Ulmus americana 'Moline'

Summary

The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Moline' was cloned from a wild seedling transplanted to Moline, Illinois, from nearby Rock River Valley in 1903 and propagated from 1916 by the Klehm Nurseries, Arlington Heights, Illinois.[1][2][3]

Ulmus americana 'Moline'
Juvenile U. americana 'Moline'
SpeciesUlmus americana
Cultivar'Moline'
OriginMoline, Illinois, US

Description edit

'Moline' is distinguished by its narrow but open form, with a single central trunk likened to a Lombardy Poplar when young,[4] the branches of the older trees being ultimately horizontal.[5] The leaves, of a dark rich shade of green,[6] could be exceptionally broad, measuring 15 cm across.[1][3][7][8]

A photograph captioned 'The Moline elm as it is growing in Moline, Illinois' in the Arnold Arboretum paper 'Elms grown in America' (1951)[9] in fact shows a specimen of the field elm cultivar 'Umbraculifera' in Moline. [10]

Pests and diseases edit

'Moline' was susceptible to Dutch elm disease.[11] In trials at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois, the tree was eschewed by the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola.[12] No other specific information available, but the species as a whole is highly preferred for feeding by the Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica.[13][14] U. americana is the most susceptible of all the elms to verticillium wilt.[15]

Cultivation edit

In earlier field trials at Morton, 'Moline' was found to have a relatively fast growth rate, exceeding 7.7 m (25 ft) in height in 10 years. The clone was hardy through Iowa, Illinois, Southern Wisconsin, and Michigan,[6] but was susceptible to frost further north. By 1928 Minnesota winters had claimed most of the 568 'Moline' in Victory Memorial Drive in North Minneapolis, commemorating the war dead of Hennepin County; they were replaced with hardier 'Minneapolis Park'.[16][6] In Lake City and Duluth, Minnesota, 'Moline' and its stablemate 'Vase' were found to be vulnerable to frost crack and sun scald, and were replaced by the cultivar 'Lake City', the bark of which grew rough at a younger age.[17] 'Moline' was still in cultivation in the 1950s,[18][19] but was by then considered by Trees Magazine "an inferior type of American elm".[20] It is not known to have been introduced to Europe or Australasia.

Synonymy edit

  • Ulmus americana var. molinensis: Bailey & Bailey, Hortus Second 746, 1941.

Hybrid cultivars edit

'Moline' was crossed with American Elm W-185-21 to create the moderately disease-resistant cultivar 'Independence'.

Accessions edit

North America edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b 'Three novelties for 1928: Ulmus americana 'Molinii', Ulmus americana 'Urnii', Populus alba 'Richardii' ' : bulletin of Klehms' Nurseries, Illinois
  2. ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b Welch, G. L. & Co. The Plumfield Nurseries, 1929 Catalog. Plumfield Nurseries, Fremont, Nebraska.
  4. ^ H. R. Mosnat, 'Beating the grain of mustard seed: an elm six years planted grows 35 feet tall', The Dearborn Independent (Dearborn, Michigan), 17 April 1926, Vol 26 No 26, p.31
  5. ^ Photograph of pyramidal 'Moline' elms, Plumfield Nurseries 1935 Cat., p.15; Fremont, Nebraska
  6. ^ a b c Brand Peony Farms; 1930 catalogue (Faribault, Minnesota; p.16)
  7. ^ "Herbarium specimen - L.1590848". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Ulmus americana var. 'Moline' (Arnold Arboretum specimen, 1930)
  8. ^ Images of mature trees at Morton Arboretum[1]
  9. ^ 'Elms grown in America', Arnoldia, Vol.11 No.12, Dec.1951 p.88
  10. ^ Trees Magazine, Vol.12 No.1, November-December 1951, p.22
  11. ^ American elm, ag.ndsu.edu/trees/handbook, III. p.114
  12. ^ treelink.org, 5 March 2003
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Elm Leaf Beetle Survey". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  15. ^ Pegg, G. F. & Brady, B. L. (2002). Verticillium Wilts. CABI Publishing. ISBN 0-85199-529-2
  16. ^ Theodore Wirth, Minneapolis Park System 1883–1944 (Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners, 1945)
  17. ^ The Lake City Elm (booklet), Lake City Nurseries (Lake City, Minnesota);1932
  18. ^ Plumfield Nurseries, 1949 Cat., p.22; Fremont, Nebraska.
  19. ^ Moffet, L. A. The Plumfield Nurseries, Bulletin No. 2, March 7, 1934. Plumfield Nurseries, Fremont, Nebraska
  20. ^ Trees Magazine, Vol.12 no.1, November-December 1951, p.22