''Ulmus macrocarpa'' Hance, the large-fruited elm, is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree or large shrub endemic to the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

excluding Japan. It is notable for its tolerance of drought and extreme cold and is the predominant vegetation on the dunes of the

Khorchin The Khorchin (, ''Horchin''; ''Qorčin''; ) are a subgroup of the Mongols that speak the Khorchin dialect of Mongolian and predominantly live in northeastern Inner Mongolia of China. History The Ming dynasty gave Borjigin princes (descended ...

sandy lands in the

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

province of north-eastern China, making a small tree at the base of the dunes, and a shrub at the to

Description

By the age of ten years, the tree bears a close resemblance to 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 ...

''U. americana'', but will never approach the latter's size. The tree can reach a height of 17 m, with a slender trunk rarely exceeding 0.4 m d.b.h; the bark is longitudinally fissured, and dark grey in colour. The twigs often develop corky wings that may persist for several years. The leaves are usually

obovate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

< 9 cm long by 5 cm broad''Ulmus macrocarpa'' in Arnold Arboretum, photographs by William Friedman, arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/image
/ref> ''U. macrocarpa'' Hance, Arnold Arboretum specimen (1930); ''U. macrocarpa'' Hance, specimen from Manchuria, US National Arboretum, Washington DC (1966); ''U. macrocarpa'' Hance twigs, US National Arboretum (1966) (significantly smaller on juvenile trees) and chiefly characterized by their thick, leathery texture and obtusely doubly or simply toothed margins. The

perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

, wind-pollinated

apetalous Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

flowers appear from March until May. As implied by its name, ''U. macrocarpa'' is distinguished by its large, orbicular, wafer-like samarae < 50 mm in diameter, which ripen in May and June.Fu, L. & Jin J. (eds). (1992). ''China Red Data Book. Rare and endangered plants. Vol. 1''. Science Press, BeijingFu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002). Ulmaceae, in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of China'', Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, USA

/ref> Ulmus macrocarpa 230135951.jpg, ''Ulmus macrocarpa'', Mongolia File:Ulmus macrocarpa 135221449.jpg, Leaves of ''Ulmus macrocarpa'', Siberia File:Ulmus macrocarpa 227580376.jpg, Corky twig of ''Ulmus macrocarpa'', Siberia Image:Macrocarpa leaves.jpg, Leaves of juvenile tree

Pests and diseases

Possessed of a moderate resistance to Dutch elm disease and a low susceptibility to elm yellows, it has also proven very resistant to the elm leaf beetle ''

Xanthogaleruca luteola ''Xanthogaleruca luteola'', commonly known as the elm-leaf beetle, is a beetle species in the family Chrysomelidae that is native to Europe but invasive in other parts of the world.http://cisr.ucr.edu/elm_leaf_beetle.html - Center for Invasive ...

'' in trials in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

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and Italy.

Cultivation

''U. macrocarpa'' was introduced to the UK at

Aldenham House Aldenham House is an English country house in Elstree, just south-east of Aldenham village and west of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. It was the seat of the Gibbs family, who were the Baron Aldenham, Barons Aldenham, and is now a main build ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

in the late 19th century by Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932),Bean, W. J. (1981). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain'', 7th edition. Murray, London almost certainly as part of the

quincunx A quincunx ( ) is a geometry, geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a Square (geometry), square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" ...

elm avenue leading to the front of the house.Audrey Le Lievre (1986). An Account of the Garden at Aldenham House and of Its Makers: Henry Hucks Gibbs, Vicary Gibbs and Edwin Beckett. ''Garden History'', Vol. 14, No. 2. (Autumn, 1986), 173–193. The tree was propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier & Sons nursery,

Winchester, Hampshire Winchester (, ) is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of ...

, from 1949, with 47 sold from 1962 to 1977. Hillier & Sons (1977). ''Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs''. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.Hillier & Sons ''Sales inventory 1962 to 1977'' (unpublished). The tree was introduced to the United States at the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum is a botanical research institution and free public park affiliated with Harvard University and located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, Massachusetts, Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston. Established in 1872, it is the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in 1908. It has been assessed at the

Morton Arboretum The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, United States, is a public garden and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research including the Center for Tree Science. Its grounds, covering 1,700 acres (6.9 square kilometre ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, for its landscape potential, and is now considered suitable for open areas such as parks and campuses.Ware, G. (1995). Little-known elms from China: landscape tree possibilities. ''Journal of Arboriculture'', (Nov. 1995). International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois, U

Typically, ''U. macrocarpa'' is intolerant of poorly drained ground prone to waterlogging, but has been found to be the most cold hardy of the Chinese elms in artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum, the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was - 36 ° C.Shirazi, A. M. & Ware, G. H. (2004). ''Evaluation of New Elms from China for Cold Hardiness in Northern Latitudes''. International Symposium on Asian Plant Diversity & Systematics 2004,

Sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

, Japan.

Subspecies & varieties

Two varieties are recognized: var. ''glabra'' Nie & Huang and var. ''macrocarpa'' L.K.Fu

Hybrids, hybrid cultivars and cultivars

A natural hybrid of ''U. macrocarpa'' and ''U. davidiana'' var. ''japonica'', named '' Ulmus × mesocarpa'' was discovered in South Korea in the 1980s. ''U. macrocarpa'' is believed to have been used in recent (post 2000) hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum but results have yet (2008) to be published. There are no known

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 ...

s of this taxon.

Accessions

;North America *

, US. Acc. nos. 17911, 346–82 (no provenances for either), 377–40 collected in China. *

Denver Botanic Gardens The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the ...

, US. one specimen, no details available *

Holden Arboretum The Holden Arboretum, in Kirtland, Ohio, is one of the largest arboreta and botanical gardens in the United States, with more than , including devoted to collections and gardens. Diverse natural areas and ecologically sensitive habitats make u ...

, US. Listed as ''U. macrocarpa'' var. ''dorsetti'' (unrecognized variety), acc. no. 97–26. *

, US. Acc. nos. 589–64, 179–84, 286–95
589-54*3
* U S National Arboretum,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, US. Acc. nos. 70030, 76229, 76230, 76231, 76247, 68915. Also, listed as ''U. macrocarpa'' var. ''dorsettii'': 68990, 76232, 64253. ;Europe *Botanic Garden of the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, Denmark. No details available. *

Cambridge Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...

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University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, UK. No accession details available. *

Grange Farm Arboretum The Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam.Ostler, J. (2009) ...

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Sutton St. James Sutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about south-west of Long Sutton. Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of the 1086 ''Domesday Book''. Su ...

, Spalding, Lincs., UK. Acc. no. 831, as var. ''Dorsettii''. * Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Sweden. Acc. nos. 1976–1142, 1976–2032, 0000–1484. *

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

, UK. Acc. no. 20022149 (grown from seed sold by Lawyer Nursery, US).Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). ''List of Living Accessions: Ulmus'

/ref> *Strona Arboretum, University of Life Sciences,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland. No details available. *Wijdemeren Elm Arboretum, Frans Halslaan,

Loosdrecht Loosdrecht () is a town in the municipality of Wijdemeren, North Holland, the Netherlands, with a population of about 8,600 inhabitants. Loosdrecht consists of two small villages: Nieuw-Loosdrecht and Oud-Loosdrecht. Nieuw Loosdrecht covers a ...

Wijdemeren City Council Wijdemeren () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, on the western border of the Gooi region. Wijdemeren contains many lakes, including ''Spiegelplas'' and ''Ankeveense Plassen'' in the north(east) and ''Loosdrech ...

, Netherlands. No details available.

Nurseries

;Europe *Noordplant Nurser

Glimmen Glimmen is a village in the northeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Groningen, about 10 kilometres from the city. It had a population of around 1,342 in 2021. The river Drentsche Aa flows past the village, nearby the ''Huis t ...

, Netherlands.

References

External links

efloras.org: ''U. macrocarpa'' description

efloras.org: ''U. macrocarpa'' fruit and new leaves illustration (figures 2 to 5)Photographs labelled ''U. macrocarpa'' on Plant Photo Bank of China, ppbc.iplant