Ulmus americana 'Columnaris'

Summary

The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Columnaris' was propagated by R. E. Horsey of the Rochester N.Y. Parks Department from a tree found by Mr John Dunbar at Conesus Lake, New York, in 1911, and originally described as a forma, Ulmus americana L. f. columnaris, f. nov. Rehder (1922).[1][2][3] It was the earliest of a number of compact, columnar American elm cultivars, to be followed by 'Ascendens' and 'Augustine Ascendening'.

Ulmus americana 'Columnaris'
'Columnaris' 60 ft (18 m) tall and a spread of 18 ft (5.5 m) (circa 1951).
SpeciesUlmus americana
Cultivar'Columnaris'
OriginConesus Lake, New York, US

Description edit

As implied by its name, the tree has a fastigiate, columnar form,[4] of almost equal width from the base to a top which is rather flat in appearance.[2] "The leaves differ from those of the common form," wrote Rehder (1922), "in being rather broad, measuring up to 7.5 cm. in width, very sharply and deeply doubly serrate, scabrous above, pilose on the veins and veinlets beneath and very unequal at the base; the petioles are very short, not exceeding 3 mm. in length; the young branchlets are pubescent."[2][5]

Pests and diseases edit

No specific information available, but the species as a whole is highly susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease and Elm Yellows; it is also moderately preferred for feeding and reproduction by the adult Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola,[6] and highly preferred for feeding by the Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica [7][8] in the United States. U. americana is also the most susceptible of all the elms to verticillium wilt.[9]

Cultivation edit

'A specimen of 'Columnaris' was present in Arnold Arboretum.[5] The tree is not known to have been cultivated beyond the United States, and is no longer in commerce.

Accessions edit

North America
  • Morton Arboretum, Illinois, US. Specimen in the Columnar Tree Section reputed to be "in good health" in the autumn of 2006. Acc. no. 1041–41, (graft).

References edit

  1. ^ Photograph of the original tree, Conesus Lake, N.Y., 'Elms grown in America', Arnoldia, Vol.11 No.12, Dec.1951 p.91
  2. ^ a b c 'Ulmus americana L. f. columnaris, f. nov.', Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, Vol.3, p.42; Cambridge, Mass. 1922
  3. ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. ^ Photograph of 'Columnaris', horticopia.com
  5. ^ a b Leaves of 'Columnaris', bioportal.naturalis.nl, specimen L.1590846
  6. ^ Miller, Fredric; Ware, George (2001-02-01). "Resistance of Temperate Chinese Elms (Ulmus spp.) to Feeding by the Adult Elm Leaf Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology. 94 (1). Oxford University Press (OUP): 162–166. doi:10.1603/0022-0493-94.1.162. ISSN 0022-0493. PMID 11233108.
  7. ^ Miller, Fredric; Ware, George; Jackson, Jennifer (2001-04-01). "Preference of Temperate Chinese Elms ( Ulmus spp.) for the Adult Japanese Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology. 94 (2). Oxford University Press (OUP): 445–448. doi:10.1603/0022-0493-94.2.445. ISSN 0022-0493. PMID 11332837.
  8. ^ "Elm Leaf Beetle Survey". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  9. ^ Pegg, G. F. & Brady, B. L. (2002). Verticillium Wilts. CABI Publishing. ISBN 0-85199-529-2

External links edit

  • http://www.bgci.org/plant_search.php?action=Find&ftrGenus=Ulmus&ftrRedList=&ftrSpecies=&ftrRedList1997=&ftrEpithet=&ftrCWR=&x=41&y=19NB. Botanic Gardens Conservation International register
  • http://redwood.mortonarb.org/PageBuilder?cid=2&qid=13 Morton Arboretum catalogue