Ulmus glabra

Ulmus glabra
Wych elm
Scientific classification Edit this 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. glabra
Binomial name
Ulmus glabra
Distribution map
Synonyms
List
    • Ulmus campestris L. Mill., Wilkomm
    • Ulmus corylacea Dumrt.
    • Ulmus elliptica Koch
    • Ulmus effusa Sibth.
    • Ulmus excelsa Borkh.
    • Ulmus expansa Rota
    • Ulmus leucocarpa Schur.
    • Ulmus macrophylla Mill.
    • Ulmus major Sm.
    • Ulmus montana Stokes, Smith, Loudon, Mathieu, With.
    • Ulmus nuda Ehrh.
    • Ulmus podolica (Wilcz.) Klok.
    • Ulmus popovii Giga.
    • Ulmus scabra Mill., C. K. Schneid., Ley, Ascherson & Graebner
    • Ulmus scotica Gand.
    • Ulmus suberosa Michx.
    • Ulmus sukaczevii Andronov

Ulmus glabra Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Ural Mountains, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches its southern limit in Europe;[2] it is also found in Iran. A large deciduous tree, it is essentially a montane species, growing at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), preferring sites with moist soils and high humidity.[3] The tree can form pure forests in Scandinavia and occurs as far north as latitude 67°N at Beiarn Municipality in Norway. It has been successfully introduced as far north as Tromsø and Alta in northern Norway (70°N).[4] It has also been successfully introduced to Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland (61°N).

The tree was by far the most common elm in the north and west of the British Isles and is now acknowledged as the only indisputably British native elm species. Owing to its former abundance in Scotland, the tree is occasionally known as the Scotch or Scots elm; Loch Lomond is said to be a corruption of the Gaelic Lac Leaman interpreted by some as 'Lake of the Elms', 'leaman' being the plural form of leam or lem, 'elm'.[5]

Closely related species, such as Bergmann's elm U. bergmanniana and Manchurian elm U. laciniata, native to northeast Asia, were once sometimes included in U. glabra;[6] another close relative is the Himalayan or Kashmir elm U. wallichiana. Conversely, Ulmus elliptica from the Caucasus, considered a species by some authorities,[7][8][9] is often listed as a regional form of Ulmus glabra.[10]

  1. ^ Barstow, M.; Rivers, M.C. (2017). "Ulmus glabra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T61966807A61966819. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61966807A61966819.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Raimondo, Francesco Maria (1977-01-01). "First finding of " Ulmus glabra " Huds. on the Madonie, Northern Sicily". Webbia. 31 (2): 261–277. doi:10.1080/00837792.1977.10670074. ISSN 0083-7792.
  3. ^ Heybroek, H. M., Goudzwaard, L, Kaljee, H. (2009). Iep of olm, karakterboom van de Lage Landen (:Elm, a tree with character of the Low Countries). KNNV, Uitgeverij. ISBN 9789050112819
  4. ^ "Utbredelse - Naturhistorisk museum". Archived from the original on 2020-09-26.
  5. ^ Richens, R. H. (1983). Elm. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521294621
  6. ^ Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2014 Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108069380
  7. ^ Elwes, Henry John, & Henry, Augustine, (1913) The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland, Vol.7, pp.1863-1864 [1]
  8. ^ Bean, W. J. (1988) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 8th edition, Murray, London
  9. ^ Krüssman, Gerd, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees & Shrubs (1984 vol. 3)
  10. ^ Richens, R. H., Elm (Cambridge 1983), p.279