Zelkova carpinifolia

Zelkova carpinifolia
Autumn foliage
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Ulmaceae
Genus: Zelkova
Species:
Z. carpinifolia
Binomial name
Zelkova carpinifolia
Synonyms

Zelkova carpinifolia, known as Caucasian zelkova, Caucasian elm[2] or just zelkova, is a species of Zelkova, native to the Caucasus, Kaçkar, and Alborz mountains in the extreme southeast of Europe and southwest Asia.

Fruit, late autumn

It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing to 20–35 m (66–115 ft) tall, with a trunk of up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The crown is a highly distinctive vase-shape, with a short broad trunk dividing low down into numerous nearly erect branches. The leaves are alternate, 4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in) long and 2.5–6 cm (1–2+38 in) broad, the margin bluntly serrated with 7–12 teeth on each side. The flowers are inconspicuous and greenish, with no petals, and are wind-pollinated. The fruit is a small nutlet 5–6 mm (31614 in) in diameter.

It is grown as an ornamental tree in Europe (huge exemplars of it can be found quite often in the western Georgian province of Imereti, used for decorating courtyards in villages and providing pleasant shade) and more rarely in North America (where the related Japanese Z. serrata is more popular).

Hybrid cultivars
  1. ^ Bétrisey, S.; Yousefzadeh, H.; Kozlowski, G. (2018). "Zelkova carpinifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T31303A131166773. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T31303A131166773.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.