Ulmus macrocarpa

Ulmus macrocarpa Hance, the large-fruited elm, is a deciduous tree or large shrub endemic to the Far East excluding Japan. It is notable for its tolerance of drought and extreme cold and is the predominant vegetation on the dunes of the Khorchin sandy lands in the Jilin province of north-eastern China, making a small tree at the base of the dunes, and a shrub at the top .

Ulmus macrocarpa
Morton Arboretum accession 589-54*3
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Ulmaceae
Genus: Ulmus
Subgenus: U. subg. Ulmus
Section: U. sect. Ulmus
Species:
U. macrocarpa
Binomial name
Ulmus macrocarpa
Synonyms
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. dorsettii Skvort.
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. mandshurica Skvort.
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. mandshurica f. major Skvort.
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. mandshurica f. minor Skvort.
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. mongolica Liou & Li
  • Ulmus macrocarpa var. nana Liou & Li
  • Ulmus macrophylla Nakai

Description

By the age of ten years, the tree bears a close resemblance to the American elm U. americana, but will never approach the latter's size. The tree can reach a height of 17 m, with a slender trunk rarely exceeding 0.4 m d.b.h; the bark is longitudinally fissured, and dark grey in colour. The twigs often develop corky wings that may persist for several years. The leaves are usually obovate < 9 cm long by 5 cm broad (significantly smaller on juvenile trees) and chiefly characterized by their thick, leathery texture and obtusely doubly or simply toothed margins. The perfect, wind-pollinated apetalous flowers appear from March until May. As implied by its name, U. macrocarpa is distinguished by its large, orbicular, wafer-like samarae < 50 mm in diameter, which ripen in May and June.[1][2]

  • Leaves of juvenile tree

Pests and diseases

Possessed of a moderate resistance to Dutch elm disease and a low susceptibility to elm yellows, it has also proven very resistant to the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola in trials in Oklahoma and Italy.[3]

Cultivation

U. macrocarpa was introduced to the UK at Aldenham House in Hertfordshire in the late 19th century by Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932),[4] almost certainly as part of the quincunx elm avenue leading to the front of the house.[5] The tree was propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire, from 1949, with 47 sold from 1962 to 1977. [6][7]

The tree was introduced to the United States at the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts, in 1908. It has been assessed at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois, for its landscape potential, and is now considered suitable for open areas such as parks and campuses.[8] Typically, U. macrocarpa is intolerant of poorly drained ground prone to waterlogging, but has been found to be the most cold hardy of the Chinese elms in artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum, the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was - 36 °C.[9]

Subspecies & varieties

Two varieties are recognized: var. glabra Nie & Huang and var. macrocarpa L.K.Fu

Hybrids, hybrid cultivars and cultivars

A natural hybrid of U. macrocarpa and U. davidiana var. japonica, named Ulmus × mesocarpa was discovered in South Korea in the 1980s. U. macrocarpa is believed to have been used in recent (post 2000) hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum [3] but results have yet (2008) to be published. There are no known cultivars of this taxon.

Accessions
North America
Europe

Nurseries
Europe
  • Noordplant Nursery , Glimmen, Netherlands.

References
  1. Fu, L. & Jin J. (eds). (1992). China Red Data Book. Rare and endangered plants. Vol. 1. Science Press, Beijing
  2. Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002). Ulmaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) Flora of China, Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA.
  3. Mittempergher, L; Santini, A (2004). "The history of elm breeding" (PDF). Investigacion agraria: Sistemas y recursos forestales. 13 (1): 161–177.
  4. Bean, W. J. (1981). Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition. Murray, London
  5. Audrey Le Lievre (1986). An Account of the Garden at Aldenham House and of Its Makers: Henry Hucks Gibbs, Vicary Gibbs and Edwin Beckett. Garden History, Vol. 14, No. 2. (Autumn, 1986), 173–193.
  6. Hillier & Sons (1977). Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.
  7. Hillier & Sons Sales inventory 1962 to 1977 (unpublished).
  8. Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. Journal of Arboriculture, (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, US. Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Shirazi, A. M. & Ware, G. H. (2004). Evaluation of New Elms from China for Cold Hardiness in Northern Latitudes. International Symposium on Asian Plant Diversity & Systematics 2004, Sakura, Japan.
  10. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). List of Living Accessions: Ulmus

Further reading
  • Kwon, Y. M., J. H. Lee, and M. W. Lee. Phenolic compounds from barks of Ulmus macrocarpa and its antioxidative activities. Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy 33.4 (2002): 404–410.
  • Oh, Kwang-Seok, et al. Antihypertensive, vasorelaxant, and antioxidant effect of root bark of Ulmus macrocarpa. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 31.11 (2008): 2090–2096.
  • Kim, Hyun Jung, et al. Nitric oxide and Prostaglandin E₂Synthesis Inhibitory Activities of Flavonoids from the Barks of Ulmus macrocarpa. Natural Product Sciences 10 (2004).
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