Ulmus minor var. italica
| Ulmus minor var. italica | |
|---|---|
| |
| Leaf and samara drawing of var. italica | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Ulmaceae |
| Genus: | Ulmus |
| Species: | |
| Variety: | U. m. var. italica
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Ulmus minor var. italica | |
Ulmus minor var. italica was first described by Augustine Henry in 1913, as a 'variety' of field elm from Italy, Spain, Portugal and Algeria. He called it Ulmus nitens var. italica, 'Mediterranean Elm'.[1][note 1] The variety was accepted by Krüssman (1984), despite the wide source-area claimed for it, as a non-clonal cultivar, U. carpinifolia var. italica Henry.[2] Bean (1988), however, considered it "a variety of rather dubious standing",[3] and it was ignored by Richens (1983), who listed instead a "small-leaved U. minor of Spain" and a "narrow-leaved U. minor of northern and central Italy", as well as "the densely hairy leaved U. minor of southern Italy",[4] the latter being Ulmus minor subsp. canescens, formerly Melville's Ulmus canescens.
Description
Henry described var. italica as a smooth-leaved field elm growing to 80 feet, distinguished by its 14 to 18 pairs of leaf-veins, an unusually high number for this species. Several Italian field elm authorities offering diagnostic leaf-photographs of local olmo campestre show leaves with 14 to 18 vein-pairs.[5][6][7][8][9] Henry's description also mentions leathery leaves, conspicuous axil-tufts, and a quarter-inch (about 1 cm) petiole.
Pests and diseases
Italian field elm is susceptible to Dutch elm disease and Elm leaf beetle Xanthogalerucella luteola Müll.[10]
Cultivation
Field elm has been described as "a well adapted and appreciated species" in Italy.[10] Henry gave examples of cultivation of var. italica both there and in the wider source-area claimed for it. Of plantings outside the source-area, he mentioned a specimen sent to Kew Gardens, while Krüssman (1984) included a photograph of var. italica Henry planted in Gisselfeld Park, Denmark.[2] E. E. Kemp, curator of Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, noted (1979) that in the Netherlands, "where much nursery stock of smooth-leaved elm is raised, about 75% of the seed is obtained from Italian suppliers".[11]
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L'Olmo di Mergozzo, Piedmont, present in 1600 -
Same, 2019 -
Trunk detail of same -
Field elm, Terravecchia, Calabria
Notable trees
Henry described a number of notable old specimens "of this variety", including one at the Villa Paveri-Fontana, Collecchio, Parma, with a bole 20 feet in girth. A centuries-old field elm, 5.5 metres in girth and possibly an example of Henry's var. italica, survives (2009) in the town of Mergozzo in Piedmont.
Notes
References
- ^ Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. 7. pp. 1892–1893.
- ^ a b Krüssman, Gerd, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs (1984 vol. 3), pl.144
- ^ Bean, W. J., Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain (1988) beanstreesandshrubs.org
- ^ Richens, R. H., Elm (Cambridge 1983), p.18
- ^ floraitaliae.actaplantarum.org
- ^ meditflora.com
- ^ bonsaiaq.altervista.org
- ^ luirig.altervista.org
- ^ ifepadova.it
- ^ a b Mittempergher, L., 'Dutch elm disease in Italy', in Research on Dutch Elm Disease in Europe, ed. D. A. Burdekin (London, 1983), p.105-6
- ^ Kemp, Eddie (1979). "The Plantsman's Elm". In Clouston, Brian; Stansfield, Kathy (eds.). After the Elm. London: William Heinemann Ltd. p. 35.
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