Himalayan Elm
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 U. wallichiana, Withdean Park, Brighton.
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| Ulmus wallichiana Planch. |
The Himalayan Elm Ulmus wallichiana Planch., also known as the Kashmir Elm, is a mountain tree ranging from central Nuristan in Afghanistan, through northern Pakistan and the Kashmir, to western Nepal at elevations from 800 m to 3000 m. Although dissimilar in appearance, its common name is occasionally used in error for the Cherry Bark Elm Ulmus villosa, which is also endemic to the Kashmir, but inhabits the valleys, not the mountain slopes. The Himalayan Elm grows to 30 m tall, with a broad crown featuring several ascending branches. The bark of the trunk is greyish brown and longitudinally furrowed. The leaves are elliptic-acuminate, up to 13 cm long and 6 cm broad on petioles between 5 mm and 10 mm long. The samarae are usually orbicular, up to 13 mm in diameter.
There are two subspecies, wallichiana and xanthoderma, and a variety, tomentosa, distinguished largely by variations in pubescence of the leaves and young stems. The species is closely related to the Wych Elm U. glabra, but has a high resistance to the fungus Ophiostoma himal-ulmi endemic to the Himalaya and the cause of Dutch elm disease there. Consequently the tree was investigated in 1960 as a suitable source of anti-fungal genes for use in the Dutch hybridization programme, with the result that a frost-resistant variety was selected for propagation and breeding in the Netherlands. It subsequently featured in a number of hybrid cultivars, starting with Dodoens and culminating in Lutèce™.
Endemic to an impoverished region with no fossil fuel resources, U. wallichiana is heavily lopped for firewood, and also for fodder, leaving it in danger of extermination in some areas. Elsewhere however, it has been deliberately planted near villages and farmhouses. Recognizing its predicament, efforts have been made in India to conserve the tree by drying the seeds and placing them in refrigerated storage.
The tree is grown in several arboreta in the UK, but by far the largest collection is held by Brighton & Hove City Council, the NCCPG elm collection holder, which has some 60 specimens, the largest (current British Isles champions, 2006) in school grounds at Rottingdean. The tree tends to be rather short-boled in Brighton & Hove, and defoliates in times of drought.
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[edit] Cultivars
There are no known cultivars of U. wallichiana.
[edit] Hybrid cultivars
A frost-hardy form of U. wallichiana, P.39, was repeatedly used in the Netherlands during and after the 1960s to help generate a range of disease-resistant trees including:
- Arno, Clusius, Columella, Dodoens, Lobel, Nanguen (Lutèce™), Plantyn, Plinio. San Zanobi, Warnoux (Vada™)
[edit] Arboreta etc. accessions
[edit] North America
None known.
[edit] Europe
- Arboretum National des Barres, France[1].
- Brighton & Hove City Council, NCCPG Elm Collection [2], UK.
- Royal Botanic Garden, Wakehurst Place, UK. acc. no. 1992-2028, wild collected in western Nepal.
- Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK. acc. no. 1977-6072, area N 100, provenance unknown.
[edit] Nurseries
Not known.
[edit] Etymology
The tree is named for the Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich.
[edit] Synonymy
- Kashmir Elm: Anon.
- Ulmus erosa sensu Wall.
- Ulmus wallichiana Brandis, Hooker
[edit] References
- Maunder, M. (1988). Plants in Peril, 3. Ulmus wallichiana (Ulmaceae). Kew Magazine. 5(3): 137-140. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London.
- Melville, R. & Heybroek, H. (1971). The Elms of the Himalaya. Kew Bulletin Vol. 26(1). Royal Botanic Garden Kew, London.
- Phartyal, S., Thapliyal, J., Nayal, J. & Joshi, G. (2003). Seed storage physiology of Himalayan Elm (U. wallichiana): an endangered tree species of tropical highlands. Seed Science & Technology Vol. 31. International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), Bassersdorf, Switzerland.
