The

American Elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

''Ulmus americana'' 'Sheyenne' was raised by the Northwest Nursery Company of

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in and the county seat of Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 6,575 at the 2020 census, making it the 12th most populous city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Valley City is kno ...

, before 1941, from a local elm in nearby Chautauqua Park.'Select list of hardy plants, trees, etc.', Northwest Nursery Co., Valley City, North Dakota, 1941, p.3
/ref>'Aristocrats of northern gardens : a selected list of the best up-to-date dependable varieties', Northwest Nursery Company, Valley City, North Dakota, 1944, p.8
/ref> 'Sheyenne' is not regarded as a valid cultivar by some authorities.

Description

Northwest Nursery described 'Sheyenne' as "an unusually fast growing, upright tree of great beauty" with "a fine spreading head and large dark green leaves". It reportedly made as large a tree in 10 years as the average American elm in 15. The Plumfield Nursery later called it "somewhat vase-shaped".

Cultivation

'Sheyenne' was propagated by grafting. Northwest Nursery considered it "an ideal tree for street and lawn planting". It was also marketed from 1957 by the Plumfield Nursery, Fremont,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

,Moffet, L. ''Plumfield Nursery Spring 1957 Wholesale Trade List''. Plumfield Nursery, Fremont, Nebraska. which ceased trading circa 1980. It is unlikely the tree remains in cultivation in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

or beyond. File:Elms1.JPG, Elm avenue planted mid-twentieth century,

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

(2005) File:Elms in Fargo.JPG, Elms in University Avenue, planted mid-twentieth century, Fargo, North Dakota (2005)

Pests and diseases

No specific information. Dutch elm disease was first detected in North Dakota in 1969 and had spread to most of the State by 1975.

Etymology

The tree was named for the town of Sheyenne in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, itself named for the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

tribe of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

. A second cultivar called 'Great Plains', cloned from a wild tree in that state, was released by the Oscar H. Wills nursery of

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

in 1942. North Dakota is at the western edge of the natural range of ''Ulmus americana''.''Ulmus americana'' range map, Forest Service, US Dept. of Agriculture, fs.usda.gov
/ref>

References

{{Elm species, varieties, hybrids, hybrid cultivars and species cultivars , state=collapsed American elm cultivar Ulmus articles missing images Ulmus Valley City, North Dakota