Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera'

Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera'
'Umbraculifera', Netherlands.
SpeciesUlmus minor
Cultivar'Umbraculifera'
OriginIran

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera' [:shade-giving] was originally cultivated in Iran, where it was widely planted as an ornamental and occasionally grew to a great size, being known there as 'Nalband' Persian: نعلبند [:the tree of the farriers][1] ("the famous 'Smithy elm' of Persia, where its dense top often forms the shelter of the native forgers"[2]). Litvinov considered it a cultivar of a wild elm with a dense crown that he called U. densa, from the mountains of Turkestan, Ferghana, and Aksu.[3] Non-rounded forms of 'Umbraculifera' are also found in Isfahan Province, Iran.[4] Zielińksi in Flora Iranica considered it an U. minor cultivar.[5]

'Umbraculifera' was introduced to Europe in 1878 by the Späth nursery of Berlin, by one account from a German gardener in the employ of the Shah of Persia,[3] by another from M. Scharrer, inspector of Tiflis Imperial Gardens, Georgia.[6][7][8] It was subsequently planted along streets in Berlin.[3] Späth, along with Hesse of Weener, marketed the tree till the 1930s.[9][10][11][12]

'Umbraculifera' was introduced to the United States in 1912 as "Karagatch" (Ulmus densa syn. U. campestris [:U. minor] 'Umbraculifera') at the USDA's Chico Plant Introduction Station in California by Frank Meyer, who collected it from the Russian imperial estate at Murgrab, Turkestan (see photo taken by Meyer in 'Notable trees' below).[13]

Green mistook Späth's U. turkestanica Regel (the U. 'Turkestanica' of his Register of Cultivars[14]) for a synonym of 'Umbraculifera'.[14] Späth listed U. turkestanica Regel and U. campestris umbraculifera separately in his catalogues, where 'Umbraculifera' appears as "Ball elm. Transcaucasia, Persia. Needs no pruning. Valuable as a single tree, free-standing in park or street".[15][16][17][9]

  1. ^ "Die grosse Herbstausstellung des Vereins zur Beförderung des Gartenbaues in der Flora zu Charlottenburg". Monatsschrift des Vereines zur Beförderung des Gartenbaues in den Königl. Preussischen Staaten für Gärtnerei und Pflanzenkunde. 21: 515. 1878.
  2. ^ Descriptive Catalogue of Shady Hill Nursery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1893, p.3
  3. ^ a b c Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. 7. p. 1893.
  4. ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Elm', (6): iranicaonline.org/articles/elm
  5. ^ J. Zielińksi, 'Ulmaceae', Flora Iranica, ed. K. H. Rechinger (Graz, 1979)
  6. ^ "Nouveaux arbres d'ornament". La Belgique Horticole. 29: 269. 1879.
  7. ^ "Beachtenswerte neue einführungen". Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung. 35: 2–3. 1879.
  8. ^ "Notes". Garden and Forest. 2: 516. 1889.
  9. ^ a b Katalog (PDF). Vol. 108. Berlin, Germany: L. Späth Baumschulenweg. 1902–1903. pp. 132–133.
  10. ^ Späth, Ludwig (1930). Späth-Buch, 1720-1930. Berlin: Self published. pp. 311–313, 351–352.
  11. ^ Hesse, Hermann Albert (1932). Preis- und Sortenliste. pp. 96–97. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  12. ^ Hesse, Hermann Albert (1933). Preis- und Sortenliste. pp. 91–92. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  13. ^ Meyer, F. N. (1912). Seeds and plants imported during the period from January 1 to March 31, 1912: Inventory No.30, Nos 32829–32831. Bureau of Plant Industry - Bulletin No. 282. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1913.
  14. ^ a b Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  15. ^ Späth, L., Catalogue 79 (1890-91; Berlin), p.114
  16. ^ Späth, L., Catalogue 89 (1892-93; Berlin), p.116
  17. ^ Späth, L., Catalogue 104 (1899–1900; Berlin), p.134