''Ulmus minor'' 'Webbiana'

Ulmus minor 'Webbiana'
'Webbiana' at Grange Farm Arboretum
Species Ulmus minor
Cultivar 'Webbiana'
Origin England

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Webbiana', or Webb's Smooth-leafed Elm, distinguished by its unusual leaves that fold longitudinally, was raised at Lee's Nursery, Hammersmith, London, circa 1868.[1][2] It was marketed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as U. campestris Webbiana Hort.,[3] and by Louis van Houtte of Ghent as U. campestris crispa (Webbiana).[4] Krüssmann confirmed it as a field elm cultivar.[5] Henry thought 'Webbiana' a form of Cornish Elm, adding that it "seems to be identical with the insufficiently described U. campestris var. concavaefolia Loudon" (he ignored Loudon's 'Cucullata'), a view repeated by Krüssmann. 'Webbiana' and the field elm 'Concavaefolia' are carefully distinguished, however, in elm collections of the day, such that of the Royal Victoria Park, Bath (1905 list).[6]

Green suggested that 'Webbiana' was "possibly to be placed with U. × hollandica".[7] Herbarium leaf-specimens, however (see External links), show a clone with a long petiole and a 'Stricta'-type leaf curled or folded longitudinally, consistently labelled 'Webbiana' and identified as a form of Field Elm.

Not to be confused with the wych elm cultivar with longitudinally up-curling leaves, U. glabra 'Concavaefolia'.

Description

'Webbiana', as described by Henry, is "pyramidal in habit, with ascending branches and sparse foliage. The leaves are folded longitudinally, so that most of the upper surface is concealed", but are "in other respects similar to those of var. stricta".[1] Späth's 1903 catalogue said it had "small roundish leaves". The Royal Victoria Park, Bath, where there was a specimen, described 'Webbiana' in 1905 as "an elegant tree".[6] The Ellwanger and Barry Nursery of Rochester, New York also considered it "a handsome variety".[8] Bean (1936) described it as "columnar in habit".[9]

Etymology

The origin of the epithet is obscure, but may commemorate Philip Barker Webb, an English botanist of the early 19th century.

Pests and diseases

The tree is not known to have any significant resistance to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

Two 'Webbiana' were planted at Kew Gardens in 1871.[1] One tree was planted in 1899 as U. campestris webbiana at the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada.[10] The tree was also cultivated in continental Europe, appearing on the lists of the Hesse Nursery of Weener, Germany, to the 1930s,[11] and in New Zealand.[12] At least two specimens are known to survive, one in the United States and one in the UK, the latter treated as a hedging plant to avoid the attentions of the Scolytus beetles that act as vectors of Dutch elm disease. The tree remains in cultivation in Poland, where it has been propagated from the last surviving specimen in the country, in Sanniki, believed to have been supplied by the former nursery at Podzamcze, Masovian Voivodeship,[13][14] which sold 'Webbiana' as late as 1937.[15]

Notable trees

"A very fine specimen of this distinct variety" stood in the grounds of Westonbirt House, Gloucestershire, 80 feet (24 m) high and 9.8 feet (3.0 m) in by the 1920s.[16]

Accessions

North America

Europe

Nurseries

North America

None known

Europe

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. p. 1895.
  2. ↑ Hogg, Robert (1868). "The Florist and Pomologist: A Pictorial Monthly Magazine of Flowers, Fruits, and General Horticulture". 1 (5). Journal of Horticulture: 264. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Katalog (PDF). 108. Berlin, Germany: L. Späth Baumschulenweg. 1902–1903. pp. 132–133.
  4. ↑ Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre, Catalogue de Louis van Houtte, 1881-2, p.303
  5. ↑ Handbuch der Laubgehölze (Paul Parey, Berlin and Hamburg, 1976); trans. Michael E. Epp, Manual of Cultivated Broad-Leaved Trees and Shrubs (Vol. 3) (Batsford, Timber Press, Beaverton, Oregon, 1984-6), p.406
  6. 1 2 Inman, T. Frederic (1905). "The Elm". Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. 10: 37. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Ellwanger and Barry, general catalogue (1896).
  9. ↑ Bean, W. J. (1936) Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain, 7th edition, Murray, London, vol. 2, p.618
  10. ↑ Saunders, William; Macoun, William Tyrrell (1899). Catalogue of the trees and shrubs in the arboretum and botanic gardens at the central experimental farm (2 ed.). pp. 74–75.
  11. ↑ Hesse, Hermann Albert (1932). Preis- und Sortenliste. pp. 96–97. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  12. ↑ 'Webbiana' in New Zealand, register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/418
  13. ↑ 'Webbiana', Konieczko Nursery, Gogolin, drzewa.com.pl:
  14. ↑ "Encyklopedia drzew Ulmus minor 'Webbiana' - Wiąz polny 'Webbiana'". encyklopediadrzew.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  15. ↑ Zamoyskiego, Franciszka (1937). Szkółki w Podzamckie (PDF) (Autumn 1937 - Spring 1938 ed.). Podzamcze. p. 44. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  16. ↑ Jackson, A. Bruce (1927). Catalogue of the Trees & Shrubs [at Westonbirt] in the Collection of the Late Lieut-Col. Sir George Lindsay Holford. London. p. 195.
  • "Herbarium specimen - L.1586942". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. f. webbiana Rehd. (Arnold Arboretum specimen, 1960)
  • "Herbarium specimen - WAG.1853018". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. aff. 'Webbiana', formerly called U. carpinifolia 'Viscosa' (Wageningen Arboretum specimen, 1962)
  • "Herbarium specimen - WAG.1853019". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. 'Webbiana', formerly called U. foliacea Gilib. 'Viscosa' (Wageningen Arboretum specimen, 1962)
  • "Herbarium specimen - WAG.1853022". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet (including samara) described as U. carpinifolia Gled. 'Webbiana', formerly called U. foliacea Gilib. 'Viscosa' (Wageningen Arboretum specimen, 1962)
  • "Herbarium specimen - WAG.1853026". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet described as U. carpinifolia Gled. f. 'Webbiana' Rehd. (Amsterdam specimen)
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