped for firewood, and also for fodder, leaving it in danger of extermination in some areas. Elsewhere however, it has been deliberately planted near villages and farmhouses. Recognizing its predicament, efforts have been made in India to conserve the tree by drying the seeds and placing them in refrigerated storage (Phartyal et al., 2003).
The tree is grown in several arboreta in the UK, but by far the largest collection is held by Brighton & Hove City Council, the NCCPG elm collection holder, which has some 60 specimens, the largest (current British Isles champions, 2006) in school grounds at Rottingdean. The tree tends to be rather short-boled in Brighton & Hove, and also readily defoliates in times of drought.
Cultivars
None known.
Hybrids
Hybrid cultivars
U. wallichiana was crossed with the Exeter Elm U. glabra Exoniensis in the Netherlands in the 1950s to create Clone 202. This clone was to form an essential component of the Dutch elm breeding programme in the 1960s and 1970s. Selfed or hybridized with U. minor or earlier Dutch hybrids, its progeny include: Clusius, Dodoens, Lobel, and Plantyn. Plantyn was in turn to play a vital part in the third generation of Dutch hybrids; two selfed specimens were selected and released as Columella and, much later, Warnoux (Vada™), while Plantyn itself was crossed with U. 'Bea Schwarz' to create Nanguen (Lutèce™), arguably the most successful elm cultivar released to date. Plantyn was also selected for use in the Italian elm breeding programme that started in the 1970s, and was crossed with varieties of the Siberian Elm U. pumila to create a number of hardy trees renown for their rapid upright growth: Arno, Plinio, and San Zanobi. Plantyn has also been hybridized more recently in Italy with a range of other elms, although these crosses have yet to be fully tested and named.
Arboreta etc. accessions
North America
None known.
Europe
- Arboretum National des Barres, France[1].
- Brighton & Hove City Council, NCCPG Elm Collection [2], UK.
- Royal Botanic Garden, Wakehurst Place, UK. acc. no. 1992-2028, wild collected in western Nepal.
- Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK. acc. no. 1977-6072, area N 100, provenance unknown.
Etymology
The tree is named for the Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich.
References
- Maunder, M. (1988). Plants in Peril, 3. Ulmus wallichiana (Ulmaceae). Kew Magazine. 5(3): 137-140. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London.
- Melville, R. & Heybroek, H. (1971). The Elms of the Himalaya. Kew Bulletin Vol. 26(1). Royal Botanic Garden Kew, London.
- Phartyal, S., Thapliyal, J., Nayal, J. & Joshi, G. (2003). Seed storage physiology of Himalayan Elm (U. wallichiana): an endangered tree species of tropical highlands. Seed Science & Technology Vol. 31. International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), Bassersdorf, Switzerland.