Ulmus minor 'Webbiana'

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Webbiana', or Webb's curly-leaf elm,[1] distinguished by its unusual leaves that fold upwards longitudinally, was said to have been raised at Lee's Nursery, Hammersmith, London, circa 1868, and was first described in that year in The Gardener's Chronicle[2][3] and The Florist and Pomologist.[4] It was marketed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as U. campestris Webbiana Hort.,[5][6] and by Louis van Houtte of Ghent as U. campestris crispa (Webbiana).[7] Henry thought 'Webbiana' a form of Cornish Elm, adding (presumably with Petzold and Kirchner's 1864 description of Loudon's var. concavaefolia in mind[8]) that it "seems to be identical with the insufficiently described U. campestris var. concavaefolia Loudon" – a view repeated by Krüssmann.

Ulmus minor 'Webbiana'
'Webbiana' at Grange Farm Arboretum
SpeciesUlmus minor
Cultivar'Webbiana'
OriginEngland

Green suggested that 'Webbiana' was "possibly to be placed with U. × hollandica".[9] Herbarium leaf-specimens, however (see 'External links'), show a clone with a long petiole and a 'Stricta'-type leaf curled or folded longitudinally, consistently labelled 'Webbiana' and identified as a form of Field Elm. Krüssmann confirmed it as a field elm cultivar.[10]

Not to be confused with the wych elm cultivar with longitudinally up-curling leaves, U. glabra 'Concavaefolia'.

Description

Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864) described the leaves of their Ulmus campestris concavaefolia (Loudon), as "short and rounded, dark green above and whitish green below, more or less concave, that is, curling upwards at the edges so that the pale underside is more prominent than the darker upper"[11] – a description, as Henry noted, that exactly matches 'Webbiana'. 'Webbiana', as described by Henry (1913), is "pyramidal in habit, with ascending branches and sparse foliage. The leaves are folded longitudinally, so that most of the upper surface is concealed", but are "in other respects similar to those of var. stricta".[3] Späth's 1903 catalogue said it had "small roundish leaves". The Ellwanger and Barry Nursery of Rochester, New York, described it as "a handsome variety, with small curled leaves".[12] Bean (1936) described it as "columnar in habit".[13] The Royal Victoria Park, Bath, where there was a specimen, described 'Webbiana' in 1905 as "an elegant tree".[14]

Etymology

The origin of the epithet is obscure, but may commemorate Philip Barker Webb, an English botanist of the early 19th century.

Pests and diseases

The tree is not known to have any significant resistance to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

Two 'Webbiana' were planted at Kew Gardens in 1871.[3] One tree was planted in 1899 as U. campestris webbiana at the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada.[15] 'Webbiana' and an Ulmus campestris concavaefolia were listed separately at the Royal Victoria Park, Bath (1905).[14] The tree continued in cultivation in continental Europe, appearing on the lists of the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, to the 1930s,[16] and in New Zealand.[17] It was introduced to the USA in the late 19th century, appearing in the catalogues of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York.[12] At least two specimens are known to survive, one in the United States and one in the UK, the latter treated as a hedging plant to avoid the attentions of the Scolytus beetles that act as vectors of Dutch elm disease. The tree remains in cultivation in Poland, where it has been propagated from the last surviving specimen in the country, in Sanniki, believed to have been supplied by the former nursery at Podzamcze, Masovian Voivodeship,[18][19] which sold 'Webbiana' as late as 1937.[20]

Notable trees

"A very fine specimen of this distinct variety" stood in the grounds of Westonbirt House, Gloucestershire, 80 feet (24 m) high and 9.8 feet (3.0 m) in by the 1920s.[21]

Synonymy
  • ? U. campestris var. concavaefolia Loudon: Henry;[3] Krüssmann[10]
  • ? U. foliacea Gilib. 'Viscosa': Wageningen Arboretum[22]

Accessions

North America

Europe

Nurseries

North America

None known

Europe

References
  1. Klehm's Nurseries, Season of 1910, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 1910, p.12
  2. Gardener's Chronicle (London, 1868), p.918
  3. Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. p. 1895.
  4. Hogg, Robert (1868). "The Florist and Pomologist: A Pictorial Monthly Magazine of Flowers, Fruits, and General Horticulture". 1 (5). Journal of Horticulture: 264. Retrieved 22 August 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Späth, L., Catalogue 104 (1899–1900; Berlin), p.133
  6. Katalog (PDF). 108. Berlin, Germany: L. Späth Baumschulenweg. 1902–1903. pp. 132–133.
  7. Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre, Catalogue de Louis van Houtte, 1881-2, p.303
  8. Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (Gotha, 1864), p.554
  9. Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  10. Handbuch der Laubgehölze (Paul Parey, Berlin and Hamburg, 1976); trans. Michael E. Epp, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees and Shrubs (Vol. 3) (Batsford, Timber Press, Beaverton, Oregon, 1984-6), p.406
  11. Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (Gotha, 1864), p.557
  12. Ellwanger & Barry (Mount Hope nurseries), Rochester, N.Y., 1898, p.62
  13. Bean, W. J. (1936) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition, Murray, London, vol. 2, p.618
  14. Inman, T. Frederic (1905). "The Elm". Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10: 37. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  15. Saunders, William; Macoun, William Tyrrell (1899). Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm (2 ed.). pp. 74–75.
  16. Hesse, Hermann Albert (1932). Preis- und Sortenliste. pp. 96–97. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  17. 'Webbiana' in New Zealand, register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/418
  18. 'Webbiana', Konieczko Nursery, Gogolin, drzewa.com.pl:
  19. "Encyklopedia drzew Ulmus minor 'Webbiana' - Wiąz polny 'Webbiana'". encyklopediadrzew.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  20. Zamoyskiego, Franciszka (1937). Szkółki w Podzamckie (PDF) (Autumn 1937 - Spring 1938 ed.). Podzamcze. p. 44. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  21. Jackson, A. Bruce (1927). Catalogue of the Trees & Shrubs [at Westonbirt] in the Collection of the Late Lieut-Col. Sir George Lindsay Holford. London. p. 195.
  22. bioportal.naturalis.nl, specimen WAG.1853022
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