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Ulmus minor subsp. angustifolia
Also called Small Leaved Elm, Coritanian Elm, Cornish Elm, Guernsey Elm, Jersey Elm
A slender, slow-growing deciduous tree, a field elm subspecies known as Cornish elm, traditionally used as a windbreak on the Cornish coast. Few mature specimens survive in England since Dutch elm disease, and it is grown mainly as an ornamental or for shelter.
The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Stricta', known as Cornish elm, was commonly found in South West England (Cornwall and West Devon), Brittany, and south-west Ireland, until the arrival of Dutch elm disease in the late 1960s. The origin of Cornish elm in the south-west of Britain remains a matter of contention. It is commonly assumed to have been introduced from Brittany. It is also considered possible that the tree may have survived the ice ages on lands to the south of Cornwall long since lost to the sea. Henry thought it "probably native in the south of Ireland". Dr Max Coleman of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, arguing in his 2002 paper on British elms that there was no clear distinction between species and subspecies, suggested that known or suspected clones of Ulmus minor, once cultivated and named, should be treated as cultivars, preferred the designation U.
Cornish elm was traditionally considered the best shelter-belt tree along the Cornish coast. Its timber was much prized for its strength, and was commonly used in wheel and wagon construction. Working Cornish pilot gigs were traditionally built from Cornish elm: the Rules of the Cornish Pilot Gig Association specified that to take part in gig races the boat should be made from "Cornish narrow-leaved elm". Ley (1910) described Cornish elm as "abundant in Brittany, very abundant in West Cornwall, becoming less abundant in East Cornwall and West Devon". Cornish elm was later cultivated as an ornamental tree in parts of southern England and southern Ireland, and, more rarely, in UK urban plantings. Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire, was among the nurseries that supplied it, carefully distinguishing it from Wheatley elm. The locations of notable plantings of Cornish elm, both in Cornwall and beyond, are listed in Henry (1913), Richens (1983), and Mitchell (1996).
Few mature specimens are known to survive in the wild in England.
Winged elm · American elm · Ulmus 'Androssowii' · Ulmus ×arbuscula · Ulmus minor subsp. canescens · Cedar elm · Ulmus 'Densa' · Wych Elm · Ulmus glaucescens var. glaucescens · Ulmus glaucescens var. lasiocarpa · Ulmus glaucescens · Ulmus harbinensis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ulmus minor 'Stricta' by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
