Ulmus glabra 'Nitida' | |
---|---|
Species | Ulmus glabra |
Cultivar | 'Nitida' |
Origin | Sweden |
The wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Nitida' [:'shining', an allusion to the smooth upper surface of the leaves[2]], the smooth glossy-leaved wych, was described by Fries from specimens collected by P. C. Afzelius in 1841 on the island of Stora Karlsö, Sweden,[1] as Ulmus montana nitida, in Novitiae Florae Suecicae: continuatio, sistens Mantissam III: 20 (1842).[3][4][5] The Novitiae Florae Gotlandicae (1844) confirmed U. montana f. nitida Fr. as present on the islands of Stora Karlsö and neighbouring Lilla Karlsö off Gotland, Sweden, but did not report it from Gotland proper.[6][1] A Stora Karlsö specimen from the Herbarium E. Fries is preserved in the Botanical Museum of Uppsala.[1] The tree was listed by Rehder as U. glabra Huds. f. nitida (1915),[3][7] a designation adopted by Krüssmann (1984), the latter copying Rehder's 'Norway' provenance error.[5]
A smooth-leaved wych occasionally appeared in collections outside Scandinavia.[8] Syme in English Botany; or, Coloured Figures of British Plants. Volume VIII (1868) included an U. montana var. nitida.[9]
U. minor is present on Gotland,[10] leaving open the possibility that Fries's Ulmus montana nitida was not pure wych.
Ley1910
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).